I am continually perplexed at how, for all their amazing skill on the golf course, so many pros just can not putt, at all.
When you see them miss a three foot putt, and wonder, "How could they miss that?" I wonder, too.
When Casey Stengel famously said, "Can't anybody here play this game?" he could very well have been talking about golf, and not baseball.
They complain that their putts just aren't falling, but the fact is that they are not putting the ball in the hole, and it's all their own fault.
But it's not that they aren't good athletes, or that they are stupid.
Nobody ever said it would be easy. But, in fact, it is easy.
But not without some effort required to learn how to do it.
However, it is entirely possible that their brain has been programmed with "erroneous information."
It's easy to blame karma, or bad luck, but in the game of golf, you make your own luck.
The word "inept" is pretty harsh, but how else would you describe a golfer that continually tops shots, or duck-hooks them, or slices into the woods?
Or how, also, would you describe a player who continually misses what should be easy putts?
The name of the game is momentum, and that holds true on every shot, and most especially putts.
The big mystery is why, when their whole life is intimately woven around the game of golf, this wouldn't be readily apparent to every professional golfer?
I think I may have stumbled, inadvertently, upon the answer as to why golf, and especially putting, is so difficult.
To be sure, every aspect of golf is totally frustrating, and presents questions to which there don't seem to be many answers, and that only serves to legitimize the almost totally unexplained frustrations that surround the game, and putting, probably most especially.
The simple answer is that golfers just don't really seem to understand momentum.
Not all golfers, but definitely, it's pretty safe to say, some golfers. Maybe even most golfers.
When you examine it, that is surely the root of the problem.
Although virtually all golfers would protest that they do, in fact, understand it, the evidence suggests otherwise.
Simply put, you might liken momentum to the wake of a boat, but in reverse.
A golf ball, on the green, hit toward the hole, will tend to roll straight to the hole, and not be influenced by the pull of the slope of the green, either to the right or the left, within reason.
Meaning possibly between 3 and 5 inches on a 6-ft. putt.
But beyond that, it is a lead-pipe cinch that the slope of the green will have a definite effect on the direction the ball rolls.
Exactly where the dividing line is, is the problem. At what point does momentum cease to have an influence on the direction the ball rolls, and is thus overridden by the slope of the green?
That's the question before the class today, students, and one that needs solving, before we move any further.
It is most probably best explained by the fact that momentum has not "overridden the break," but that the ball has run out of momentum, which was provided by the striking of the ball, and now is no longer being controlled in the forward motion, and therefore is subject to the pull of gravity, to whichever side of the path has the steeper downward slope.
Momentum dominates over the pull of gravity, especially on an otherwise level surface, such as a green, but when momentum runs out, gravity takes over.
It seems that the more discussion about what momentum is, or isn't, the more confusing it gets.
Suffice it to say that there are two forces that control what the ball does:
The first force is momentum, or the forward roll, which gives the ball a force to the front.
But when momentum runs out - which it will do as the forward force dies down - and then gravity takes over, and pulls the ball down to the low side.
As you squat down to "read" the putt, you are looking to see which is the high side, and which is the low side.
The ball will break to the low side, as soon as momentum expires, due to lack of forward motion.
To recap, then, unless the green is perfectly flat, or level, at that point, it will have a high side and a low side.
The biggest thing to understand is that momentum will provide a certain amount of grace to a forward putt, in that the momentum will keep it pointed straight ahead.
When we "play the break," we are simply attempting to hit it very lightly, so that momentum starts to die, and gravity starts to take over.
Except that we have created a monster:
By hitting it very lightly, we have not introduced any momentum, and the ball has no guiding force to keep it going straight.
Trying to influence the trajectory of the ball by controlling how hard to hit the ball is fraught with hazards, and should be avoided.
Better to hit straight toward the hole, with sufficient force to get the ball there, with a few inches to spare.
