The Laser Guide Swing Training System:

Now that we have dissected the individual contributions of the shoulders (rotation), and the hands and arms (vertical lift), I will use this section to facilitate further understanding of these movements and to show how to incorporate these movements into one smooth swing. To do this, I will present The Laser Guide Swing Training System, a swing training system and visualization that has become an indispensable part of my golf game. I’ve found that this concept can be used as a tool to ensure the correct movements. I came across this idea when I taped a small flashlight to the end of a clubshaft to see where it was pointing at certain phases of the swing; I then made associations between this idea, the concept of swing plane, and the knowledge of several sound positions during the swing.

The Laser Guide Swing Training System (see figures 11 and 12) is an invention specifically designed to give visual references and feedback for club positions, during the swing. We project where the clubshaft is pointing by attaching a high-intensity penlight, or laser, to the base of the shaft near the clubhead. We swing the club inside of an adjustable arc/plane that has a system of light sensors set in desirable club positions during the swing. When the light is on these sensors, a tone is emitted that serves as instant feedback indicating that the club is in the desirable position. The goal is to achieve these positions in a fundamentally sound manner.

Arc and swing plane are concepts that describe the combined rotational and vertical motion of the golf swing. The correct blending of the shoulder turn, and the hand/arm movements, bring the club into positions that describe a smooth arc and a distinctive plane. You can learn a sound swing, by concentrating on the attainment of certain positions and by practicing the incorporation of these positions into one smooth swing. Previous sections have revealed which muscles to use, and this device has been designed to give visual/spacial references so you can see and feel exactly how to lift and rotate the club during the swing.

Ben Hogan popularized the swing plane concept. Accordingly, a plane that is drawn from the ball line through the mid-point of the shoulders represents the ideal plane. During the backswing, we swing the club along this plane when the club and arms are approximately at hip-level. Many call this position "toe in the air is square," and it is represented by the first sensor on the Laser Guide arc (sensor A in figure 11). By lifting and turning the club to this position, you will achieve a square, and on-plane position, for the first part of the backswing. The idea is to swing the club so that the shaft is pointing at the sensor, and thus in a position that is parallel to the target line. Many golf instructors use the swing thought, “turn and shake hands with someone who is directly behind you,” to achieve this position.

The next step is to move the club gradually from this "toe in the air is square" position into the correct position at the top of the swing. At the top, the clubshaft should be pointing at the last sensor (sensor D in figure 11) in a position known as "parallel at the top"; here, the clubshaft should be pointing toward the target along a line that is parallel to the target line. The goal is to learn to properly turn and lift the club so that it gradually, and smoothly, goes from "toe in the air is square" to "parallel at the top." There are sensors between these positions that make this transition easier. By studying this arc and visualizing its use, you can learn to swing the club into sound positions and thus learn a sound golf swing. You should understand that the shoulders, hands, and arms place the club into these positions, and this device gives references—in space—to coordinate these movements.

Once you thoroughly understand the positions of these sensors, this visualization can be used to work on swing rhythm. By attempting to activate these sensors for a longer interval of time, you can slow down the swing and thus gain more control. If there are problems with a smooth transition at the top (e.g., "coming over at the top"), you can visualize this system and work on pointing the club at the top sensor for a longer interval of time; this will allow the hips and lower body time to start the downswing, before the hands and arms have the opportunity to do so. Imagine that you want the tone to last for a longer interval of time.

An additional way to train with The Laser Guide visualization, is to practice hitting the positions in slow motion. Recent research shows that complex movements such as the golf swing, which are composed of a series of smaller movements, can have an incorrect segment “clipped out” and replaced with the correct movement by practicing it in slow motion. This correct sequence of movements is then stored in the cerebellum, and motor centers of the brain, and can be called forth to produce a correct swing at normal speed on the golf course. This is analogous to putting together a film, frame by frame, and then seeing the desired result when playing it at full speed. Practicing in slow motion, builds “muscle memory”—which is really brain, or cerebellum, memory.

