First of all, how well should you putt?
The graph above shows probabilities of holing putts at different distances across a variety of experience levels. The first thing to notice is how well a putting robot can putt! Putting robots significantly outperform even highly skilled humans.
A putting robot will make nearly 85% of its putts from a distance of 10 feet! While even the best pros will only make 40%! Amateur performance drops off another 20-25% to 15% and beginners luck gets 1 of 10 in the hole.
The Three Imperatives of Good Putting
We agree with noted putting instructor Geoff Mangum when he emphasizes the following imperatives for great putting:
- The putterhead must begin aimed directly at the target line
- The putterhead must be returned square back to the original aim line
- The timing and rhythm of the stroke must stay within tight boundaries
Why follow these maxims? Most players miss putts due to the following reasons:
- Mistakes in aim
- Aim biases that require correction
- Inability to consistently return the putterhead square to the target line
- Speed errors associated with bad timing and grip forces
In order to develop good putting skills, its best to eliminate the need to rely on unusual athletic talent to make putts!
What is “Neutral” Putting Technique?
It’s a reference set of fundamentals for training successful movement. It’s common movement that is empirically observed in the best putters in the world. It’s technique that makes intuitive sense, is easy to perform, is easy to repeat, and performs well under pressure. It simply produces the best results.
We do our best to get our students to adopt neutral technique within each of the following categories of putting fundamentals:
