Once in awhile I like to post videos that I think will make an immediate impact on your game and this is one of them. Being an Aimpoint instructor myself, I heard John Graham talk about this when we did our Putting seminar together for the Carolinas section in the spring and I have been sharing this information with my clinics and students ever since. John is always thinking out of the box and taking the information to the next level. Thanks for doing this video as I hope it opens some eyes for some golfers to do 2 things 1) take an AimPoint clinic and 2) understand that it is not as hard core as people make it out be. Understanding the pieces that go into green reading is simply fine tuning your read and increasing your chances of making putts. It is still a SIGHT AND FEEL Exercise. The science is already built in to help you get closer to the answer.
In my last article I discussed what I feel is the most important factor in distance control (feel and touch) in the putting stroke. Aside from knowing how to read greens (www.aimpointgolf.com) controlling the distance your ball rolls is critical. How do myths and misconceptions is golf get started? Someone has an idea, tries it, feels like it works and shares it with someone else. The word spreads and we have a myth or fact. The difference is that a fact is researched, tested with accurate data and hard numbers. I trust the numbers. Since having a data collector like the S.A.M. Putt lab, my staff and I have been able to learn a lot about what creates a great putting stroke and we have been able to help more of our players improve with some simple ideas and drills.
Cruise Through Impact don’t punch it!
Good putters arrive at impact mostly at a constant acceleration rate which means that their peak velocity is before impact. In my opinion, the average golfer overaccelerates because of 3 reasons:
1. They have been told by their buddies or other golf pros that when they leave a putt short they decelerated
Over acceleration
2. they don’t have enough backswing because they are trying not to make a mistake (tentative). They think shorter is more efficient
3. The don’t have enough speed in the backswing to have a smooth acceleration rate through impact.
How To Change It
The best way to change this profile, smooth out the stroke and also create some balance to the length of the stroke is as follows:
1. Take the putter back with more speed
2. If it is too short for the length of the stroke, add some length. (trial and error)
Constant Acceleration
3. Don’t forget to brake at the finish (don’t be sloppy)
****You must get your putter velocity up to speed sooner in order to create a (cruising) through impact.
Consistency In Whatever you do Is Key
I understand that their are good players that can overaccelerate prior to impact and putt pretty good. But the best players arent always the best putters and can always improve. Whatever you do if you do it with a high consistency rate with repeatability you can make it work.
Closing Remarks – Results and Testing
I have shared this idea with few LPGA Tour players EGolf pros, elite juniors, top amateurs including our club champ and many every day golfers and they it always makes sense to them and they have improved so their is something to it. I will keep testing it and researching it.
Let me know what you think, if you can improve on it or am I completely out of my mind. All I want to do is share great information with other golf coaches and help players play better.
Is Putting an “Art or is it Science?” I think it is a little of both. I have always considered myself a pretty decent putting coach as I have spent time with some of the best trying to learn how I can help my students more with such a huge part of the game. As a teacher we have to inspire our students to practice and to be willing to make changes that will show up in their score. Two years ago I had taken my putting instruction as far as it could go until I was introduced to two pieces of technology…..AimPoint Green Reading and The S.A.M. Putt Lab. One for green reading and one for stroke mechanics and feel. I was now armed with a deadly combination that has taken my putting instruction to an entirely new level. I recently hosted and spoke at a PGA teaching seminar with my good friend, John Graham in which we focused on putting. John introduced AimPoint and I revealed some of the studies and findings of our S.A.M. Lab data that we have compiled over the last year. Thanks to my new assistant, Alex van der Linden (aka Poindexter the Golf Geek) for his expertise and helping me crunch the numbers we found some interesting trends and some valuable information that I think has helped us with our teaching. I won’t reveal all of our findings but want to focus on what I think is one of the most important part of being a great putter……TOUCH and FEEL. We know that distance control is important but how do you teach. Just giving your student a series of drills is not the entire answer or it isn’t the one that satisfied me or John Graham.
Speed vs. Acceleration and A Myth Dispelled
One of the most frequent ideas that I hear the average golfer say that they are trying to do with their putting stroke is to ACCELERATE through the ball and follow through. They do this because they have the misconception that they always decelerate which couldn’t be further from the truth. Most of the golfers that we tested overaccelerated which means that their peak velocity happened after impact and peak acceleration happened just prior to impact. This makes it very difficult to control your speed. (see graph below)
What Good Putters Do
We found the opposite when testing PGA tour, LPGA tour, Mini Tour Players and top amateurs. they had constant speed control which included zero acceleration through impact. Good putters had a very flat top to their acceleration graph like the one below. Also I have posted a short video of a recent putting lesson that includes this common misconception as well as a few more helpful nuggets.