This will assure enough momentum to cause the ball to roll straight, and you can pretty much ignore the break.
But very few golfers are brave enough to do that, and think that they are smarter than Mother Nature, which, ha, ha, ha - we all know better.
On a relatively short putt, of six feet or less, even a break of 3 or 4 inches is almost totally insignificant.
Mother Nature is trying to help us, if we would only let her. But we keep fighting her, by taking away the very thing that would enable us to make more putts than ever before.
When we just lob the putt up there, and play it high, so that it will die in the hole, we are deliberately subtracting momentum from the equation.
In fact, by hitting to the high side, momentum is working against us, because momentum has carried it further than we expected, and caused the ball to just miss.
This is a classic case of spitting into the wind, and then wondering why we are getting wet.
If we would only putt straight toward the middle of the hole - especially on putts of six feet or less - we would see that the momentum would neutralize virtually all of the break.
It's really very simple: If you're scared to death of the putt, and just lightly tap it, and then pull back, the ball is left to wander all about, and decide where it wants to go, as if you had nothing to do with it.
And the fact is, you didn't have anything to do with it.
You are the golfer, and you are the one in control (or you are supposed to be) and the ball is going to do just exactly what you make it do.
The problem is, many golfers don't make the ball do anything. They tap the ball, in the direction of the hole, and then are crushed when it meanders around, and doesn't go in.
Momentum being the key to everything, all you've got to do is line up the putt to the hole, with the arc of your swing pointed straight at the hole.
You control this by your stance. Stand so that your natural swing arc is pointed straight to the hole, and don't try to alter your swing. Your natural stance controls everything.
Imagine sweeping water off the driveway with a broom. You are pushing the water ahead of you, and you are definitely following through.
Then - and this is extremely important - feel your forearms stretching toward the hole, as you FOLLOW THROUGH, which is what creates momentum.
It also helps, immensely, to lift up as you push the clubhead forward, so as to give forward momentum to the ball. Lift your hands up, and hit the top half of the ball - always - as you swing forward, and you will give the ball forward roll, and thus momentum, to your putt, and it will roll straight to the hole.
You don't have to go through all of these gimmicky grips and stances - and in fact, the more elaborate preparations you make, just means that you more than likely are going to miss.
All that amounts to is stalling, or trying to do something that you're not exactly sure how to do.
But the answer could just actually be very straight-forward:
The golfer may not know anything about momentum.
It's funny how we just assume that someone knows what we are talking about - and, in fact, should know, but doesn't.
That would explain why he always expects to see a break, and plays for the ball to die in the hole.
Meaning, that he expects to hit it so softly that the ball will run out of momentum, and start to fall away to the side the green is sloped to, and end up in the hole.
This does work, but is very tricky, and certainly not anything to bet the farm on.
Consequently, first thing we do on every putt is squat down to read the break.
As we should, because few holes are absolutely straight in.
But just because we see a break, doesn't mean that we have to play for it, which means deliberately aiming off-line, to go above the hole, and then break down.
Which also makes you have to be very fine as to how hard to hit the ball, which is precisely the problem.
Plus, you are needlessly making every putt much more difficult than it needs to be, and you do have to putt on every hole.
Just trust that the simple solutions are best, and aim straight for the middle of the hole, and swing away, with enough force to get the ball to the hole.
Forward momentum is a free force of nature, supplied by Mother Nature herself, and you don't have to go to "Momentum School," to learn how to do it.
Just imagine your putter going all the way to the back of the hole, and you will send the ball there.
Which means that you will make the putt, and be a hero, and who could ask for more than that?
It takes so little to make a golfer happy.
One thing that Mother Nature can't control, however, is your aim. If you aren't aimed at the hole, even momentum won't help you.
More putts have been missed by the golfer mis-reading the break, than any other reason.
That, and hitting it too hard, so that momentum carries it too far forward, before it starts to break.
