Boomerang Putting System

[Putting Guru]

Had my worst day putting in a long time today. First 9, 2 putted everything but distance control was really good. Back 9, 2,3 & 4 putted and was going past the hole by 3m or short by 2m. I missed a putt for birdie from 3' by pulling it left.

More work to do!

You're right about that. Look at where we are, above, and I'll tell you where I think you are going wrong.

1. IanO, the problem for your line control is you get above your plane on the way back. Watch the clips from Pieface I've just uploaded to see the difference. When you attacke the ball from his position, you actually drive the ball at the hole. What you're doing is almost slice / skidding the ball at the hole, for want of a better term. It's the stroke I liken to a slice volley in tennis, it's still got it's place. It's what I use for a lag putt but, if being consistently straight is your goal (as surely it must be), you need a stroke path that achieves that, under pressure. Did you see the Stan Utley clip I posted above? His description is very "down on the farm" stylistically, but his logic is flawless. It's possible you've also got some hand manipulation going on, I watch the flurish at the end think there's some wasted energy there, usually as a result of some unnecessary movement earlier on, hard to tell for certain from down here.

2. Distance control. To be blunt, you're trying to use an action that is roughly two feet long, one foot back, and one foot through, to judge the distance of something that's potentially five, ten, twenty times the length. Difficult doesn't even begin to describe that task. Now you can still be effective on the Boom, by repetition and memory alone, and that practice will eventually translate on to the course, once you can roll a ball down the centre of the Boom 50 times in a row. But if I was to mix up the Boom's levels, from putt to putt, what strategy would you use then and how effective would that strategy be? Effectively that's what faces you during a round of golf. Compare the length of your stroke to Pieface's too. His must be two and half to three times as long (the putter head goes one ft back, and possibly three to four feet through). Simply by using a longer measuring device he's going to find it much easier to judge distance, especially when he starts to see the kind of thing I see, below.

[Pieface]

I'll have to try and dig up my youtube details at work Tuesday Alex. NFI what they are at home sorry.

Almost twigged to the "what I see" thing this morning. Still working on the synchronising of things better. I am getting a lot to catch now (relatively) but my strikle is not coming along so well A mental thing mostly I thinkas my aim seems to be letting me down.

[Putting Guru]

I'll have to try and dig up my youtube details at work Tuesday Alex. NFI what they are at home sorry.

Almost twigged to the "what I see" thing this morning. Still working on the synchronising of things better. I am getting a lot to catch now (relatively) but my strikle is not coming along so well A mental thing mostly I thinkas my aim seems to be letting me down.

If I said it was a one foot infront of the other sort of journey, I'd be lying. It' a matter of learning a bunch of seemingly unrelated stuff, then pulling it together at the end and tying it up into nice neat little package. Good news is we're already a third of the way there.

[TourFit]

I haven't touched the Boom or mat all week...I'm playing Sunday morning, with my 'normal' putting. I'll see how it goes.

But after being on SAM Putt Lab last week, and seeing the results and how encouraging they were, there is far less for me to work on with what I already have (and far simpler), than to try and re-learn a whole new system. I'm pretty happy with where my putting is at at the moment, so chances are that if I putt somewhere 'back to normal' tomorrow, then I'll be out of the test completely.

That's meant as no possible disrespect at all to you Alex.

[Putting Guru]

I haven't touched the Boom or mat all week...I'm playing Sunday morning, with my 'normal' putting. I'll see how it goes.

But after being on SAM Putt Lab last week, and seeing the results and how encouraging they were, there is far less for me to work on with what I already have (and far simpler), than to try and re-learn a whole new system. I'm pretty happy with where my putting is at at the moment, so chances are that if I putt somewhere 'back to normal' tomorrow, then I'll be out of the test completely.

That's meant as no possible disrespect at all to you Alex.

Sorry to be losing you from the group TF. SAM's very good, you should do well. Obviously, we'd like to have you back any time.

Cheers,

Alex

[Pieface]

Played two rounds over the weekend. Will ignore the first for the boomerang exercise. I only got the putter out 10 times during this round so it's not very reflective...

Yesterdays round for 26 stab points

1st hole - First putt from 5' falls in

2nd hole - First putt from 15' over a ridge. Lagged to a foot past the hole but out of
strokes

3rd hole - First putt from 40'. Lagged to 2' past hole. Missed the downhill comeback burning the cup. Holed the return 3' back up the hill.