RESEARCH TO PROVE MY WAY OF FIXING THE PROBLEM
I believe that I have a way to change this pattern as I have had much success with my students. This way is easy to understand and is teachable through using the SAM Putt Lab to create the proper feel for the stroke. currently, Alex and I are doing a research project to test my theory to see if there is a distinct correlation between the profiles that we have seen and consistent distance control. Before I reveal my idea I would like to gather more data.
I wanted to share an interview that I did with John Maginnes on his XM Radio Show “Maginnes On Tap”. John was so nice to have me on his “Teacher Tuesdays” segment where we talk about AimPoint, D-Plane and take a few calls to help some of the listeners with their game. It was fun to do and I hope to be a guest on the show again soon.
Most of you that follow me on twitter know where I was last weekend. For the first time in my career I took my teaching on the road. My good friend, Rob McGill asked if I would come and teach a short game school at his club in Nashville and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spend the weekend with my buddy and do some teaching. I was truly honored that someone would think that I had something to offer his members and for that I am thankful. So I couldn’t leave this week without giving some props to Rob McGill because I feel like people deserve to know the type of guy that he is but most of all the type of golf professional he is as well. This is not about me but about my friend Rob. I show up at the airport and Rob and his son, Braxton surprise me with a folder with (www.golfgurutv.com #makeeverything on it) which was pretty cool. We go to the club for a wonderful dinner and I start to meet the members of this fine club. You can just tell the love and admiration that they have for their head professional by the way they respond and treat him. Rob is always good for a kind word and hello to everyone that passes by…not because he has to but because he genuinely loves people and the members at Stones River. In the day and age of PGA golf professionals that are losing there jobs it was great to see a professional that is always trying to better themself and more importantly creating value to the membership by bringing programs like the AimPoint Class with John Graham and my little short game school as well. I told the members in my intro that they were fortunate to have a head professional that is always trying to improve his skills and share with the members his knowledge. As all great professionals , Rob is also a great mentor to his assistants, Matt Spain and the other staff members as he was continually checking on them and testing them in an unselfish constructive manner. Being the great observer that I am, I was just filled with joy to see watch this guy work and engage the members throughout the weekend, and then teach alongside him as well. I enjoyed meeting his family as they treated us like one of the family with their hospitality and kindness and I just wanted to say thank you and recognize one of the true great PGA golf professionals in our business. Thank you Rob for everything.
****I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the epic mindmeld discussions on the golf swing that was had by John Graham, John Dochety, Rob, Matt Spain and with a special guest appearance by Kirk Oguri and Bob Townsend. We had a great time and I learned alot for sure. I know I promised some video and some video was taken but cannot be published unfortunately. Maybe next time.
The cool thing about a blog is that I get to write about life changing experiences and hopefully inspire others to join you in things that just don’t come along everyday. In this case it was my AimPoint Green Reading final certification weekend. Officially there are 18 more golfers on the planet that don’t have to wonder,”What the heck is this AimPoint stuff I keep hearing the Guru talk about? For the rest of you, AimPoint is a unbelieveable green reading system developed by Mark Sweeney that allow you to gather information, plug them into a chart and know “EXACTLY” where to aim in order to make every putt on the putting green. The cool thing is that anyone can do it with a bit of coaching and some practice of some basic skills. You may have seen the green line on Golf Channel that represents where the ball must roll at the correct speed in order for the ball to go in. Well now there is a teachable system that Mark has developed that can be applied to the average golfer to the tour player alike. I was introduced to this by my good friend John Graham and I am happy to say that I am officially a Certified Instructor to teach this phenomenal system. Mark came down this past weekend and spent some valuable time working with me on the fundamentals and how to apply it to the lesson plan for the students. Watching Mark read putts was like watching Picasso paint a picture. He was reading putts up to 60 feet in less than 25 seconds which is faster than most tour players read a simple 15 footer which sold me and my other teachers that with practice and some repetition, you can not only read putts with perfect accuracy but also faster than the old fashion squatting, plumb bob, walking around the hole procedure. Working with Mark was great as he was very willing to share any information that will help us teach this system to be the best of our ability. As he did the first clinic with my members, I soon found out why he is so successful. everyone had a great time and they were always engaging with so many good questions. As the putts started to drop, they were hooked and excited. After I did my best Mark Sweeney impersonation in the second clinic, which was not even close I was so excited to be a part of this new and growing group of AimPoint Instructors. It is amazing that after so many years that this great game has been around that no one has even come close to developing a system that takes all of the guesswork out of one of the most mysterious parts of the golf, Green Reading! We should all be thankful to alive and have the opportunity to take part in such a game changing process. I am confident that you will start to see more of the games great players adopt this system in the near future. All I know is that we have 18 very excited golfers that will soon be #makingeverything. Feel free to contact me to come to your club to do a clinic by emailing me @jsutton@carmelcountryclub.org or hit me up on twitter @twitter.com/golfgurutv. ps. I think 7 or 8 of the participants in the clinic signed up because of my interaction on twitter. There is some ROI in there somewhere, lol.
