SeeMore Putters Blog

Everything You Need to Know About Belly Putting

Every golfer strives for consistency.  Putting is the area of the game where many golfers are the most inconsistent.  With belly putters winning multiple PGA Tour events in 2011, more players at all levels are interested in anchoring their putters.  The belly putter is now often believed to be the answer to putting woes because it eliminates factors by helping the golfer establish consistent:

1. Posture
2. Loft on the putter-face
3. Release of the putter-head through impact

To see and learn more about the benefits of belly putter, watch this video below. 

 

The belly putter may be right for you if your hands get extremely involved in your stroke or if you have a tendency to decelerate.

Considerations Before You Switch

Note that the players who are having success on the PGA Tour are able to practice with their new technique much more than the majority of avid golfers. Also, many successful belly putter users have committed to using it long-term. It’s not an instant “cure all” as it requires practice just like any other method in putting.  Before switching to a belly putter, make sure to take your standard putter and implement a system for putting by practicing establishing consistent:

1. Eye position
2. Ball position
3. Forearm position
4. Grip
5. Alignment

If you commit to a system for putting, practice it and you still aren’t putting well, a belly putter may be a welcomed change.   Utilizing the patented RifleScope Technology RST, a SeeMore Putter provides a system for feedback and will allow you to develop consistent setup and alignment in both a standard length and a belly putter. To witness the benefits, watch this video. RST Benefits in SeeMore’s Belly and Standard Length Putters

 

Determining The Length Of Your Belly Putter

You need three things to determine the correct length of a belly putter:

1. Standard length putter
2. Yard stick
3. Access to a mirror

This video on how to fit a belly putter will help you determine the proper length by following the steps mentioned below. How to Fit a Belly Putter

Steps:

1. Take a yard stick and measure the length of your standard length putter in inches.  Measure by keeping the yard stick parallel to the shaft and allowing the ruler to touch the ground next to the base of the club-head. 
2. After determining the posture that you would like to implement with a belly putter, raise the standard length and stabilize it with the end of the grip in your belly. (An athletic posture that allows your eyes to be inside the club-head is recommended)
3. While keeping the yard-stick parallel to the shaft, measure the distance from the ground to the bottom of the club-head. 

Example in the Video: (Club) 35 Inches + (Distance from the bottom of the club to the ground) 9 inches = 44 Inches

 

Stabilizing Your Belly Putter

A belly putter should be anchored inside, above or below the belly button.  The golfer’s body should essentially be split in half to allow the putter to swing naturally.  To see why, watch this video. Stabilizing a Belly Putter

 

RST Technology

SeeMore’s patented RST, known by a visible gun sight on the top line, allows the golfer to set up the putter perfectly each and every time in relation to the intended target line. This is accomplished by lining up the black bottom portion of the shaft between two white lines and covering a signature red dot on the heel of the top line.  The process is like locking radar onto a target.  The two parallel white sight lines frame the shaft and serve as an indicator that the golfer is in perfect position to make a consistent and reliable stroke.

SeeMore Putter Institute

SeeMore has also recently launched the SeeMore Putting system to golfers in the form of introducing the SeeMore Putter Institute (SPi), where golfers and instructors will be able to come together in person and online to share these fundamental ideas about how to improve putting performance, including the new discussion about belly putters.

SPi is a learning system based on the simple fundamentals of finding proper grip, alignment, stance, and posture that allow a natural, free, and simple putting stroke on each and every putt.  It is based on the technology built into the SeeMore putter itself, and on the refined teachings of SeeMore Global Ambassador Pat O’Brien – putting instructor to Zach Johnson, and many other top PGA Tour and developing players.  O’Brien has been teaching the SeeMore System around the world for more than 12 years, ever since he watched his good friend the late Payne Stewart benefit from the SeeMore putting system to win 1999 US Open and lead the tour in putting statistics that year.  

