J.Sandy Reese offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: Why The Long Putter Can Help Improve Your Golf Score Author: J.Sandy Reese Category: Golf Word Count: 919 Keywords: long putters, golf putters, long putter, putter, golf putter, broomstick putter, side saddle putter Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
At the writing of this brief article, I have just turned 70 and can honestly say that my putting has never been better. I am generally recognized as a well above average golfer when it comes to putting. This is for two reasons. First I am using a 48 inch Long putter and second my putter head has been optimized for Long putter use. I have always been blessed with good hand/eye coordination and the ability to visualize creatively. During my younger golfing days I was a very good putter and in fact stayed that way until my early fifties. By then, less practice due to less time to play golf and a back that would not tolerate much time bent over had begun to take its toll on my putting results and hence confidence. I began to routinely have several three putts during a round and absolutely dreaded having a three or four foot putt in any kind of competition since my opponents couldn't just knock it back to me as a gimmee. My putting problems all grew from that lack of confidence in making three to four foot length putts. I had become so handsy that a full case of the yips had to be right around the corner. So, I decided that an effort to improve was warranted. First I obtained a putter with an open frame to ensure that I was properly aligning the putter face perpendicular to my target line and I made sure the putter was face balanced to help my stroke consistency. Second, I changed my set up such that my eyes were directly over or just inside the ball. Third, I obtained, read and began practicing concepts from the book Putting Out of Your Mind by Dr. Bob Rotella. in order to become a positive putter. All three of the above steps combined to definitely help my putting improve, but I was still not yet completely comfortable under competitive situations on three to four foot putts. My nerves were too hard to control when the competitive juices started flowing. As an engineer who understood the principle of the pendulum, I became intrigued by the Long putter concept. After a few months of experimentation I was able to get a setup that I liked and boy did my putting improve even more. My test indicator was a plastic pipe about 2 inches in diameter that I would set up on a piece of carpet used for a test green in my garage. With a standard length conventional putter from four feet away, I could only consistently putt five out of ten balls into the pipe opening when I began my efforts to improve my putting. After the three steps above I was able to consistently putt seven out of ten balls into the pipe opening using a conventional length putter. With the change to the long putter, I was able to consistently make nine out of ten and have a personal record of 32 in a row. The single biggest advantage of the Long putter was that it smoothed out my putting stroke on all putts, especially those in the three to four foot range. Just the inertia of the Long putter makes it harder to move quickly. With my confidence restored on the shorter putts, there was less pressure to get every long putt within a foot or two of the hole. There are two stroke methods for using the Long putter style. The first method keeps the arms and hands relatively fixed and just rocks the shoulders back and forth down the target line. The second method DOES NOT move the shoulders but rather holds the butt of the club with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand as the left wrist is anchored against the sternum. Then the right hand/right arm pull the putter back and push it through on a straight line allowing for a maximum pendulum flow with a minimum of moving body parts. The second method definitely produced the better results for me. The first month or so, it seemed like judging distance was going to be a problem with the Long putter. However, once I concentrated on keeping my head perfectly still during the putting stroke and NOT rocking my shoulders, my touch on long putts began to improve. And then, as I practiced varying the length of my backstroke to control distance rather than thinking about hitting the ball harder or easier my distance control further improved. It had actually improved to better than I had most recently been used to with the standard length Conventional putter. Finally, the more upright stance required to use the Long putter made it easier to visualize the line to the hole and I became more consistent in reading greens. The ability to practice putting for extended periods of time without my back hurting was also an added benefit. When I compared different putter head designs for use in the Long putter style several desirable features were identified: 1)Open Frame Mallet Structure gave the best alignment 2)Rear Mounted Center Shaft gave the most straight back / straight thru stroke 3)Face Balance gave the most consistent stroke 4)Golfer Adjustable Lie Angle gave the best fit for a correct set up 5)Golfer Adjustable Weighting gave the most adapability for playing conditions 6)Wide Sweet Spot gave most consistent distance control After six months of using the long putter with the optimum putter head, I had again become a good putter. J. Sandy Reese has been playing golf for over 50 years. He is founder of Golf Lab and inventor of the REESO Putter. The REESO VTX Putter is so unique it has one patent and two more pending patents. You may see the complete story of this unique game improvement putter at http://www.ReesoPutters.com ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