Special thanks to Mark Sweeney for allowing me to be a part of this prestigious group of coaches and to my friend, John Graham for all the training and extra time that he has spent with me over the last year. I promise to share the information as we are truly doing something that will grow the game.
I will be hosting (2) AimPoint Green Reading clinics at Carmel Country Club on February 25th. There will be a 10:00 a.m. and a 2:00 p.m. session. I will be joined by Owner of AimPoint Technologies, Mark Sweeney so it will be a memorable day for everyone. Each session lasts about 2 1/2 hours and the cost is $200.00 per person. This would be a great way to get your year started out by learning the revolutionary green reading system that will change the way you look at green reading forever and help you make everything. Contact me at jsutton@carmelcountryclub.org to hold your spot.
Tonight I want to speak to the students in the room. Specifically the ones here that are interested in getting better. Who really wants to improve their scores? Raise your hands high! Is that your real objective? You would be surprised to find that it isn’t always the case. At the beginning of every lesson or golf school, I always ask the student what is your goal for today and where do you want your game to look like in a years time? Anything past that is for tour players. You would be surprised by some of the answers that i get from such a simple question. (or is it). I enjoy asking the goal question and telling them that their answers cannot include the word CONSISTENCY and you wouldn’t believe the look on their faces because they were all going to say it….”I just want to be more consistent”. As a golf coach, that phrase means very little to me as I attempt to gain valuable information about your game that will help direct me towered helping you play better. Players, you have to be more specific. As I watch a new student warm up and hit every shot to the right, i might joke that you are incredibly consistent………..smile 🙂 the point is, you have to be more specific when setting your goals and a quality coach should be able to help you with this. The first step is with an accurate assessment of your current condition. Now I understand that there are goals that apply to different level of players and this important because the only thing worse than not setting goals is to set them too high only to get frustrated. For example, a beginning golfer might set a goal of getting the ball airborne every time and that is ok. There is nothing worse than a new golfer thinking that they should hit it perfect (just like their friend who has been playing for years) and getting frustrated and quitting the game. Here are some examples of specific yet simple goals and I will give you an easy way to organize your plan for next season. 1. Stop slicing or hooking
2. To hit the ball more solid instead of hitting the ground behind the ball or catching it thin
3. To hit more fairways or greens
4. To hit my pitch shots the right distance
5. To stop 3 putting
6. To hit my fairway woods off the ground
7. Gain distance (very popular) but a good goal
8. To understand my golf swing and what to work on
9. I want to get the ball out of the bunker every time
These examples are what I call skill building goals. As a coach, I can work with these answers and build a plan to improve these skills which will ultimately lead to the second kind of goal (Outcome Goals). These are good guidance to get started and keep you focused. Examples of outcome goals would be to win the club championship or your flight in the member guest. To lower your handicap from 15 to 9. to qualify for the state amateur or to break 80 for the first time.
These are great starting points but it’s only the beginning. I understand that there are two types of golf 1) ego Golf and 2)scoring golf Ego golf is the player that doesn’t care what they shoot as long as they hit the ball farther than their golfing buddies so that they can talk about you in the bar after your round. These players look great on the range but can’t post a score. These are the types of players that drive coaches crazy because we feel that the ultimate goal is to score lower and we don’t care how you do it. If I have to hear,” I shot my career low……buttttt I really putted well on that day,” So What! Its part of the game. The same player goes out and hits 15 greens and shoots worse but is happy with it.