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Matchbox Twenty, Brian Yale, Visits SeeMore HQ and SPi Instructor, John Higgins

While SeeMore continues to provide a must-needed edge in scoring and our fan base strengthens, we have enjoyed discovering many celebrities who have become loyal fans of our product.  American rock band, Matchbox 20, has been one of the most successful bands over the past fifteen years.  With albums reaching certified Diamond and 4x Platinum in the United States, Matchbox 20 has generated a tremendous fan base worldwide.  Last week, I received a call from their bass guitarist and backup vocalist, Brian Yale, who is a huge fan of SeeMore.   Brian purchased his first SeeMore in 2007, a m1 SS Platinum.   Music fans have been purchasing multiple Matchbox 20 albums for over a decade because they love the product.   Following Brian’s success with our system, he purchased a mFGP shortly after to collect another one of his favorite products. 

While Brian was in the Nashville area recording a new album with Rob Thomas and the band, he made sure to take advantage of our tour fitting process available at Headquarters.  I really enjoyed working with Brian, especially because of his fun personality and something that I learned while teaching him our putting system.  I noticed that Brian’s speed control was especially consistent.  After complimenting him on his control, Brian explained his way of utilizing music by singing in his head to keep track of the beat.  Singing a song can be a fantastic way to work on the rhythm of your putting stroke and develop better consistency with your speed. 

After equipping Brian with a system for putting, we custom built him our SeeMore ONE CS model at 34 inches with a 68 degree lie angle and a red Tour Classic grip.  Through the SeeMore Putter Institute (SPi), consumers have other options besides SeeMore Headquarters to learn from an expert in putting.  Instructors and fitters around the world are becoming SPi Certified.  If you’re interested in learning from a SPi instructor or becoming one yourself, please visit http://www.seemore.com/institute/.

 

 

See the video footage below from Brian and his visit to SeeMore.

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Brian says he doesn’t understand why everyone isn’t using our system!

 

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Brian sings a song to show how he has great tempo.

 

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John and Brian discuss belly putter: John mentions the benefits of our system in both standard and belly.

 

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Brian mentions why he came to learn more and John discusses Brian’s improvements.

 

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John explains to Brian how he can get tuned up around the world through SPi.

 

 

D.A. Points - Putting Drill

2007 MASTERS Champion Putting Drills on Golf.com

My Favorite Putting Drill
In a GOLF.com exclusive video, 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson demonstrates his favorite putting drill and talks about his philosophies of putting.

Link to Video source www.Golf.com

Pat O'Brien - A Simple Drill

 by Pat O'Brien

This drill is one of Zach's favorites.  Place a shaft 18 inches behind the hole and start with 3 balls 5 feet away from the hole.  The goal is obviously to make the putt; however your secondary objective is to get the ball to the hole but not touch the shaft.  When you achieve this with all three balls, move out to 10 feet. 

If you come up short on any of the three, or hit the shaft, you have to go back to the previous distance.  After you are successful at 10 feet, move out to 15.  You can go in any increments you want.  When Dr. Mo and I want to really challenge Zach, we go 10, 20 and 30 feet.  Mo has found that this really sharpens Zach's focus and makes his practice productive.  He really dials in his speed while tapping into his competitive nature.  Try it!

 

 

Breaking the "Rules" of Putting - www.putterzone.com

 

by Sean Weir - PutterZone.com

Much is made these days about the concept of putter fitting, in which the length, loft, lie and weight of a putter are carefully matched to your personal physique and mechanics.

But before you get fit for a putter, you may want to consider the putting philosophy of the person doing the fitting. For example, some putting instructors advocate that you get your eyes directly over the ball, while others suggest that your eyes should be inside the target line.

So what one person considers a good “fit” for a more upright setup will be different from a good “fit” according to someone who advocates a more bent-over, eyes-over-the-ball setup. Indeed, the former requires a longer putter, while the latter requires a shorter putter.

So the putting theory changes the fit—an interesting topic, and one that’s not discussed enough.  

