Abstract Putting
As I started to enjoy more consistently acceptable ball-striking via Steven Yellin’s “Fluid Motion Factor” program, I asked how the principles apply to putting. Steven’s answer in short was to remain abstract. I found that fostering a state of abstraction was relatively easy with ball-striking as you are far from the cup and your mind does not expect to hole the shot. As you move closer to the hole, your expectations naturally rise and your abstraction diminishes. So how can you remain abstract over a must-make 4 foot putt?
Traditional methods would suggest creating an infallible stroke via hard work on a chalk line, alignment mirrors, gate drills, and other putting paraphernalia. I tried them all last year and my putting did not improve. I found I could groove a nice stroke with an alignment station in practice, but I didn’t seem to be gaining muscle memory for a technically sound stroke that could carry over into competition. I found myself distracted when putting by trying to re-create the posture, alignment, ball position, and tempo I experienced during drills in practice. Everything about the inner monologue in my head during the putting process was very concrete, like a checklist:
- Does the putter head look to be laying flat?
- Is my posture ideal?
- Is my ball position perfect?
- Am I aimed properly at my intermediate target?
- Do I remember the feel of the perfect tempo of 78bpm?
- Do I feel the weight of the putter in my loose hands?
- Are my shoulders rocking the club?
With all this noise, it was no wonder my putting was inconsistent at best. If my attention was drawn for one moment by one of the items on the checklist, my stroke would be unnatural and jerky.
So here’s a challenge for your next putting session to lose the checklist mentality and putt with abstraction and fluidity.
- Take your time reading the putt, create a good plan to make everything
- Set the putter head behind the back of the ball with 0 concern for alignment
- Move your gaze to the general area near the cup through which you want to roll the ball, while here, trust that your feet and body will align automatically, naturally, and comfortably to create the proper geometry to execute your plan
- Begin your backswing dynamically as you move your field of vision from your general vicinity target back to the ball
- After each putt, observe how involved you were with the motion.
There is a beautiful correlation between the quality of the putt and the lack of involvement from the logical you. The work you have done on chalk lines and putting gates will only show up when you turn on autopilot. Everyone will have a different trigger to activate the answering machine in your mind, for me it is the backswing starting without my consent as I move my gaze from the general vicinity target to the ball.
The paradigm shift for me was trusting my body to execute the plan rather than giving it crippling instructions. This trust allows the body to make the tiny manipulations it needs to hedge your bets when putting. Try ditching the intermediate target, line on your ball, line on your putter head, and just putt on autopilot. Build the trust by practicing with 0 expectations. You can whiff the putt or roll it off the green, it doesn’t matter. This high level of acceptance and forfeiture of control is the only way to putt well. If you currently do not consider yourself a great putter, you will be embarrassed at how easy it is to start rolling the ball like a champ if you just think “leave a message after the tone” while the putter is moving.