4th Hole - Tee shot to 10'. Birdie putt burns hole and finishes 6" past. Tap in par

5th hole - First putt 20', lagged 3' short of the hole. lipped second putt to 6" past for a wipe.

6th hole - first putt 3', miss putt an inch to the right of the cup 12" tap in.

7th hole - First putt 15'. Lag 12" past for a wipe

8th Hole - First putt 8' uphill. Lip out for another tap in.

9th hole - No putts, wipe.

10th hole - first putt 3' holed

11th hole - first putt 5' burns edge to 12" past. Comeback sunk.

12th hole - first putt 8' misread break and finish 2' left of cup. out of strokes

13th hole - first putt 50'. Lag 6' short. Next putt past the cup a couple of inches high to about 3' and sink the next.

14th hole - first putt 60', 6" past cup tap in.

15th hole - first putt 35', misread break over ridge and end up 7' under the hole. Hole the second putt.

16th Hole - tee shot to 6'. Misread break and run a couple of inches under the cup to finish 2' away. Hole the return. Awesome hole - playing partner stuck his to 2' off the tee straight after my shot, pretty sure he nailed the NTP. Our pitch marks were about a foot apart, his closer to the pin than mine but his Pro-V pulled up much better than my e6.

17th Hole - first putt 12'. Read too much break and leave it a foot past after missing 12" right. Hole the return.

18th - no putts before I'm out of strokes.


Thoughts on the round. Lagging was really good and I was just past the hole on most occassions. The putt on 14 was a ripper. If this is a consistent addition to my game I will be pretty stoked.

2-6 feet I was thinking way too much about the boom type mechanics. What setting and distance should I go with to try and groove this Alex? The longer putts felt a lot more comfortable. I did seem to read too much break most of the day. Is the ball running straighter and I need to read less or just an off day? Not sure on that one.

Stats (allowing 2.5 putts for the ones I didn't finish) - 37. PPGIR - 2.00

I'm going to stick with the boom for now, I can see the potential if I can continue to improve and groove the closer putts. I burned the hole quite a bit with not much confidence on hand.

I am curious if the snap hook I battled with all weekend was a result of all the boom practice. I feel very right hand dominant with the stroke I am using on the boom. I think I was turning it over with the right hand and coming from the inside with a closed face for snappy goodness.

[sms316]

... And Billy Mayfair got really good at putting like Billy Mayfair. The difference is, these guys spend an enormous amount of time on some of the best practice putting greens in the world, hoaning what they do. Unless you make your living at it, who has that sort of time or access? I've always said, if I practiced something eight hours a day, I reckon I'd get pretty good at it too. The thing about the Boom is, it only takes fifteen minutes a day for an average player to groove efficient, repeatable line and distance control.

Would you like me to send you one, so you can join our little experiment?

Thanks but no thanks. I have a putting training aid (mirror) and would consider putting to be the best part of my game.

Sorry to be so blunt, but the best practice for putting on the course is on a putting green.

[Putting Guru]

PF,

A lot there to be satisfied with. Not the hooks, the putting.

I just added you to my youtube list for the MM. You should get two emails from them, let me know if you don't.

If you want to see how good you are on scoring putts, drop the boom to level 1. That's pretty close to the putt you see in front of you. It will also give you a rough guide for the amount of backswing you need on the course, for a putt of similar length. Move closer and then further away to mix it up a bit. If you can hit your line at this level, straight putts shouldn't be an issue inside 10ft.

[Putting Guru]

Thanks but no thanks. I have a putting training aid (mirror) and would consider putting to be the best part of my game.

Sorry to be so blunt, but the best practice for putting on the course is on a putting green.

Hey no worries. If it aint broke, don't fix it

[TourFit]

PF,

A lot there to be satisfied with. Not the hooks, the putting.

I just added you to my youtube list for the MM. You should get two emails from them, let me know if you don't.

If you want to see how good you are on scoring putts, drop the boom to level 1. That's pretty close to the putt you see in front of you. It will also give you a rough guide for the amount of backswing you need on the course, for a putt of similar length. Move closer and then further away to mix it up a bit. If you can hit your line at this level, straight putts shouldn't be an issue inside 10ft.