On that note, we reached out to leading putting instructor Pat O’Brien to talk about his own approach to putting, and specifically some of the old putting “rules” that may be on their way to becoming exceptions.

We’ll start with the notion that your eyes should be directly “over the ball” and thus right over the target line, a bedrock of traditional putting instruction. Here’s what Pat has to say on the subject:

“There’s been a paradigm shift in the last 20 years or so. Greens are now more manicured and faster. Back in the day, greens were slower and more grainy, so the style was more of a wrist stroke, or pop stroke. Go back and look at old footage from the ‘60s and even ‘70s, and guys were more bent over, and they popped it, and the ball wouldn’t go too far past the hole because the greens were slower.

Well, the easiest way to get yourself in a position to make that stroke is to get your eyes over the ball, because then your hands and arms are trapped underneath your chest, so you can’t swing your shoulders very freely, and it’s more of a small-muscle stroke.

But if you look at the best putters of the past 20 years, and the guys that come to mind would be Greg Norman, Brad Faxon, Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson, these are guys that stand up to the ball. They have good posture, they are very athletic. And I would venture to say that their eyes are anywhere from the heel of the putter to an inch or two inside of that.

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Technical Questions about SeeMore Putters - Loft, Lie, Arc Stroke, Pendulum Stroke

Very quickly the SeeMore Putter has become the choice when golfers are looking to improve their putting stroke.  Each day more and more are contacting us about questions on the putter.  Golfers wanting to improve their putting google us on the internet and learn very quickly why SeeMore helps in all areas of the putting stroke - alignment, set-up, posture and grip.  Learning this simple system leads to confidence when using the putter - which leads to lower putting strokes per round - which leads to lower scores.

Below are some technical answers that we have been asked from golfers on The Hackers Paradise, Golfwrx.com, PutterZone.com, MyGolfSpy, Twitter, FaceBook and may other golf blogs.  If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us at info@seemore.com.  We will be happy to help. 

Our putters are around 2.5-3.5 degrees of loft, which is the angle of the face when striking the ball.  These lofts will make sure you put optimal roll on the ball when you have your hands in the right place as mandated by the SeeMore putter (hide the red dot!).  

On the lie angle, that is a different angle, that of the shaft to the head...and 70 degrees is usually a perfect lie angle to start with which is our standard.  

On which types of putters for different strokes, in reality the arc and the pendulum go hand in hand, the arc meaning that the putter head goes slightly open and to the inside on take away, comes through square and impact, and releases slightly closed and to the inside of the line after impact.  This is the natural arc.  

The pendulum refers to the tempo of the putt, meaning on short putts the putter head travels back and through at the same pace and the same short distance back and then through..a one...two tempo...but on longer putts the putter travels back further along the arc, then travels further past the ball on impact...always staying on the arc..so the putter head is always square to the arc.  All of our putters are ideal for this type of stroke, it is personal preference, but we would say blades tend to work best.  

The other type of stroke golfers refer to is the straight back and straight through...which we believe and most believe is simply not possible to achieve...without significant wrist action as one would need to close or hood the putter on take away, and would need to slice open the putter as the stroke moves through..because turning on an arc so to try to keep the putter square to square involves this type of complicate manipulation...so one might think you are putting this way but it will be a struggle for sure. After reviewing many, many putting strokes the above explanation is our meaning of each type of stroke. 

  

We encourage you to do some research on Pat O'Brien, who instructs many tour players..at PatOBrienGolf.com, or you can link to him through SeeMore.com.  Your putting will improve, and you will understand all of the great benefits of SeeMore.  Call us at the office and we can get a putter custom built for you that will greatly improve your putting.

 

Lastly, this past Sunday was the 10 year anniversary of the passing of Payne Stewart.  Here is a great link that we would like to share with you - Remembering Payne Stewart 10 Years Later.  Do you remember where you were when you heard the news??

