In all the reviews we do here at The Hackers Paradise each and every month, one thing seems apparent. No piece of equipment is ever liked by every single golfer that tries it out. (more on this later) THP prides itself on the fact that we are one of the few places on the internet that gives the equipment we review a thorough testing by up to 30 people for each article we publish. We try and get as many types of players as possible to incorporate different skill sets into our work so that our reviews will be geared towards to the masses and not an individual sector of the golf community.
When THP first started working with SeeMore Putters we were able to give a little history on the company as well as review a great new putter from their linecalled the SB. If you remember that article we came away extremely impressed and really fell in love with the putters that the company was coming out with.
Fast forward two months and we were able to catch up withSeeMore Putters at the PGA show and not only take a look at their complete new line, but also get a chance to talk with the people behind this brand’s resurrection. What we found out was that when you combine certain ingredients together it can create a winning recipe each and every time.
1. People that have a passion for the work that they do. 2. Customer Service that is as good as any we have come across. 3. A product that works as advertised. 4. A price point that fits in with what they are selling.
Yesterday Pat O'Brien spoke to 110 PGA Tennessee Section members his fundamentals on putting. It was a great turn out and Pat's message was well received by all. The light "turned on" for many of the PGA professionals. Jim Grundberg was also on hand to answer questions about the new product line and great new price points that are offered for 2009. If you would like to inquire about Pat speaking at your PGA Section meeting or any golf related function, please inquire at info@seemore.com.
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - Other than the fact that I uncovered the Orator of the Year on the PGA Tour and learned how to sink 10-foot putts like some kind of putting fool, it was an uneventful day at Hollywood-friendly Riviera Country Club.
Movie stars used to frolic here at Riviera, which opened in 1926. Now, 83 years later, the Northern Trust Open, starring Phil Mickelson as the boy who lost his golf game, begins with a Thursday matinee.
But, what the heck, I was too busy pursuing my practice day adventures to think about the actual start of competition. Orator of the Year, I said to myself, should be a title bestowed on some worthy golfer.
Let us know what your thoughts are on Pat's teachings. If you would like to learn more about Pat O'Brien and his teachings, we encourage you to purchase his DVD - Pat O'Brien On Putting. Please follow along with his blog posts at www.patobriengolf.com
(Franklin, TN) Today the Tennessee PGA and the allied associations located at Golf House of Tennesseehosted a press conference to promote the Folds of Freedom Foundation as well as Patriot Golf Day. PGA Member, Dan Rooney was on hand to explain how his foundation, which helps families of wounded or deceased veterans, was established. In concert with Mr. Rooney, Executive Director of the Tennessee Section PGA, Jeff Abbot spoke about how the Tennessee Golf Foundation is assisting the families of our military through the Screaming Eagle Pro-Am and other activities. Abbot was presented with a flag flown in Rooney’s F-16 cockpit over Iraq.
Jim Grundberg and myself attended the event. We listened to Dan Rooney's story but also the story of Ed Pulido. Ed was wounded in Iraq by a road side bomb. Both of these men have remarkable courage and make me proud to be an American. SeeMore Putter Company donated putters to the Folds of Freedom Foundation to help raise money for the cause. Here is a great link that was written by the Williamson Herald -
A new incarnation of the putter that has racked up two Major victories is now available with the release of the FGP stainless steel blade by SeeMore Putter Company.
The original brass SeeMore FGP blade is most known for its starring performances at the 1999 U.S. Open and the 2007 Masters, when Payne Stewart and Zach Johnson, respectively, wielded it on the path to victory.
Now comes a new stainless steel version of the FGP at a sweet price of $185 in a nickel satin or nickel black finish. A companion FGP2 mallet is also part of the new series.
The new SeeMore FGP Stainless putters aim to serve a wider audience than the stainless steel mFGP model released a few years ago. Whereas the mFGP is entirely and expensively milled from a vigin block of metal, the new putters are initially cast prior to surface milling, allowing SeeMore to offer them for $140 less than the mFGP.
Pat O'Brien is the putting coach of two of the PGA Tour’s best putters, 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson and Ryder Cupper Vaughn Taylor. Find more of Pat's teachings and DVD's at www.patobriengolf.com
Eye dominance can play a role in putting, but only if you allow it. I do not want to downplay peoples' concerns about it, rather I want to relate my years of experience in how to neutralize it. I also want to warn you about how you can avoid it, which will get into what kind of putter I believe you should use.