Alex, this was the part that affected me the most...how many greens do you know that run at 11'-11.5'?

Even with the Boom on Level 1, I always felt that my problem would come relating that to a REAL green. I wasn't that keen on the BoomTech style, but on the repeatability of the mat/Boom for practice. What I found is that my feel for the speed of my home course greens went awry!

[Putting Guru]

Hi TF, you know I say practice and play on the same speed, otherwise you will come unstuck. By that reasoning it would have been odd if your speed control hadn't suffered by practicing on fast and then playing on slow. Ages ago we tried a slow mat, just to give people a winter option. It stimped at 8 and was comparable to conditions in the UK at the time. Back then no one bought it though. I reckon it was because most people's living room carpets stimp at a similar kind of speed anyway. If you've got slow greens, put two shafts down on your living room carpet, or two pieces of masking tape, or putt parallel to your fast mat. If you don't have living room carpet, just get an off cut from a remnant bin.

You can use the Boom like a stimpmeter, just to make sure the ball rolls the same at home and at your course, I discussed how to do that a few pages back. I'm sure you the ins and outs of a stimpmeter, so I won't go into it again. I also know you don't want to go the BT route, and that's fair enough, but you will still get great feedback from your Boom, and easily translate it to your course, once you can match your practice speed to your plaing speed. Try it on your living room carpet and see what happens.

[TourFit]

OK...will do.

Boom on the carpet at work...that's stimping about 9.5' - 10' and much more like my home course. Applying masking tape strips as we speak!!!

[IanO]

I am curious if the snap hook I battled with all weekend was a result of all the boom practice. I feel very right hand dominant with the stroke I am using on the boom. I think I was turning it over with the right hand and coming from the inside with a closed face for snappy goodness.

I had the same experience last weekend. I generally have a fairly straight to power fade shot with driver, Straight to slight draw with fairway and hybrid, but I snap hooked all 3 all day. I also hooked my 6, 5 and 4 iron. I thought it was just me but maybe it is to do with changing putter stroke?

Putting Guru, have other people reported this?

[Putting Guru]

I've never even heard of such a connection before. If it does turn out to be a common theme, we should find out pretty soon though...

[Pieface]

Interesting Ian. I have been battling with my draw which does turn ugly on me a few times most rounds and has been steadily increasing for the past few months. My natural swing is generally from the inside.

Should the right hand feel dominant in the boom swing Alex or is that just something I am imposing on the putt?

[Putting Guru]

Interesting Ian. I have been battling with my draw which does turn ugly on me a few times most rounds and has been steadily increasing for the past few months. My natural swing is generally from the inside.

Should the right hand feel dominant in the boom swing Alex or is that just something I am imposing on the putt?

You're going to hate me saying this, but when you use the 'paintbrush' both hands not only work in unison, they also exit the equation completely.

I do remember back to my pre-yip days though. Sometimes I would be thinking right hand, sometimes left. I don't like to not have an answer, especially on my special subject, but I never cracked that one, sorry.

[Peppas]

Ok, its been awhile between updates for me with the boom. Over the last week I've only had time to go on it twice. I haven't gone full monty yet, really just an extended follow through so that my left arm stays straight generally ending up pointing at the hole if that makes sense.

Since my last update of my practice round stats I've played 3 rounds - monthly medal on sat, stableford round on sunday and today.

Stats for each -

Saturday - 38putts with 2 putts off the fringe. Only hit 2 GIR all day and had 2 putts on each of those. It was a brutal day for me but it was mostly my driving which lost me balls and blew out my score pretty high... was happy with my putting though. My driving did develop a bit of a snap hook as the day progressed but I think this was more due to the driver I had just bought and was using (FT-9 draw) rather than practicing on the boom (practice, what practice really??).

Sunday - I counted 31 putts but I had 4 wipes where I didn't finish the hole, so probably would've ended up 40 odd. of the 14 holes I scored on I had 1 GIR and this was 2 putted. This round was at a different club to what I was used to so the greens were different. I had some time on the practice green before hand to get a feel of the speed and it seemed ok. I missed a few shorter putts this round which I was a little disappointed about but they were the putts I was tentative on. I think as the day went on I didn't conciously try and follow through as well which equaled deceleration on some short putts. Again wasn't a great day of golf, I had the hooks again with driver.