FREE Putting Clinic from Pat O'Brien - New York City - 9/3

Pat O'Brien Putting Clinic

Pat O'Brien will be in New York City this coming Thursday - September 3rd from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm at the New York Golf Center - Manhattan (directions)

Learn how to putt like a MAJOR Champion

Thursday - September 3rd - 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

New York Golf Center (Manhattan)

131 W. 35th Street

(between Broadway & 7th Ave.)

New York, NY 10001

212-564-2255

Proper Posture is Key to Simplify Putting - by Pat O'Brien - www.texaslinksmagazine.com

Below is a excerpt of an article that Pat O'Brien did for the Texas Links Magazine.  Give us your thoughts and feedback.

If you're struggling with your putting, perhaps understanding the design of the putter will help to free your stroke.  A putter is essentially a weight on a stick, and the shaft goes into the head at an angle less than 90 degrees, usually around 70 degrees.

The balance point of the putter is about 6 inches from the head.  If you held the putter lightly in your fingers, when you let it swing, you would see that the head travels on a natural arc and it comes up out of the ground.  It also returns to square at impact with no effort.  That is what it is designed to do.

If you are not allowing this to happen, you are putting forth too much effort into your stroke.  The putter isn't designed to go straight back and straight through, or square to square.

To quote instructor Jim Hardy, "If we played pool or shuffleboard, where we stood on the target line, straight back and straight through works, but we stand to the side of the ball, so there has to be an arc." 

Also, if you're trying to keep the putter low on the backswing, you are moving the bottom of the swing behind the ball.  This would cause you to use your trailing arm to accelerate the putter to get it back to the ball.  Speed is hard to judge when you have forced acceleration.  The putter is designed to swing with a rhythm that resembles a pendulum.  It's designed to swing up on the backswing and then fall down on the way through.  It's not designed to swing low going back, and then forcefully finish high on the follow through.

When people come to me for help, I look to their set up for clues as to why the putter isn't swinging freely.  If you are having challenges, here are a few things to look for:

Read rest of article here : Download TexasLinks_ProperPosture

Read more about Pat and his teachings at Pat O'Brien Golf and purchase the Pat O'Brien On Putting DVD.

TOUR Report - PGA Tour John Deere Classic

TOUR Report: - John Deere Classic

by Ted Gallina

Had a great few days out on TOUR this week.  A few more putters in play. Talked to Zach, Vaughn and Briny.  All are doing well.  I spoke to Mark Hensby who has been using the putter for the last two weeks. He used it when he was on the Nationwide TOUR but he then signed with PING.  This past year his contract was ended and put the SeeMore putter back in play.  D.A. Points is still using the putter and feeling confident with it as well. Another nice story is Pat Perez.  He picked up the putter at a off-course partner of ours. 

He understood the technology but just wanted to make sure that it was that easy.  Working with him on the putting green, he was confident in his alignment of the putter.  He stressed over and over again about the confidence that it gave him in his alignment. We worked with a triangulator  - showing him how good his alignment was with the SeeMore. He was dropping 20-25 footers from everywhere.  It was almost too funny. He started to laugh and say "that this thing is money".  

This is one of the many positive points of using a SeeMore... it aligns you square to your intended target line every single time. No other putter does this.  By simply hiding the red dot and lining up the two white lines you will be square.  You then check your alignment (like Pat was doing) to make sure that you are lined up to your target.  This is where the triangulator comes into play. Simple device but gives you immediate feed back of your alignment. 

 

It is evident being out on Tour that SeeMore is become more and more noticeable from the Tour players.

They are not afraid to come and talk to us about the putter and how we can improve their confidence. Other TOUR players that have used SeeMore are the ones that get other players to come try the putter.  

Players are thinking of SeeMore as a solution of taking their putting to the next level.  Even if it is on a level of the PGA Tour or even to a college player, an amateur or 25 handicapper, it is the technology and a game improvement club that everyone needs.

Lastly, this is the second year in a row that the SeeMore Putter Company has donated putters to the John Deere Classic Youth Day (Tuesday of tournament week).  Junior golfers from the Quad Cities attended the event.  See pictures below.