Touch is the Foundation of Putting Skills

Of the four skills for excellent putting -- reading, aiming, stroking, and controlling distance or touch -- touch is by far the most important, since touch is the basis for reading and stroking. Get rhythm and the reading and stroking follow in short order. Without rhythm, the golfer never reaches his or her potential on the greens and in golf.

The human brain deals with the objective reality of the world when the instincts control movement for safety and success. Throughout life, the brain learns and records the constant properties of the physical world, and then mediates between the objective world's requirements and the movements of the individual's body for safety and success in the world. That means every normal adult is already connected for great touch on the greens. All that is required is a basic familiarity with the putter and greens and balls. Then the golfer simply pays attention to the facts of distance, green speed, and any uphill-downhill elevation change, all in terms solely of the impending action of rolling the ball with the putter as far as the hole, and then the brain simply connects those facts of the world with the appropriate body action for the stroke.

In other words, "pay attention" and "make a rhythm" is all there is to "do" for great touch. The rhythm is how the brain expresses its connected sense of force with the requirements of the putt for distance. First, pay attention to how far, how fast, how much uphill or downhill, with the intention of rolling the ball all the way to the hole and no more than 2-3 rolls of the ball past the hole in case of a miss. Then, simply make a rhythm back and thru without regard to the SIZE of the stroke and see what results. Putting is dancing to the music of the world, not test taking, so no one "thinks" about how to move on the green.

A "rhythm" is known in the brain as the casual swinging of the arms back and forth with the same unhurried timing when one walks. Rhythm is the EQUALITY of the timing back and then thru, in a 1-to-1 ratio from the back of the ball to the top of the backstroke and from there to the top of the follow-thru. The backstroke that merely joins in with the ongoing tempo and rhythm of the body in casual movement instinctively sets the SIZE and therefore the FORCE of the stroke, and the golfer's sole concern is the rhythmic swinging back and forth. Touch don't mean a thing without that unhurried swing.

Once a golfer has "touch", all balls arrive at the end of all putts "nicely" to the hole, not any short and not very far past in case of a miss. This consistent delivery speed at the hole is the basis for reading putts, which is a "predicting of the future path of the rolling ball GIVEN the future delivery pace". So consistent touch not only makes reading possible -- it trains good reading.

Moreover, a "stroke" movement cannot alter the timing required for good touch, but must fit within the timing. So strokes are "accurate" and "consistent" almost entirely due to the timing of good rhythm. With some basic setup posture and grip pressure to control the putter face and establish a swinging path, the golfer is free to concentrate only on rhythm. Impact "on the beat" is by definition, then, a straight stroke. There is nothing more to putting movement than a stroke that rolls the ball straight with good distance control, and that is almost entirely rhythm. Read with touch, aim, and then you're home free -- make a rhythm and enjoy the stroke!

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum

Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone -- golf's most advanced putting instruction, with 15 PuttingZone Academies and 77 Certified Coaches in 15 Countries Worldwide. 

Combining the best golf techniques from history with the modern neuroscience of instinctive perception and movement processes of the brain and body for the four skills of putting -- reading, aiming, stroking, and controlling distance -- for the best putting the golfer can perform. PGA Teachers are invited to become a Certified PuttingZone Coach with two days of 1-on-1 training by Geoff in "What to teach for putting success" and "How to teach and market putting services for business success" by sponsoring a clinic for Geoff to teach your players -- Geoff teaches your players in a fabulous clinic and waives the fee for the certification training and splits any extra revenue 50-50. A win-win-win deal for all concerned.