‘Tour Players’ Archive

Can Furyk win without Banana Putting?

by Paul Hobart

Had a great chance to watch some of the Quail Hollow tournament yesterday. We had some nice thunderstorms in Ohio and the lesson schedule got a little damp.

I love the great camera angles that we get to see when the players are putting. There were a number of occasions yesterday when you could see right down the players line towards the cup. I paid particular attention to Jim Furyk’s putts and how he was rolling the ball down the line. Jim had a great day, and shot a nice round in the 60’s that got him within one shot of the lead. He somehow posted that great round while breaking one of the main rules of my Banana Putting System.

Why do I say that? Pretty simple. Jim got lucky a couple times. Jim Furyk…one of the best players in the world, got lucky? I believe he did. Jim had at least three putts that he misread or misaligned, and then made a corrective stroke that got the ball to go in the hole. If you watch the putts closely, you can tell if the player is starting the ball on the intended line or not. In at least these three cases, Jim didn’t start the ball on the line he thought he would, but the putt found its way into the cup.

What’s wrong with making those putts? Not a thing! I hope he continues to get them in the hole and he wins the event. Nobody is going to take away the trophy if he pushes or pulls a couple putts into the cup, right?

What I will tell you is that the reason Jim hasn’t putted that well, and the reason he has to work so hard at his putting is that he isn’t getting committed to and rolling the ball on his intended line. Eventually, that catches up to you. The guys play a long season, and if they get into the habit of manipulating their putts, at some point, they get bad results.

Maybe when Jim comes to Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial, we can talk about how Banana Putting could get him to putt his ball a little more consistently.

Good luck Jim!

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Tiger Woods Rates A+ with Banana Putting

by Paul Hobart

I was thrilled to spend yesterday afternoon and evening with my family, celebrating my Mom’s birthday. As a result, I just found out last night that Tiger had reeled in Sean O’Hair and claimed another victory at Arnie’s Bay Hill event. Apparently Tiger’s going to be OK after his knee procedure!

I did get to listen to Tiger’s interview this morning, and saw the footage of his winning putt, and a couple things jumped out at me as I watched and listened.

Tiger said a couple things during his interview that really struck a chord with me. As you know, I’ve spent the winter compiling my putting system into a book called Banana Putting, so I’m kind of tuned into what the Tour guys and girls say and so regarding putting. Tiger’s comment about his winning putt was that he “hit it right where he was looking.” Excellent concept, and a great thing to do. Where do you suppose he was looking?

Many would reply at the hole, or at the “apex” of the putt. I have a difference of opinion. Tiger was looking down his start line, not at either of the targets mentioned previously. Watching the footage confirms this. Tiger’s eyes were looking down the start line of his putt, and that was his only focus. Under my Banana Putting system, this would receive an impressive A+ for adhering to the rules.

Tiger made another comment about his putt that is interesting. I’ll paraphrase, but he said something like “…I knew if I played it far enough left…” Great stuff. He knows that thinking in terms of playing more break versus less break will give him a great chance for success. One of the things I discuss in my book is how golfers have a hard time aiming the ball very far away from the cup. Tiger used one of my key points in finding a reason to play more break. Again, I give Mr. Woods an A+.

I’m happy to tell you that I just got my book back from my graphic designer, and the ebook is just about ready to go. Jump over to the sign up box on this site to stay updated on the release date.

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WGC Match Play – who’s a Banana Putter?

by Paul Hobart

Had a chance to watch some of the WGC Match play while my daughter was napping. Great to see Tiger back in the mix. I suppose he is an effective stimulus for the PGA Tour based on all the coverage!

One of the guys that’s headed home early is the reigning Master’s champion Trevor Immelman. Trevor had a chance to get his match down to a 1 hole deficit with 1 hole to play. All he needed to do was coax a 4 foot putt into the hole on #17. Sounds pretty simple for a major winner doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, Trevor struck his left to right putt, and as soon as he hit the ball, walked after the putt as it missed the cup on the low side. It seemed that he knew immediately that the putt was missed. I propose that he knew even before he hit it that something was wrong.

Any time I see a player hit a putt, and start walking, I know that the putt confirmed a thought they had in their head BEFORE the putter swung back. There’s the key. If a miss confirms what you were thinking, why were you having that thought?

Banana Putting is designed to place the golfer in a state of total and complete commitment as they stand over the ball. Once you have that, your great putting stroke shows up. Lose the commitment, and you lose your stroke, and miss the putt.

Trevor lost his commitment, and missed a key putt. I could also contend that he followed that up with another uncommitted effort on the next one, which he missed to lose the match.

3 putts from 4 feet from the Masters champion. Cost him the hole, and ended his tournament in the first round. I see things like this every week. Even from the best in the world.

I hope I have the chance to share my concepts with Trevor, and bunch of the other guys on Tour. I know it will make a huge difference in those critical few seconds before the putter swings.

More to come.

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Michelle Wie Uses Banana Putting to Maintain Her Lead!

by Paul Hobart

Watching the LPGA event in Hawaii. Michelle Wie is hanging onto a 1 shot lead on the back nine, and has done so due to a couple great putts. Michelle has always been a little iffy with the putter, and often looks completely shocked that the ball missed the cup. Today however, Michelle is sticking closely to the concepts of Banana Putting, and is rolling some tough putts into the cup.

Thanks to the great television angles, I have observed at least 4 putts in Michelle’s round that were perfect demonstrations of the concepts in the Banana Putting System. Did I teach Michelle my system? Not yet…maybe one of these days she’ll get the opportunity. I can watch a player, and tell you if they are adhering to the important concepts that I teach.

At least for today’s round, I would give Michelle a pretty good rating on her performance. One of the key components I watch for and measure when I teach putting is what I call “SLV.” When you follow the Banana Putting System steps, you want to have a very low SLV. A higher SLV means you’re putting the ball all over the place, and probably muttering to yourself…”what kept that out?” We’ve all had days like that, right?

Michelle’s SLV is pretty darn low today, and it’s got her in the lead. As I’m typing this post, she just holed another good putt to keep her lead through 12. Looks to be a great finish, and if she wins she can tell everybody to get off her back. Hope she closes the deal. I’ll keep watching, and if I see anything interesting, I’ll let you know.

Can you guess what SLV means? Remember…low is good, high is bad, just like your score.

Happiest of Valentine’s Days!

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