Many will argue that all swings are different, and that the Laser Guide concept is ridiculous. Some people take the club inside, others take the club outside, and there are a number of good players with unorthodox styles. However, the Laser Guide concept has been designed to help one to understand and learn the sound positions of a good golf swing, and as a means to attain the highest levels of consistency. It was designed to allow one to swing the club so that it is in a “square” position, throughout the swing. Even with this system, we can expect some deviation in swing positions due to body type and the degree of wristcock. A person with a high degree of wristcock will tend to point the clubshaft above the sensors, and someone with very little wristcock will tend to point the shaft below the sensors.

Summary of steps to keep in mind when visualizing the Laser Guide Swing Training System:

1.) Keep spine angle straight; swing around the "central axis."

2.) Use the "inside muscles"; stay on the insides of feet.

3.) Back with the feet and legs.

4.) Turn the shoulders back with the rotator cuff muscles.

5.) Take the club back with “the left-arm focal point”; the right forearm cocks up and folds against the right side.

6.) Activate the sensors; activate the top one longer.

7.) After shifting the weight and moving the left hip to the left as the initial movements of the downswing, turn the shoulders through with the rotator cuff muscles.

Figure 11— Illustrations of The Laser Guide Swing Training System, a device for teaching and practicing the proper golf swing by giving visual references, and feedback, for club positions during the swing. The golfer uses a club that has an attached high-intensity penlight that projects where the clubshaft is pointing. One swings the club inside of an adjustable arc/plane that has a system of light sensors set in desirable club positions during the swing. When the light is on these sensors, a tone is emitted that serves as instant feedback indicating that the club is in the desirable position. The tone can be used for “swing rhythm” and “transitional training” (at the top of the swing). Thus, this device allows one to see references of swing positions, and to incorporate these positions into a full, smooth, swing.

Figure 12— Additional illustrations of The Laser Guide Swing Training System. The drawings illustrate the concept of “plane.” Here, the “arc” is set up to run from the ball line (target line) through the mid-point of the shoulders. The photo/light sensors can be adjusted to take the club either “inside,” or “outside,” depending upon the desired shot configuration.

Figure 12a— Additional illustrations of The Laser Guide Swing Training System. The illustrations represent reference points, such as “toe in the air is square” and “in the slot at the top. This visualizations give ones a means to achieve the perfect plane and thus a means to gain the highest level of consistency that one can possibly achieve.

Figure 13— Illustrations of the path of the clubhead as it swings away from the ball. The club goes away in a “one-piece” motion, in motion that is analogous to the hinging of a door as it swings opened and closed.

Figure 13a— Illustrations of the swing arc, the circular-like path of the clubhead as it swings up and around the body. The arc is more circular at the bottom, near the ball, due to the fully- extended arms and wrists; conversely, the arc becomes elliptical as the clubhead nears the top of the swing, due to the hinging of the wrists. Many golfers find it very helpful to visualize the swing as a wheel that turns around the axis of the spine. Visualization, and awareness, of this arc can help to increase accuracy and distance control.

How the Club Starts Back:

►Johnny Miller:1.) Rock back of the knees; 2.) “One piece.”

►Bobby Nichols: 1.) Low to the ground; 2.) Hips and shoulders simultaneously.

►Julius Boros: 1.) Rebound; 2.)Turn shoulders; 3.) No tension in arms; 4.) Left arm comfortably straight and in control.

►Gene Sarazen: 1.) No wrist break and low to the ground; 2.) Hands lead the takeaway and “one piece”; 4.) Shoulder lowers.

►Gary Wiren: 1.) Turn of the shoulders and hips; 2.) Left arm remains in control.

►Nick Faldo: 1.) Torso; 2.) Hands, arms, clubhead.

►Ernest Jones: 1.) Swing the club with the hands; 2.) Rest of the body follows their lead; 3.) Shoulders and arms should be regarded as admirable followers but disastrous as leaders.

►Jack Grout: 1.) Hands; 2.) Arms triggers the shoulders.

►Ben Hogan: 1.) Hands; 2.) Arms; 3.) Shoulders; 4.) Hips.

►Jimmy Ballard: 1.) Left Foot; 2.) Left side; 3.) Triangle; 4.) Center.

►Bobby Jones: 1.) Left foot; 2.) Trunk; 3.) Arms

►Sam Snead; 1.) Forward press; 2.) Hips and shoulders are in synch with the hand and arm swing.

►Patty Berg: 1.) Hands and arms go away low; 2.) Body turns.

►Jack Nicklaus: 1.) Press; 2.) Clubhead; 3.) Hands and arms; 4.) Left shoulder pushes.

►Gary Player: 1.) Low and no wrist break; 2.) Shoulders turn freely.

►Tony Lema: 1.) Low; 2.) Clubhead goes back straight for 1 foot; 3.) Left arm; 4.) Body turns like a hub.

►Greg Norman: 1.) Extension; 2.) Right pocket back; 3.) Knees maintain same angle and position; 4.) Shoulders turn on same plane as hips.

►Curtis Strange: 1.) One-piece with no wrist break; 2.) Slow.

►Bill Rogers: 1.) Low; 2.) Square.

►Gardner Dickinson: 1.) Low along line; 2.) Full extension.

►John Jacobs: 1.) No independent movement of the hands, forearms, or wrists from the body turn.

►Dick Aultman: 1.) Swing the club back with the arms as the weight rebounds to the right foot.

►Harry Cooper: 1.) Initiate the swing with the feet.

►Frank Beard: 1.) Everything (hips, arms, shoulders, and hands) at the same time.

The Follow-through:

The swing arc is a concept that describes the circular-like path of the clubhead as it swings around the body. We can use this concept to ensure accuracy and consistency, by becoming aware of, and visualizing, the clubhead traveling along this smooth arc during each swing. To ensure a smooth and consistent arc, some professionals visualize a wheel that turns around the central axis (the spine). Professionals have such great control of the ball because they have learned to consistently produce the same arc. Essentially, the objective of the set-up is to learn how to place the body so that the ball will fall on, and near the bottom of, this arc. Following the correct swing arc allows a number of the grooves on the clubface to come into contact with the ball, which imparts the backspin that is necessary to stop the ball quickly. (There’s no trick to backspin—it’s just the result of clubhead speed and a sound golf swing.)

Learning to feel the clubhead swing up the backswing arc, and down the downswing arc, is one further step toward swing mastery. It is especially important to feel the clubhead on this arc as it passes through the hitting area, because it ensures the proper body turn and footwork. Also, you can safeguard against swinging the club too quickly, by making a conscious effort to feel the clubhead as it goes up the backswing arc.

Visualization of the swing arc can also greatly aid the golfer who encounters problems with distance control. Often times, golfers “air mail” the green because they drive the arc forward, through the hitting area, which adds extra distance to the shot. By making a conscious effort to produce the same consistent arc for each club, you maximize your chances of hitting each club a consistent distance.

Putting It All Together:

To summarize, I have presented a swing training system that has been designed to go beyond the problems of existing swing training systems. My goal was to present a fresh juxtaposition of ideas with a coherent, orderly, and simplistic structure, that would allow one to produce a swing with the highest degree of reliability, and reproducibility. To do this, I trimmed away the unnecessary swing thoughts that “clutter-up” the mind, concentrated many swing variables into four sequential foci— the use of the legs, shoulders, and the left and right arms—and added several visualizations (e.g. The Laser Guide) that tied together everything into a smooth, mechanically-sound, and repeating golf swing. By using these swing thoughts that are comprised of many swing variables, we gain a degree of control that goes beyond that possible with traditional swing training systems, and swing schemes. In essence, we have a technology designed to produce lower scores, and a higher degree of consistency.

The procedures for The Redemptive Golf System are the following: First, you must be cognizant of the set-up positions, including ball positions, grip, and the correct position of all parts of the body. Second, focus on “the triad”: The left-arm action, the right-arm action, and the rotator cuff action. Third, focus on leg action and weight transfer. Fourth, once the leg action begins, perform the actions of “the triad.” Fifth, at the completion of the backswing, shift the weight, move the left hip, and hit through the ball with the rotator cuff-action. These procedures are a sequential shift of foci that ensure the consistent execution of a sound golf swing.

It’s essential to make sure that these movements blend together to produce a fluid and consistent swing. Over-controlling these movements can result in tense muscles and, thus, a jerky and undesirable swing. Research reveals that the best results come when skill memories are only consciously recalled during the early phases of the swing, and the latter phases are more reflexive, or automatic, in nature. As with most complex movements, or actions, long practice and many repetitions are necessary before one can consistently blend these movements as desired.

The main objective is to become so familiar with the integral parts of this system that the entire system becomes a single thought which will elicit a 2 to 3-second symphony of sound movements. In actuality, it’s not possible to fire all of these individual thoughts and to make compensations for all of the individual movements in the short interval of time that it takes to swing the golf club. However, this system gets around these physical limitations because it literally programs the brain, ahead of time, to execute the correct sequence of movements. We are applying the principles that allow a superconductor computer chip to perform complex operations in a nanosecond (10^-9 s), or hundreds of millions of operations in a mere second—the complex neural networks of your brain can be programmed to reproduce a perfect golf swing, in much the same manner that enables the fastest and most reliable superconductor computer chips to perform their operations. You can store the perfect swing in your brain, and then just activate it at will on the golf course! By extensively working with the parts of this system on the range, in slow motion training, and by becoming cognizant and practicing these movements during the practice swing, we can guarantee the execution of the correct movements on the golf course. We can avert being paralyzed by worrying about all of the details, and put very little thought into the actual execution of the swing, because the details have already been programmed into your “muscle memory.”

The brain stores memories, such as complex movements, by setting up circuits called cell assemblies, or neural nets. These circuits are the result of alterations at the neural synapse, which affects the firing rate between neurons. When individual neurons are activated—for example, during the course of performing a complex task—the synaptic connections are strengthened by increasing the number of packets of neural transmitter that the nerve cells will release when next activated. With many of these strengthening activations, we get temporary assemblages of cells (a circuit) with high excitability, which is the basis of short-term memory. These assemblages of neurons (a neural pathway), if traversed over and over again like a well-worn footpath, will transform these temporary electrochemical changes into long-lasting anatomical changes. In essence, a neural pathway is formed because neural messages tend to flow along paths of least resistance, which result from the extended use of that particular pathway.

This system ingrains the complex movements of a sound golf swing into the brain, by strengthening and setting up neural pathways which elicit the correct sequence of movements. These pathways will be traversed because they will be the pathways of least resistance. Like a player-piano that can be programmed to play perfectly any piece of music, you can program yourself to execute perfectly the golf swing. With our current technology, this system has been designed to allow a high degree of certainty—and confidence—before one even swings the golf club!

Short Shots:

To complete the arsenal, you need to master several types of short shots around the green. In contrast to the longer irons and woods, which are more rotary in character, the short iron swings are more vertical (up and down) due to the shorter shaft and the golfer standing closer to the ball.

Some players do not have a system, or method, to produce certain types of short shots. As a result, they experience many misplayed shots and also avoid shots that would give more opportunities to score. These golfers can lower their scores and adapt to play a variety of different courses, by learning the techniques, and swing schemes, to play the short shots.

The following are four shots that every golfer should learn: 1.) A high pitch shot, that allows one to get over bunkers, trees, water hazards, and other obstacles; 2.) A normal to low-flying pitch shot, that allows one to score when unimpeded, in wind, and when playing underneath trees and other obstacles; 3.) A chip shot to “get up and down” when near the green; 4.) A low-running pitch-and-run shot. Proficiency with these four types of shots will allow one to negotiate all types of golf courses.

You need to know how to hit a high pitch shot because of the inevitably of being confronted with situations that have no other option. There are pins tucked behind bunkers, or just past water hazards, that require this type of shot. This is one of the most difficult shots in golf, because it requires an open, or square, clubface that strikes the ball near the bottom of the arc. This shot can be very difficult, and dangerous, if the ball is not “sitting up” in a good lie.

