FORE...! WORD

PLEASE DO NOT "SKIM OVER" THE FOLLOWING TEXT

If your are really serious about improving your putting by leaps and bounds without having to improve your present skill level, you will know exactly how to do just that by the time you reach the bottom of this page. Take your time at this site. This is no "GIMMICK".

YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO BE
CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR PUTTING AND
STRUGGLE ON THE GREENS

AND I CAN PROVE IT...!

"It's Not How... But How Many!"
By the Chairman of the Board
_Sam Snead

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS SITE IS TO INFLUENCE THE WAY GOLFERS THINK ABOUT PUTTING AND TO CHANGE FOREVER THE FAR LESS EFFECTIVE CONVENTIONAL STANCE TO A MORE LOGICAL FACE-THE-TARGET-LINE TECHNIQUE.

No matter how much you are willing to spend, there are only a couple of things that can be done legally with putter technology that can actually help your putting. Head materials to help with feel and ball response off the face.

Weight distribution to reduce torque on off-center hits. Head design and markings that can help with setup alignment. All these things together can only have a limited effect on your overall putting.

The only way to putt consistently well is to have the putterface square and traveling on line and at the proper speed at ball contact. You simply must accomplish this on your own. If you can do that, (and nobody can) any putter will do. The real problem with putting is that we attempt to do it from a position and with equipment that are both remarkably ill-suited to the task.

The cover on this popular book on putting illustrates two concepts that are pretty much standard for teaching conventional putting. The golfer in the upper right shows the importance of the eyes being directly over the ball in order to make the best possible stroke with two hands from this position. (Failure to do this probably results in more missed putts than any other factor.) The other picture, in the lower left, shows the widely accepted method for getting the feel of chipping and putting. Although helpful, even the most casual observer should notice that the drill is done with one hand while facing the target and bears little resemblance to a conventional putting stance. Our minds and bodies already learned how to do this before we ever picked up a golf club... That's why the drill is so popular.

THE CONVENTIONAL PUTTING TECHNIQUE DOES NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR INHERENT TENDENCY TOWARDS OUR BODIES RIGHT OR LEFT SIDEDNESS, OUR NATURAL AND PREVIOUSLY LEARNED SKILLS OR PRECEPTION OF PACE AND DIRECTION AFFORDED US WITH OUR BINOCULAR VISION.

Oddly enough, most of us have had this idea before and tried it with our own putters that are not suited to this technique. Usually it's part of a desperate attempt to find some magic solution when our putting goes sour. Even though it may work pretty good right away, most of us discard it after a couple of feeble attempts because we thought it was probably a fluke, feels kind of awkward, looks silly and would take to long to perfect it. Besides, there must be something wrong with it or everybody would putt this way. Many golfers saw the potential, stuck with it, and now consider putting the best part of their game... suprisingly, about 15% of the visitors to this site according to my poll. Before you go any further with this, go get your putter right now. Find a straight line to make a stroke over the tile lines on a floor or just grab another club and lay it down along your intended line. First set up over it with your regular stance and try to stroke the putter back and through while keeping putter face square and the center of the head directly over the line both back and through. Now grab the top of the grip with your left hand like an ice pick. (If your right handed) Place your right hand about half way down the shaft and pinch it in the crotch between the thumb and fore finger. Face down the line and place both feet to the left a few inches apart. Anchor your left forearm to your body. Lean forward enough to get the putter head close to the ground. Swing the putter back and forth over your line from your right shoulder letting your left wrist roll with the stroke. Notice how much easier it is to keep the putter face square and over the line during the entire swing... particularly at the critical impact point and the follow through.

Please forgive me in advance if I seem a little "testy" about this, but in my nearly 5O years of golf I have heard a lot of "excuses" and not one rational argument for the conventional putting stance over sidesaddle. In my pursuit of material for this page I am more convinced than ever that putting while facing the target line is absolutely, positively and without question the easiest and most accurate way to get a golf ball in the hole from any distance. The evidence is so overwhelming that it has become painfull for me to watch the torture that "conventional" putters continue to deal with.

IF YOU DON'T FACE THE TARGET LINE WHEN YOU PUTT... YOU ARE NOT THE BEST PUTTER YOU CAN BE..!

Independent study conducted at Indiana University by Dr. Gideon Ariel confirms that facing the target line with a long split-grip putter greatly improves putting accuracy by reducing the number of body parts necessary to produce a consistent pendulum stroke. The study did not even take into account the added visual benefit of looking directly down the target line before making the stroke.

So called "conventional" putting techniques have been evolving since the game began. More recent changes include the "V" or "Y" pendulum style using the shoulders for the stroke instead of the wrists. And then there is the ever more present tall, split-grip putters that are making quite a statement.

In fact, most professionals today use a technique that they don't even recommend and wish they had learned a different one when they started. Do you know what it is? (ANSWER ON MAIN PAGE)

Consider this: Have you noticed how many professionals have credited a long split-grip putter as having saved their careers?

CLICK HERE: Read the foreword by David Feherty
to the new tall putter book called
"The Long View of Improved Putting".

Scott McCarron gave up the tour for 4 years because of poor putting. Also Bernard Langer and Sam Torrance to name a couple more. The senior tour is full of new careers due to tall putters. The one thing that stands out about this is the fact that even though pros constantly change conventional putters, none make the claim that one has actually saved their career.

The question everybody wrestles with is... "Why don't more golfers putt facing the target if it's that much better?"