Today - I counted 39 putts with 2 putts off the fringe. I only had 1 wipe and that was due to a 4 putt (had the shits with missing the 2nd putt and went to tap in the 3rd for a point with 1 hand and missed). I hit 3 GIR today and averaged 2.33 putts on those holes. Switched back to my old driver today and it was all good, not 1 pull hook. So I think the case of the pull hooks I had in the last 2 rounds was attributed more to the driver than the boom work I've done. Then again I'm not going the full monty at the moment. In terms of putting today... distance control was reasonable. Usually I was obviously close enough to knock in the 2nd, only had 2x3putts today.

I guess all in all... I like to think the boom has helped my putting a little to this point. I know my putter is fairly close to neutral so I don't think I pull putts as often as I used to. I've all but eliminated the embarrassing 4 putt from my arsenal (today was an anomaly!) which used to occur quite frequently. I think with the extended follow through I get more consistent contact on putts and so can judge how much I need to give it in the stroke if that makes sense, or how far to take the club back. I guess a little bit of practice has definitely helped to now. I'd like to get a little better though and get under 36putts for a round, that'd be nice. So, that will be it for me for awhile - going away for a week and next round isn't until the 18th.

[Putting Guru]

Hi Peppas,

I can picture exactly what you're talking about with the pointing at the hole follow through. Looks a bit akward, still gives reasonable results though. I see heaps up there to be encouraged by, but I think 36 putts is well within you, if you stop putting one handed that is.

Enjoy the trip... don't forget, Boom's portably you know Looking forward to the next update.

Cheers,

Alex

[Putting Guru]

Interesting Ian. I have been battling with my draw which does turn ugly on me a few times most rounds and has been steadily increasing for the past few months. My natural swing is generally from the inside.

Should the right hand feel dominant in the boom swing Alex or is that just something I am imposing on the putt?

Hey Pieface - Nice job on your Monty Move, it looks bang on! Only one thing to watch for - make sure the putter head never gets above your hands at the finish (you should be looking over the putter head, like a gun sight, and right at the ball in the target. Unless you're putting up a mountain, the putter head should always be lower than your hands at the finish), otherwise it means you've got some unwanted wrist movement. Aside from that keep up the great work!!!!

I only say that because, on your last two, your finger is not horizontal, but actually points up. I reckon the weight of the putter head might stop this a bit, just be aware of it though. One hinge at a time - and all is good.



Looks pretty good, doesn't it! Just move an inch further away from the ball, or drop your hands down a touch. You're still ever so slightly heel up. You're also top of the class right now, so bask in the glory and long may it continue!

And just to prove it's no fluke...

[Putting Guru]

Just FYI, if anyone else wants to order a Boom, we have moved the special Ozgolf page to a new address on our Aussie site. The address is www.boomgolf.com.au/ozgolf.htm

The reason for the move is US customers are now paying half international shipping, you guys only pay half domestic.

Cheers,

Alex

[Pieface]

I think I have laid the mat down too close to the pool table which is cramping me up. I will set it up closer to the wall and that should help me get a bit further away from the ball.

The monty move feels awkward. I was pushing and pulling quite a few when I first started trying it out. I started to get it dialled in ok after 40-50 putts. I find it very easy to swing through too far before the right elbow hinges. Swinging through with the arms like a pendulum is quite ingrained.

I'd say my catch rate went down with the monty move last night but my release rate was much improved which I have struggled with. I have typically had lots of two balls in the cup or swapping balls in the cup. I had my first consecutive C&R last night which was nice. I found I had a very good feel for when they were going to catch with the MM but I got pretty frustrated by the end as the success rate was pretty low. All up I estimate I hit 150 putts for 15 catches. 10% feels woeful!

[Yossarian]

Had 34 putts today. Distance control was very good. Burnt the edge or lipped out all day. Very happy overall.

No video still cause no room to set it up! Need to move out to give boom its own room.

[Pieface]

Ppgir?

[Yossarian]

Um. I hit five greens i think and two putted all of them. I think, it was a 4BBB.

[Putting Guru]

Had 34 putts today. Distance control was very good. Burnt the edge or lipped out all day. Very happy overall.

No video still cause no room to set it up! Need to move out to give boom its own room.

How often are you on the Boom do you reckon?