There are four keys that will allow you to consistently “pull off” the high pitch shot. First, the shot is mostly hands and arms and should be played with an open stance; Second, get a “handsy” grip by turning the left hand slightly to the right (clockwise) and weaken the right hand some by gripping it more in the fingers and by turning it slightly to the left; Third, “pivoting” around the left elbow (keep it in its same relative position throughout the hitting area) will allow you to hit the ball with an open, or square, clubface; this can also be achieved by making an effort to keep the club handle pointing at the center of the chest, until after impact; Fourth, a visualization, “see the happy face on the follow through,” will also keep the clubface from closing at impact; this position is achieved if you can completely see the clubface (the flat portion with the grooves) when turning the head to look at it as it goes up the arc on the followthrough (see figure 15). This visualization also ensures the supple hands and arms, through impact, that are required for a high, soft, shot. The major point, here, is to make sure that the clubface does not close down at impact. You may have different kinesthetic sensations for each shot, but it is important to develop a system—set-up positions, swing thoughts, and sensations—that will allow you to consistently produce the desired shot. Tom Kite is so proficient at the short game because he has a profound understanding of the swing mechanics for each type of shot.

The chip shot is much easier to play than the pitch shot. The goal with this type of shot is to eliminate hand action by controlling the stroke with the shoulders. Also, you should place the hands in front of the ball and make contact with a descending blow. The key is to take the club back and through with the rotator cuff muscles, and to make a conscious effort to keep the hands out of the stroke. Placing, and maintaining, the hands further in front of the ball will result in a lower shot (see figure 16).

Figure 14— Illustrations of pitching technique. By making an effort to pivot around the left arm, the golfer also achieves the dynamics necessary to produce a high, soft-landing, pitch shot. To achieve this swing thought, one should feel as if they are pivoting around the left arm/elbow (it should feel as if it stays in the same relative position), through the hitting area.

Figure 15— Illustration of “see the happy face.” This visualization/concept ensures that the hands and arms remain supple and that the clubface does not “close down” before, or through, impact; these are the parameters that are necessary to produce a high pitch shot. To “see the happy face,” the golfer imagines that a face has been painted on the clubface; if the face is visible at the top of the follow through (if the golfer turns and looks up at it when it is near the left ear), then the correct swing dynamics (open clubface and subtle hands at impact) will have been achieved.

Figure 16— Illustrations of chipping technique. To perform this shot, keep the hands in front of the clubhead, use the “left-arm focal point,” and turn the rotator cuff muscles. By placing the hands in front and hitting through with the rotator cuff muscles, one ensures a consistent, low-running, shot with a large margin of safety.

The Composite Putting System:

Many golf teachers describe the putting stroke as a miniature version of the full swing. Just as with the complex motion of the full swing, one must understand the mechanics and develop a system to consistently produce a sound putting stroke. One may use a simplified image (e.g., "straight back and toward the hole,” “low and slow”, and "on line") and apply very little effort toward understanding the dynamics of a good putting stroke, but the only way to ensure success is to put forth this effort. This section will be divided into three parts—the set-up, how to make the stroke, and a composite swing images for a compact stroke.

“A man who can’t putt is a match for no one, a man who can is a match for anyone.” Harvey Penick

Set-up.

Set-up principles are so important because they allow one to get into the same correct positions each time. One must learn to consistently make the same stroke, and getting into the same positions, at set-up, are the first steps toward achieving this goal. Set-up fundamentals strategically place the body, hands, and arms into positions to make an “online” stroke—that is, these fundamentals allow you to consistently control the putter face so that it is perpendicular, or “square”, to the line of the putt, at the moment of contact with the ball (in face at all points during the stroke). Volumes of material have been written on putting set-up fundamentals, and these are listed repeatedly in most books and articles on the subject; many are listed, and illustrated, in Figures 17 and 18. Some of the most important fundamentals are the following:

1.) You should bend over from the hips, and your eyes should be either directly over the ball, or slightly inside of it.