Start by keeping basic stats (gir’s, fir’s, putts, up and downs, penalty strokes) or get a software program that does it for you. My favorite is www.shotbyshot.com. This will help you to establish a pattern to see where you are actually weak and where you are strong. After you chart 10 rounds, share it with your coach and you can start to set some goals. Here is an example: Lets say you set a goal to lower your handicap from 15 to 9. You chart your rounds and you are hitting 8 greens in reg. 9 fairways with no penalty shots, your up and down % is less than 30 and you are averaging 38 putts per round. If you are like most golfers you are still trying to hit the ball better to get your greens in reg up to 14 because that is what the top tour player is doing. Wrong! Your coach is going to say hop in the cart and lets introduce you to the short game area and putting green. He may even sign you up for an AimPoint clinic, if you are lucky! Build the skills that will help you reach your goals. Be honest with yourself and don’t worry so much about what others think when you are practicing your weaknesses. Pretty soon they will be asking you what has changed when you are thrashing them) which is the greatest compliment as a golfer…..and the most rewarding.
Be smart this winter and you will thank me later. Dont let your ego keep you from reaching your goals this upcoming season. See you here tomorrow night!
I couldn’t let one of the most epic weekends of my professional career go by without writing something about it. Last weekend, I successfully completed the first step in obtaining certification of Aimpoint green reading. For those of you who don’t know about this system, it is by far the most revolutionary green reading system in the golfing world. You may have seen the green line on some of the PGA tour events that shows the player where to aim in order to make it. There is a system that has been devised by Mark Sweeney that shows you, after some minor calculations, EXACTLY where to aim in order to make the putt. Not only did I get a first hand look at the system but I was very fortunate to be able to work with my good friend and Senior Aimpoint Instructor, John Graham (johngrahamgolf.com). Any time that you get to spend time with one of the world’s top instructors, especially Mr. Graham, you end up getting so much more than expected. What I got was an education from the master that will change my career forever. John and I did 2 clinics with 17 participants which included mostly Carmel CC members and a few other loyal students and they got an eye-opening experience that will (if practiced) change their games for the better.
The fundamentals clinics covered all putts from 20 putts and in which is a great place to start. The following day, I spent an entire day on the South Course at Carmel with John learning to read longer multiple plane putts (more than 1 slope change or break direction). This was as much fun as a golf professional could have as i picked it up quickly and was amazed at how accurate it is from such a long distance. I missed a 60 foot triple breaker by a couple of inches and found myself disappointed that it didn’t go in. Before, I would have been happy to get it within 3 feet. Without giving away the secret which you will have to get by attending a clinic…..Here are a few things that I learned from John and the aimpoint method
1. It is a skill just like any other in golf that has to be practiced (no shortcuts)
2. What I thought was 6 feet was only 5 (important when figuring out how far you are from the hole)
3. The process does not take more time than what you would consider a normal green reading process (which includes meaningless squats behind the ball and walking around too much)
4. there was not as much math as I expected (it is already done for you)
5. Your worst Aimpoint read is going to be better than your best guess with the conventional method (I promise you!)
After my final certification test in a few months with Mr. Sweeney, I will be honored to be the only Aimpoint instructor in the Charlotte area. Special thanks to my good friend John Graham for making the information easy to understand for my students and for myself. You are truly a world-class coach and an even better individual. I look forward to teaching this method to my members and to whomever wants to learn the most accurate green reading technology in the world and soon YOU will be #MAKINGEVERYTHING. I look forward to seeing you on the putting green at Carmel Country Club.
I am hosting two Aimpoint Green Reading Clinics with Senior Aimpoint instructor, John Graham (johngrahamgolf.com) on November 11th. The clinic times are 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The cost of each clinic is $200.00 per person. For those of you who don’t know about this technology are in for a treat. It is by far the most revolutionary concept to hit the golfing scene in a long time. I can promise you that it will be worth every penny and your ability to read greens and make more putts will be your reward. I am very excited to have my good friend and one of the best aimpoint instructors, John Graham teach the classes. John has taught this concept all over the world so you don’t want to miss it. I only have a couple of spots available in the morning class so sign up now! Contact Me by email @jasonsuttn@aol.com to reserve your spot. I will take them by the order I receive the email. If you have any questions feel free to contact me via twitter or facebook as well. I look forward to seeing you at Carmel and you can now make everything.
The Golf Guru Show 
