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keithfmuir

Is a forward press hurting my putting?

This is really about short putts, my long/lag putting is pretty good.

My recent experiment with the Ping mallet has made me think about the cause of my short-putting issues. My current putting routine involves using a forward press as the trigger for my stroke. Press, back, through. But when I tried that with the Ping, the impact on aim was so noticeable. You could immediately see the alignment aid point a different way. I couldn't press without producing a left-side miss.


Compared to my blade putter, setting up to the Ping almost felt like the shaft was leaning backwards and I was hitting up on the ball. It was uncomfortable and is something I've experienced when messing about with other mallets in shops and also when I tried a SeeMore fitting with Ross MacLeod. Looking at the putter though, I could see that it was perfectly square to the line and the shaft was verticle so it must be me that's unbalanced!


Is this why I'm more comfortable with blade putters, especially ones with limited or no alignment lines? When I forward press with them, the visual impact is less noticeable. But the actual impact is obviously still there.


I spent some time in the garage using the Devil Ball on my putting mat to see what was happening at impact. With a forward press, the Ping was terrible (as seen on the course) and the ball shot off at different angles. Adapting to the putter though saw it hit perfectly square. It's an extremely easy putter to aim with short putts so is it worth persevering with a different swing?


Moving on to the TriHot Three produced interesting results too. I don't know if I was consciously reducing the amount of forward press because of the Ping, but the more pronounced the press, the worse the impact. I also again found that the more neutral I could make my stroke, the better the impact with the Devil Ball.


The obvious question then becomes "Is the forward press causing my short-putting problems?" I think it is definitely a significant contributor. My suspicion is that when I'm on the course and possibly under a bit more pressure, the forward press becomes even more pronounced as I try to "lock in" my stroke and "hole" those short putts. It may also explain why it often seems so easy to walk up and knock short ones in one-handed or standing on one foot or off balance etc. as there's definitely no forward press involved with them.


I have to do more work on this. First I need to find a new trigger for my stroke to eliminate the forward press. Right now that feels very, very strange, but I know from the above that I put a better roll on the ball when I don't press, so I need to persevere.


Any thoughts, please fire away below.




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Colin Shellard
Colin Shellard
Aug 04, 2023

I know we've spoken about this before Keith, but I have the same issue with a Forward Press and have never been able to use one for that reason - after I press the face angle changes and ruins the set up. Keep working on finding another trigger that doesn't cause you aiming or alignment issues but allows you to get moving. The yardstick drill is a great one - same result as the devil balls though😉 You can also use the BlastMotion Sensor on your putter to check face angle at address and impact - maybe not as accurate as CAPTO or Puttlab, but will give you a good indication of what you are doing. Col

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keithfmuir
Aug 05, 2023
Replying to

Thanks Col, I've never tried the sensor on my putter yet so will give that a try over the next week. I'm getting comfortable with a new trigger for the swing and putted quite well using it last night. It's just really a slight lifting of my hands on the count of 1. Then I get into the stroke with the 1-2-3 count. Sounds very mechanical, but it quietens my mind!


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Guest
Jul 31, 2023

Interesting post. A couple of ideas. 1. Find a good putting coach who has SAM PuttLab or CAPTO and get tested, see what you learn. 2. Putt down a 1 inch wide, 3 or 4 foot long ruler and see if you can hit straight putts with your forward press. Hope all goes well!

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keithfmuir
Aug 01, 2023
Replying to

I'm really interested to try CAPTO but SAM seems the most common system around here. The "good putting coach" bit is actually the hardest. Lots of really good full swing coaches but far fewer when it comes to putting.

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