2.) The back of the hands should be square, or perpendicular, to the line of the putt and place into a position where they oppose one another. The wrists should be in a downward-arched position so that the hands do not break down through the stroke. Tom Watson likes to feel like he mainly uses the left arm to control the stroke.

3.) The ball should be slightly ahead of the center of the stance so as to give a good consistent roll to it.

4.) Your head should always remain still, until well after impact with the ball.

5.) You should have a very quiet base (legs and lower body), which is steady and stable, and remains in the same position through the stroke.

6.) The shoulders and feet should always be parallel to the line of the putt.

7.) The angle of the left arm should stay the same throughout the stroke.

8.) The shoulders, arms, hands and handle of the clubhead should form a triangle and every effort should be made to maintain that triangle throughout the stroke.

9.) The blade, or face, of the putter should be square to the target line throughout the stroke. All power to propel the ball forward should come from the shoulders with the only function of the hands and arms being to keep the clubhead in that square position.

10.) You must accelerate through the putt, that is, through contact with the ball.

11.) You must keep a positive mindset and believe that you are going to make the putt.

There are many putting grips, but the standard is the “reverse overlap” where the forefinger is wrapped over the 2 smallest fingers of the right (for a right-handed golfer). This grip is superior to the Vardon-type grip, because it allows the back of the hands, and palms to remain square to the line of the putt while not “breaking down” at impact. Billy Casper, recognized as one of the greatest putters of all time said the following about the reverse overlap putting grip:

“A grip is no use at all unless it sets your hands on the shaft so that the back of the left hand, the palm of the right and the blade of the putter are all square to the same line, namely, the line to the hole. They should remain square throughout the stroke. This is absolutely essential if you expect to maintain any consistency in the direction of your putts. The advantage of the reverse overlap grip is that it not only achieves this desirable squareness, but also cements the hands together so well. With the left hand in a strong position on the shaft, but with the forefinger of the left hand overlapping the fingers of the right, neither hand can dominate the other to the extent of producing an uneven or inaccurate stroke.” (Sports Illustrated, February 20, 1961 My Secrets Of Putting Bill Casper, Gwilym Brown).

A very important putting set-up principal pertains to the angles of the upper and lower arms. To achieve putting consistency you must maintain the same elbow angles throughout the putting stroke. When you allow the angles of the elbows to change during the stroke, you throw consistency right out the window. Constant elbow angles allow you a constant arc throughout the putting stroke. I often imagine that the bones of my wrists and elbow area are broken, shattered, or held together by metal plates, and that it would be very painful if I change their position during the stroke; these images insure that I do not allow the elbow angle, or wrists, to break down during the stroke. All of this sets the stage so that the shoulders will completely control the stroke.
Two additional set-up concepts that are very important in my set-up routine, pertain to the left and right-hand positions. The left thumb (for a right-handed golfer) should be in the “lifeline” of the right hand. The left wrist should be arched and the clubshaft should be in line with a line that continues through the forearms. If you hold the putter in the palm and do not arch the wrist, then it is possible that the left wrist can “break down,” or change its position during the stroke. Also, both thumbs should be on top of the shaft.

I make sure that the upper segments of the fingers (the segment closest to the palm) lay flat against the side of the putter grip and that the palm continues this flat plane. This puts the palm and back of the right hand into positions that are parallel to the putterface. These hand positions are very important in my stroke, because they allow minimal hand action by placing the hands together in a complementary fashion that promotes a perpendicular clubface (to the line of the putt) at impact.

Since putting is such an important part of the game, it is very important to become aware of set-up positions and swing thoughts that produce a consistent stroke. Through practice and experience on the golf course, you can learn to focus on specific movements and feelings that produce a consistent stroke. Nine-tenths of the battle is won by learning the set-up positions and muscular sensations, and the rest is won by gaining the confidence that comes when you experience success, “time after time.”

Part B: How To Swing The Putter.

The goal in putting is to contact the ball when the putterface is perpendicular to the line of the putt. The best putting technique accomplishes this, more often, compared to other techniques.