Let me start with eye dominance in my own putting. I am right eye dominant and consequently, I am predisposed to aiming to the right with my putter. I then swivel my head and look across my body at my target, effectively throwing my left eye out of the way so that my right eye can take over. This is something that I will have to be aware of for as long as I play golf. The left eye dominant people that I work with usually have the opposite problem. They aim left of their target and then use their left eye to focus on it as they look away from their bodies. Please understand that these are general statements. I have seen left eye dominant people aim right and vice versa. But to be honest, I have never paid much attention to any of this, even though it makes for interesting conversation. I am more concerned with how to aim properly.
There are putter fitters out there who believe that you may aim a certain shape better than another, or that a certain amount of offset or the kind of neck on the putter can help. I am sure that this is all true and that they are wonderful fitting systems. If you do not have access to these, or if you do not want to spend the money, I think I can get you to aim better by following some principles. Again, I am talking about having success with the hundreds of students that have come to me over the years, so it is not theory I am discussing.
It is no surprise to most that I advocate a SeeMore putter and their system. I make no apologies for this, but I also have some students who do not use a SeeMore. It does not matter to me what they use, as long as they know where they are aiming. A SeeMore putter in its simplest form has what is called Rifle Scope Technology, which is a straight in shaft with two white lines and a red dot under the shaft on the heel of the putter. Trap the shaft between the two white lines, cover the red dot and you are square to your target. Much like aiming a gun, the sightlines are clean and undistorted. I do not think I could aim a gun very well if the scope was offset from the barrel! As I do not want to turn this into an outright pitch for SeeMore, please feel free to research the company on your own.
All of this bears a point: if the shaft is straight in, and the aiming line is on top of the putter and not behind the shaft, then you are more likely to get your nose down the shaft and keep it there. As I wrote in my "Importance of a Level Spine"post, if your shaft is vertical and your nose is down the shaft, then your eyes are parallel to your aiming line. Very simple. It has been my experience that people who use offset putters, where the aiming line is behind the shaft, tend to aim right because their eyes tend to gravitate to the aiming line. This places the nose behind the shaft, so the eyes are cocked to the right. Payne Stewart was this way when he putted with an offset blade. I have some good players who get this way, and I am always correcting their eyelines. (Maybe they should switch too!)
Now that your eyes are parallel, it is time to learn how to look at the target correctly. The one drill that Zach and Vaughn and now Ted do weekly is to get on a chalk line, usually on Tuesday of a tournament week. Using that, or even a line on your floor at home, will teach you how to look down your line. The advantage of the chalk line, if your Superintendent will allow it, is that you always line up square and you see eight foot putts go in repeatedly. Good for confidence! When you are on the line, trace your eyes down it. They will triangulate to a point that is still on that line. They are now working in concert, therefore neither eye is dominant. You now know how to aim. You can also practice on this line by closing your dominant eye. This will give you a clearer indication of how your head needs to swivel, and it may even strengthen the other eye.
To summarize, when your spine is level, your hands are centered to your body, your shaft is vertical and your nose is down the shaft, your eyes are parallel to the aiming line on the putter. When you look down your target line correctly, you have now effectively neutralized any eye dominance. If you insist on using an offset putter, with the shaft angling backwards, then you are feeding the beast, so to speak. I am not saying you cannot aim properly in this scenario, I just happen to believe it is that much harder. Speaking from experience, of course. Putt great!
Our team just returned from a very successful PGA Merchandise show in Orlando. With the visibility and success of our product not just on the professional tours but also the college and junior amateur ranks growing, SeeMore enters 2009 as one of the must see/must try brands for golf buyers. My partner Jason and I are pictured here in front of our booth. As we are a "Made in USA" brand with a headquarters in Tennessee, we also borrowed a few empty whiskey barrels from the good folks at the Jack Daniels Distillery to display our putters, which was a very cool look. Enjoy the photos. We were very proud of our booth. Also we received great exposure from the Golf Channel, The New York Times and many other print and online and broadcast media outlets and there are some links included for your enjoyment. The really great thing was that we talked to many avid golfers and golf club professionals last week who were so excited about all that we are doing with our new and improved and growing line of SeeMore Putters, and all that our good friend the renowned teacher Pat O'Brienhas been doing to help the golfers of the world improve their putting with his simple fundamental approach to the game and a SeeMore putter in hand! Let us know what else you want to know about SeeMore at the show and we'd be happy to post. Thanks, Jim
