
Banana Putting Book
A common question that I get from right handed golfers is “Why do I seem to miss all my left to right putts on the low side of the cup?” This is a great question, and a question that probably lurks in the minds of many golfers. Here’s my answer:
Right handed golfers struggle with left to right putts because the target, or the cup, is very clearly in their field of vision. Because you can easily see the cup, your eyes tend to look towards the final destination rather than down the start line of the putt. Where your eyes look is where you are most likely to putt the ball, resulting in a start line that is well below your intended start line. This gets the ball headed to the low side.
Righties usually fare better on right to left putts because visually it’s easier for your eyes to look down your intended start line. It becomes difficult to sneak a peek towards the hole when the cup is hidden behind your front shoulder.
The lesson to be learned here is to closely monitor where your eyes are looking. Where you look = where the ball will go. If you’re missing all those left to right putts on the low side, its because your eyes are wandering toward the cup rather than the start line.
If you’re left handed, all of this stuff will apply to your right to left putts.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to spend some of your day “Going Bananas!”
Did you watch the Buick Invitational yesterday? I was spending the afternoon watching my beautiful daughter Sia, and in between wiping her runny nose, changing diapers (hers), and keeping her from jumping off the couch, I watched, too. Daddy is responsible for the hairstyle!
There was some great golf played, and I felt happy for Nick Watney, and a ittle bummed for John Rollins. It seemed like Rollins had things well in hand, but in golf you just never know.
As a golf instructor, and specifically as a putting instructor, I really appreciate some of the close up camera angles you get to see as the player rolls his putt. To be able to see where the player is pointed, and where the ball starts, is great information. Although I didn’t see the whole broadcast, and obviously couldn’t see every putt, there were plenty of putts hit that were clear violations of the Banana Putting System. My entire system is designed to get the player physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared to hit a great putt. Judging by what I saw on those closeups yesterday, some of the guys aren’t at that stage of perfect preparation. If they were, I would not have seen the performance issues they displayed coming down the stretch.
Both john Rollins and Camillo Villegas hit putts yesterday that were clear violations of Banana Putting. I place my players in a position of “total and complete commitment” and these guys just weren’t there. Why weren’t they? I would have to speak to them about how they worked through the preparation to hit the putt. I monitor four key steps in the preparation process, and any or all of the four could be the culprit.
What did these world class players do? To simplify, they decided on a plan of attack for the putt, and then changed plans as they swung the putter. Banana Putting puts an end to this. Just so these guys don’t feel so bad, I’ve seen Tiger, and just about everyone else do the same thing. Was it the equipment? Nope. Was it because they haven’t practiced the mechanics of the stroke? Nope. Was their technique bad? Doubt it!
All of the things I just mentioned are hardware issues. Physical things and motions and movements. Banana Putting deals with the software inside the golfer. When the software doesn’t run properly, all of the physical stuff just doesn’t work.
Stay tuned, and I’ll share more with you!