Theoretically, the ideal putting stroke would swing the putterhead back and forward along the line of the putt. Since the putterface would always be “online” (perpendicular to the target), there would be no chance of error from trying to get it back into this position at impact.

In reality, we don’t want to use the hands-and-arms method required to take the putterhead along the line of the putt. The small, fast-twitch, muscles of the hands and arms make it too difficult to consistently get the desired results. In general, the smaller muscles contract faster and are much more difficult to direct during contraction. Also, the large number of muscles in the hands and arms make it very difficult to coordinate and repeat these movements.

If you watch some of the older golf films, such as Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, you will notice that most of the golfers used a hands-and-arms putting technique. However, this technique is not seen much anymore (except in the older players) because the shoulder-controlled stroke has been accepted as much more reliable. Bob Charles was one of the early professionals who proved the superiority of the shoulder-controlled putting stroke.

As in the full swing, the rotator cuff muscles are responsible for the shoulder turn during the putting stroke. You can become a good putter by isolating the rotator cuff muscles and by learning to take the putter back with them the same way for each stroke. By focusing down to the anatomical level—visualizing the rotator cuff muscles swinging the putter back and through—we eliminate a multitude of variables responsible for inconsistent putting. Although the movements of the shoulders (rotator cuffs) rotate the putterhead back and away from the line of the putt, the larger rotator cuff muscles are much more reliable to deliver the putterhead back to the desired impact position. Since there are fewer “working parts” with the shoulder turn (each rotator cuff contains four muscles), there is a lower probability that something will go wrong.

In the shoulder-controlled stroke, the hands, wrists, and arms function only to maintain the putterhead (face) in a “square position.” The force to hit the ball is solely the result of the shoulder turn; the hands, wrists, and arms keep the clubhead from turning out of position due to the centrifugal force that is generated by the shoulders. In short, the hands, wrists, and arms function to maintain the same relative position to the body as at address.

Part C: The Altered-Putter Swing Image.

The final part of this putting system involves the visualization of using an altered putter (see Figure 21). This putter is identical to one’s regular putter, with the exception that approximately one-half centimeter of metal is missing from the putter face on both sides of the aiming line. The result is that a narrow strip, or island, has been left on the original putter face to contact the ball. If the ball is not contacted precisely on this strip, then it will careen either to the left, or right, of the intended line. Practicing with this aid, and visualizing it when using one's regular putter, results in great stability and precision at the bottom of the stroke. Visualizing the use of this altered putter ensures that one drives the ball toward the hole with the shoulders, prevents the hands from getting into the stroke, and prevents the wrists from “breaking down.”

In conclusion, this putting system is effective because it teaches one to use the correct muscles each time, and it provides a visualization that adds great stability and precision to the stroke. The following is the routine for each stroke: First, proper set-up is learned, and employed, the same way each time. Second, consciously take the putter back with both rotator cuff areas and make sure that the hands, wrists, and arms do not get out of position. Finally, both rotator cuffs take the club back through and make sure to contact the ball with the small strip on the clubface.

Figure 17— A simple representation of sound putting set-up. Here, a line drawn across the top of the forearms should be parallel to the intended line of the putt. A line drawn through the hips should also be parallel to the intended line of the putt. Eyes should be either directly over the ball, or slightly inside the line of the putt.

Figure 17a— A simple representation of sound putting set-up. Here, a line drawn across the top of the forearms should be parallel to the intended line of the putt. A line drawn through the hips should also be parallel to the intended line of the putt. Eyes should be either directly over the ball, or slightly inside the line of the putt. The hands are directly beneath the shoulders. A line drawn extended from the shaft should pass through the hands and forearms.

Figure 18— Illustrations of the rotator cuff areas, and examples of set-up positions. Each rotator cuff is composed of an anterior (front) and a posterior (back) portion. With practice, a person can develop the proper feel of taking the club back and through with these muscles, and will learn to call upon them to control the club on the course. Individuals may differ in their descriptions of the feelings of using these muscles, and each should develop a memory technique to reproduce the stroke. For example, one person may visualize taking the club back with their armpit areas, and another may pinpoint other areas near each shoulder.