SeeMore Putters Blog

New putter sparks Points to career year on PGA Tour - Rockford Registar Star

By Matt Trowbridge

RRSTAR.COM

Posted Jun 23, 2009 @ 07:16 PM

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D.A. Points had fallen off the PGA Tour for two years. Now his equipment sponsor had dropped him.

It should have been one of the most difficult moments of the Pekin native’s golfing life. Instead, it turned into Points’ big break. Getting out of that contract with Ping helped Points finally establish himself on the PGA Tour, a decade after graduating as a third-team All-American at Illinois.

Points ranks 53rd on the 2009 PGA Tour money list with $908,359, almost half of that earned with a third-place finish at the HP Byron Nelson Classic last month in Texas, when he shot 16-under par.

“I attribute my big finish in Dallas to putting well,” Points said in a phone interview. “I switched putters the week before. I’ve been putting real well ever since I made that switch.”

A generation ago, it was far more common to hear about pro golfers switching putters. Now, unless they try a belly putter, it’s rare to hear about a switch.

“That’s because most people are under contract with a certain brand of putter,” said Points, who will make his fifth straight appearance in the Rockford Pro-Am, held July 13 at Forest Hills Country Club. “I had been under contract with Ping for six or seven years, and used only a Ping putter.

“This year, with the way the economy is going, they didn’t renew my contract. I got a TaylorMade deal that didn’t include the putter, so I could use any putter I chose.”

Points returned to a SeeMore putter, famous for a red dot that helps golfers make sure they are lined up perfectly square to the target.

“I used a SeeMore putter a long time ago and really liked how I putted with it back then,” Points said. “I got away from it because Ping doesn’t have a SeeMore-style putter. On the putting green at San Antonio (for the Valero Texas Open), I picked one up and liked it. The more I used it, the more I liked it. I went on to have the best finish of my career the next week in Dallas.”

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DeMystifying the Putting Stroke, Preventing the Yips from Pat O'Brien - www.patobriengolf.com

Excerpt below take from www.patobriengolf.com

Having just watched The U.S. Open, I want to share some observations on the putting stroke.  I hear announcers constantly talk about the stroke and what should happen.  They reference keeping the putter low, releasing the putter and acceleration, to name a few things.  Frankly, I have heard enough and I feel compelled to offer a little common sense on the stroke.  If you follow the advice about keeping the putter low, you may develop the yips or already have them.  Here is why:

You simply must understand the design of the golf club, or in this case the putter.  It is essentially a weight on a stick, and the shaft goes into the head at an angle, usually around 70 degrees.  What that means is that it is supposed to travel on an arc, and it should be allowed to come out of the ground.  The head of the putter will travel up on the backswing, and come down into the ball before eventually going back up.

If you keep the putter low on the backswing, you are putting downward pressure on the club.  The bottom of the arc moves inches behind the ball.  At this point, you have two choices; you can let it swing and hit the ground behind the ball, or you can accelerate the putter with the right hand and arm to try and get the bottom back to the ball. The finish will be severely high.

If you continue to rely on your right side to bail you out, a motor pattern gets established between your brain and the firing of the right hand.  It may take years, but eventually the right hand is ready to go before the stroke happens.  It knows that it will be pressed into service momentarily.  A twitch develops.  All because the putter has been kept too low and the bottom of the swing has moved behind the ball.  Add in tension and anxiety, and the putter is kept even lower going back.  A vicious cycle has occured.

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To learn more about Pat O'Brien's putting techniques - purchase Pat O'Brien On Putting DVD and click DVD - Retail cost - $20.00 USD.

Pat O'Brien Grip Post on www.patobriengolf.com - Putting Instructor for FEDEX Cup Leader - Zach Johnson

Excerpt taken from www.patobriengolf.com

It has taken me awhile, and I apologize to those who have been waiting, to post some different shots of the grip.  Attempting to teach someone a new grip through words and pictures alone is very challenging.  I hope these additional pictures help.

The first picture is taken from above to show you how much the grip in the left hand sits in the fingers.  While the heel pad sits on the top of the grip, the thumb pad does not in fact make contact with the club.  I could very easily run a finger underneath the thumb pad.  There is absolutely no hand or thumb pressure at all. 

You can also notice how the heel pad of the right hand sits on the middle, ring and pinkie fingers of the left hand.  The finger nails of the middle and ring are covered up.  No part of the right hand is in contact with the club.  To refresh, if the grip is truly in the fingers, you can control the putter effectively with no tension in your hands, arms or shoulders.  You can let it swing itself, which is the topic of an upcoming post.

In the other picture, you can see the finished product.  One of the reasons I touch my forefingers is that I want my hands to feel as one.  When the right heel pad covers two of the left fingers, the right arm will be less prone to straighten because the hands are not split apart.  If the right arm is straight, it can become too heavy and put undue downward pressure on the putter. 

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Briny Baird: Stop Swaying On Putts - PGA Tour Partners Newsletter

We found this nice little note from Briny Baird in the PGA Tour Partners eNewsletter where he talks about his unique style of putting.  Of course Briny Baird uses a SeeMore FGP Blade and has for many years, with one notable experiments with a SeeMore m1 belly putter when Briny used it to finish second this year at the Verizon.  But Briny feels very comfortable with his putting stroke and putter,  and has made many millions of dollars and many thousands of birdies sticking with it, so it is worth understanding why he went to that style.  The great thing about a SeeMore putter is that the alignment system at setup will help any golfer looking for consistency, even if the stance or stroke might not be "textbook".  Let us know if you have any great stories about Briny or his ideas on trying to focus on fundamentals.

Video Link to Briny's Putting Stance - courtesy of PGA Tour

Johnson birdies the 15th in the first round of the 2009 Memorial Tournament - www.pgatour.com

courtsey of www.pgatour.com

Zach Johnson display real touch around the greens with this chip at the par5 15th to just over ten feet and makes good with the birdie putt holed in the first round of the 2009 Memorial Tournament.

WATCH VIDEO CLIP HERE

 

(VIDEO) Playing clean helps Zach Johnson win twice in 2009 - www.pgatour.com

Zach Johnson shares some of his secrets on this year's success at the 2009 Memorial Tournament. Incredible things happening with SeeMore ... heavy increase in demand, exploding brand.  By the way playing with Tiger and Ernie today and Friday.  

Click HERE to watch

courtesy of PGA Tour