And so, for anyone who doesn't know, momentum means that the forward energy of the ball, after it has been struck by the club, will carry the ball straight ahead, to the front, and will generally not be influenced by the slope of the green, either to the right or left.
Within reason. In a six-foot putt, you can expect momentum to make up for a break of 3 to 5 inches, approximately.
These two factors represent the yin and yang of putting, and you must weigh the one against the other, constantly.
But you can't do any of it if you don't understand momentum.
Just forget about trying to play the break, and putt as if everything is straight in.
Because, with momentum working for you, it is.
Simply put, momentum is a term that describes a fact of physics: A golf ball, being a sphere, is round, and has nothing to prevent it from rolling in any direction. The only direction comes from you, the golfer, and the swing you put on the ball. When you hit with an uplifting motion, or, literally, lifting up on the club as you stroke the ball, you start the ball off with forward motion, or the turning over of the ball in a forward direction.
As long as the ball is rolling forward, it will roll straight, to the target that it was aimed for when it was struck.
It is only when it runs out of power, that it starts to lose momentum, and leaves the ball susceptible to outside forces; namely, gravity, which will pull the ball toward whichever side of the path of the ball that is the most severely sloped, to the right or left.
When you "play the break," you are trying to hit the ball only hard enough to arrive at a predetermined point in your mind, when it should run out of momentum, and start to fall toward the side that has the most slope, to the right or left.
Thus, you are "playing the break."
How many times have you "just missed," by an RCH or less, because you hit it too hard?
You didn't hit it too hard, but you hit it too hard for momentum to die out, and it continued to keep the ball rolling forward before you wanted it to break.
Obviously, when it's a long putt, the break becomes a huge factor, and one that you can obviously see needs to be accounted for.
But very often, and especially on putts that fall somewhere between 3 ft. to 10 ft, you can pretty safely putt straight for the hole, and make at least as many as you miss.
And that may make all the difference between par golf and bogey golf, which many people would gladly settle for.
In other words, the art of putting is not quite as demanding as we think it is. Confidence is a very big part of putting, because we must remain calm, and keep our speed and velocity under control, and we will make many more putts than we thought.
Think smooth, and control. And momentum - there's that word again - because it's probably the one thing that makes such a difference in the game.
But the only way to know is to try it for yourself, and see which way makes the most sense for you.
The chances are that you are not going to make an extremely long putt anyway, and so all you can do is try as best you can, and take the results.
There are always three factors to consider in each putt we take. First and foremost is the direction of the putt. Always have your natural swing aligned to the hole, by adjusting your foot stance.
Even though you may not expect to make it, you must still putt as though you could, so as to leave yourself with a makeable putt if you miss, which you probably will do.
If you do miss, but leave yourself a finishing putt of only a foot or so, you could handle that, couldn't you?
And so, I would never advocate deliberately lagging up to the hole, because you just might be dead on-line, and make it.
Just keep the cardinal rule of putting in the front of your mind: If you always lag, you will never sink a long putt. Always hit it hard enough to get it there.
You wouldn't expect to hit 300 yard drives without practicing, would you?
(That's assuming that you could hit a 300-yard drive to start with.)
The reason that many golfers never make a straight-ahead, 6 foot putt, is that they don't practice a straight-ahead swing, because they detected a slight break in the putt.
The absolute key to good putting is that it simply is not a hard thing to do, at all.
But we have to make it happen.
Pick a slow day at the golf course, and set up about 8 balls at equal distance apart, around one hole, all about 6 ft. from the hole.
Go from one ball to another, and set up your foot stance so that your swing is aimed at the hole, and swing away.
Once you get your foot stance established, this will remain constant, and will always be the stance you want to assume on all your putts. As you start to expect the ball to fall, you will have prevailed over the putt, and you should no longer be standing in trembling fear of any putt - which many golfers do.
We should never act surprised when we make a long putt; after all, why were we there in the first place?
And so, hit it like you expect it to go in, and surprise, surprise: Many of them will.