Let me answer this way:

One of the reasons is that, until recently, there have not been any putters properly designed for this technique. But lack of exposure is the main reason. You probably won't see a professional putt sidesaddle on TV (Except for Sam) until there's a manufacturer able to pay the big money necessary to get it done. It may even be tough find a touring pro desperate enough to putt this way because most of them are staunch traditionalists who are highly competitive and don't want to win and be accused of using some kind of "crutch to do it. Others lack faith in the logic of it. They are afraid that making such a radical change might have an adverse effect on their conventional technique should they ever have to go back to it. Few ever give it a chance and spend enough time with it to realize it's full potential. (On a recent Golf Academy segment on the Golf Channel, Dave Pelz recommended using a tall split-grip putter as a training aid for developing a proper pendulum swing with a sidesaddle stance because it's much easier to do and feel from that position. Thanks Dave, but why not just putt that way then?)

Also, the fraternity of golf professionals is not unlike AMA when it comes to mindless conformity. Most MD's are unlikely to ever refer you to a chiropractor for example. Next time you think about blindly accepting a concept merely because it's the choice of professionals, just remember that:

The Titanic was built by professionals.
There are some exceptions however and some progressive thinking PGA teaching professionals not only putt this way themselves but urge their students to do so as well and the list is growing.

The first real mass exposure to sidesaddle putting will most likely come by way of the many unknown amateurs who have already discovered or will discover this technique and eventually use it to make their way to the professional tours. (SEE UPDATES ON NEXT PAGE)

Over the years, I have become involved in many sports and game related activities. I have played, coached and umpired baseball. Coached and officiated football and basketball. I also teach and play golf. As a resident of Las Vegas, I have become a rather good, card counting blackjack player...(A requirement for survival here if you like to gamble.) In every one of these games/sports there are many examples of what are obviously compulsive errors in objectivity by so called experts, professionals and amateurs alike.

This one is unbelievable to me... Most catchers in major league baseball "pull pitches". This is when a ball seems to be somewhat off the plate and the catcher moves his glove closer to the strike zone in hopes of influencing the call. Ask any umpire, and he will tell you that this will almost insure a "ball" to be called. The catcher has actually helped the umpire call a "ball". (Who might have otherwise made the desired "strike" call if left to make the decision on his own.) Catchers can only help confirm off plate pitches with this move. Look for this during the next game you watch. Why do they continue to do this... particularly at the major league level? I'll bet thousands of games have been lost by this misguided "sleight of hand." (I hope Mike Piazza sees this.) There are many others... like professional and college football coaches who deliberately run off the clock at halftime even when they are behind, have the ball at midfield and will receive the 2nd half kick-off. It took an eternity for basketball players to stop shooting free throws with two hands from between their legs and two handed push shots from the field in favor of the more effective, one handed set shot or jumper.

In blackjack, many good players still think that what other players do in the game has an effect on their own game or that taking insurance when they hold a blackjack or 2O against a dealers ace is the right play. Even well meaning, but misinformed professional casino dealers actually believe these and other misconceptions and often give erroneous advice to players. Trust me... other players poor play will help you more often than it will hurt if you really know the game and will have no effect on your winning or losing in the long run even if you don't know how to take advantage of it. And, by the way, NEVER take insurance (Unless you count cards.)... it's a bad bet.

These are simply a few of many examples of compulsive behavior based on the belief that what has or is being done by "experts" must, by necessity, be the best way to do it. There are actually a couple of books available on the subject. My favorite is "The Dictionary of Mis-information" by Tom Burnam. So don't be lured into traps by thinking that the way things are done today are necessarily the best way. Look around... smart innovators have, in the past, and will continue to build better mouse traps in the face of "convention". They thought everything had been invented in each century since Leonardo DiVinci. Give yourself a good "Whack Upside the Head". (Another good book on the subject.) Examine the facts and evidence for yourself. Experiment and practice with them. Just remember that habits are hard to break. The mind hates change. Never give into your present comfort zone when there is a better option. Don't be afraid to push the envelope. You will be amazed at how often you find yourself doing things more effectively than you were before. AMEN... END OF SERMON.

MARTY FLECKMAN on PUTTING SIDESADDLE

(Using the Wonder Putter)

Former PGA Tour Pro Marty Fleckman is a believer in putting while facng the target line. His awards include the Texas Amateur Championship, three College Team Championships, an NCAA individual Championship, member of the U.S. Walker Cup Team, competitor in the US Open, winner of his first PGA event (one of only four players to do so), and a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. Today Marty conducts corporate and charitable golf clinics and provides private instruction to golfers of all levels.

This is what Marty thinks of sidesaddle putting.

This is truly a remarkable putting style. You can take your natural instincts and normal ability and implement this easy technique.

It is so easy to release the putter with my right arm. I have no conflict with my left and my right arm. My left hand is holding the putter and I am swinging it with my right arm. My right arm is swinging in a very natural way. My arms are moving conducive to my natural instincts.

It's impossible to miss because you have no conflict because you are not trying to pull with the left or push with the right there is only one way to release the putter and that is the natural instinct of how your arm flows and swings to your side.

What were doing is putting conducive to our natural instincts and when you do that you eliminate variables.

I've never seen anything easier to use. And I mean to tell you, it's just so easy to line the putt up and set the putter down and aim it and just trust the stroke because it is just so natural. You are letting your arms swing conducive to how you naturally walk so, it is the most natural way to aim and release the putter in the direction that you are trying to make the putt to go.

CONTINUE TO FORWORD
PART 2 ~>