Some of the great putters of our time, when asked to describe their movements, have said something like the following: “I’m trying to create a living putterhead.”
To the average golfer, this can sound confusing. But let’s dig a little deeper to find out why they describe what they do that way and answer a more relevant question: How can we apply that to our short game?
A “living” putterhead mimics something we can see in motion elsewhere in everyday life. Think of it as a pendulum and think of other versions of pendulums that we see in everyday life, from a grandfather clock to a playground swing to a wrecking ball. In each example, the strength and tempo on both sides of the movement are the same. One side is slower than the other. A real pendulum has a backward and a forward swing of equal length.
It is also important to understand where the pendulum reaches its maximum speed. Contrary to what I might have thought, of course not under the arc. The greatest acceleration occurs during the initial descent, as gravity begins to act on it. This is what allows the movement to remain balanced and balanced on both sides.
So, how does this apply to hitting the golf ball during the swing? The difference is that the ball presents a disturbance and resistance to the bottom of the pendulum at the time of impact. Because the force of the pendulum is equal on both sides, hitting the bottom ball changes appearance of movement. The stroke will look longer going back and shorter going forward.
From a technical standpoint, learning to make a long backswing with a short follow through is the first step to building a “living” putterhead. This idea challenges many golf instructions that have been heard for years. “Hurry up and pass!” it has long been the basis of advice. But this idea encourages a happy life the handlenot living putterhead.
Remember, the fastest point of the pendulum is in the middle of its first drop, not on the ground and not over the ball.
When golfers first try to make long backswings, they tend to hit putts harder. This often happens because they still cling to the idea of ”speeding up”. What we want is a live putter head, not a live handle. To accomplish this (and to avoid hitting putts too far) we must do something that feels like the opposite: we must feel as if we are reducing the grip as the descent begins. yes, slow down the handle.
From a physics perspective, the slower one object slows, the faster the other. That’s exactly what we’re trying to create: a fast, comfortable putterhead without a lot of power.
When we accelerate the handle during the downswing, we actually slow the putterhead. That produces a truer swing – the opposite of a live putterhead.
To make this deliberate slow movement of the handle more achievable, the backswing should be faster than most golfers are used to. The old instruction to take it “low and slow” tends to encourage pulling the handle rather than creating a true pendulum movement.
A long and fast backswing is essential to producing a lively putterhead. It naturally encourages the handle to move slowly during the downswing, allowing the putter head to rotate freely and deliver power more efficiently, without sending the ball too far.
A live putterhead needs a longer backswing than a follow through.
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This approach also requires a different mindset about distance control. With a live putter head, distance is determined on the backswing and not the follow through. If you want to hit the putt, the longer and faster you have to keep the right downstroke power.
Many golfers try to use the same short backswing for almost every putt and then correct the distance by hitting harder on the downswing. This usually results in a shorter backswing and longer follow through, which is the opposite of what elite putters do.
The best putters have live putterheads that allow the length and speed of the backswing to vary. On the contrary, a reversal that feels long and fast – maybe even a little out of control – usually produces greater overall control.
One final benefit of creating a live putterhead is how easy it is to square the face at impact. Swinging the putterhead, rather than controlling it or controlling it, makes it much easier to get the face back square time and time again.