Most golfers make putting much more difficult than it actually is.
The cup in the middle of the golf green is like a dog: It can smell fear, and lover to rub your face in it.
You won't see the smirk, because it's hidden at the bottom of the hole, but it is there.
Even though they may have seen a break, that doesn't mean that they have to play for it.
That's the whole purpose of this discussion: If you just hit the ball straight at the hole, momentum will act in your favor, and cause the ball to go in the hole.
Just push straight through to the hole. Unless there is a big break, or if it's a long putt, your straight-through swing should neutralize the break, and send the ball straight to the heart of the hole.
When you spend many minutes reading the break - and I have done that for a very long time - what you are really doing is fighting Mother Nature.
You're trying to figure out just how hard to hit it, and how high to play it, so that it will die in the hole.
That looks like genius when it works, and it does work, if you've spent many years perfecting it, but it very often doesn't work, and you just miss the putt - usually on the high side, because you saw too much break.
Or: You definitely did see a break, and decided to play it, but hit the ball too hard, and momentum ruined your putt.
In other words, you are overly complicating something that doesn't need to be nearly as hard as you are making it.
What's even more impressive, is when you just casually walk up to the putt and stroke it into the hole, just as if you knew what you were doing.
Putting is complicated, for sure, but not nearly as much as we make it.
It becomes a mental chore, because we're faced with putting on every single hole.
If we just square up and aim for the hole, and hit it straight and expect it to go in - surprise, surprise: It works!
You can't have your cake and eat it, too. You must decide whether to play the break - in which case, you've got to compute how hard to hit it, or swing straight for the hole, and let momentum do the job for you.
Show me a putter who aims straight at the hole, and hits the ball smoothly and firmly, with overspin on the ball (because he lifted up as he swung, and hit the top half of the ball), and I'll show you a guy who makes a lot of putts.
Forward momentum will negate a whole lot of break - although a long putt will definitely be affected by the break.
Don't be a wimp: Swing that club smoothly and robustly, but hit it with authority, so that you initiate momentum.
All within reason, of course. Keep in mind that you could possibly miss, if you weren't lined up properly, and so you don't want to hit it so hard that you would go too far past the hole.
But don't just lightly tap the ball, and expect it to go in.
It might, but then, it probably won't, because you didn't take control, but left it all up to the ball, which doesn't have any idea what you want it to do.
Contrary to often-expressed public opinion, a golf ball doesn't have a mind of its own.
It is only an inanimate object, and will only do what you make it do.
It is sometimes easier, though, to blame the ball.
How impressed are you by a guy who, when it's his turn to putt, steps up to the ball, squats down to line it up, and then, without hesitation, knocks it firmly into the hole, and does this repeatedly?
Well, you can be that guy. Just develop a little different mind-set about putting, and, like anything else, practice, practice, practice, until you become pretty good at it, and you're all set.
Every shot you take, in this magnificent game, is something that you didn't know how to do once-upon-a-time, until you made it your business to learn how. And the best way to do that is to figure it out for yourself, and work on it, until you've got it.
Then you are ready.
But you've got an ace in the hole: You have Mother Nature on your side, and that's pretty hard to beat.
There's nothing in the world that is quite as satisfying as the inner knowledge that you are more skilled than the guys you are playing, and you just quietly prove it, over and over.
That applies to pool as well as golf, but somehow, golf is more satisfying.
You can get so good at pool that it becomes boring, but somehow, that never seems to happen in golf.
One more thing, friends and neighbors: On a downhill putt, which breaks off to one side or the other, just forget the break, and putt straight toward the hole. Since it's downhill, you have gravity on your side, and that means that the momentum will actually increase, as it rolls downhill, as if the ball was on its own private railroad track.
Forward momentum will always override the break, and you almost don't have to give it any consideration at all. In fact, when you do, you will probably miss by just that much, because had you hit it straight, it would have almost surely gone in.
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