Like a seal holding a golf club

First off, I’d love to thank St. Petersburg Times reporter Michael Kruse for spending time with me in Florida and writing a great story. It ran today in the Times and I think the story is well written, truthful and a fantastic overview of what The Dan Plan is all about. Thank you Michael Kruse and the St. Petersburg Times!

On to today’s lesson:

I felt like flipper out there today. My coach, Christopher Smith, changed up my grip because my lower hand had become too “weak” and needed to rotate more to the top of the club, and my upper hand also needed to come in, so between the two of those moves, I felt mighty awkward. This, apparently, is a good thing because it’s almost safe to say that, in golf, if it feels good it’s probably not right..

I wanted to post a picture of how I felt, like a seal holding a golf club, but when I searched on Google I came up with this image and figured it was close enough and pretty darn funny:

Not sure who this lady is or what she’s trying to do, but it’s obviously more fun than I’ve had in some time and more power to her for that.

Regardless of how awkward the new grip feels, I have a good thing going for me. As my coach pointed out, my limited experience in the golfing world mixed with the sheer number of hours that I practice make adapting to changes relatively easy. If I was a weekend warrior who had been golfing for the past 20 years, a huge grip change might take an entire season to adjust to. But, Seeing as I have 11 months experience and I practice 30 hours a week, I’ll have the new grip down by the end of this current week. That’s one big advantage I have in a world of catching up, and I’ll take it.

We also talked about putters. I’ve been having some serious distance control problems over the past few months. On any putt over 20 feet, I feel like I can never know how it will come off the club face and the putts are at times dying just short and, with the exact (or as exact as I can make it) same swing, at other times blasting five feet beyond the hole. He has had a similar experience with the same putter that I use. So, I think I might be in the market for a Scotty Cameron or Odyssey putter, at least to try out and compare to the putter I currently have.

I’m not big on blaming gear and I keep thinking that I’ll get it down, but after hundreds of hours of practice I think it’s time to explore some other potential causes to the problem. If anyone has any experience with an insert-free putter, I’d love to hear about it.

4 Responses to "Like a seal holding a golf club"

Charlie says:

March 28, 2011 at 8:35 pm

I’d trust your coaches for suggestions more than us strangers. Even more, for putting, might be to trust your instincts – go to a pro shop or a warehouse and see what feels good. For me, most of the newer, better-made, technically superior putters just don’t feel as good as a 40-50 year old “blade.” Maybe it’s a matter of taste or feel, or maybe it’s a matter of sentiment – because that’s what I played with when I was 15 – but a cheap old Spalding HBA that I bought on eBay seems more like an extension of my hands than an almost-state-of-the-art YES c-groove putter.

Now if I could get my hands on a T. P. Mills handmade…
admin says:

March 28, 2011 at 8:46 pm

You’re right about all of that. Especially about it being all about feel and that’s what I’m looking for right now, a putter that feels like an extension of my own two arms.. I’ve only used one putter and I do like it very much, but think that it wouldn’t be a bad thing to give a couple others a test run. I’m not concerned with brand names or technology, and think that when I find it I’ll know, or at least I hope I will! Thanks for the comment
Dennis says:

March 30, 2011 at 5:28 am

Just read your St Pete article- I will enjoy watching your progress and reflections. Kudos to you for living outside the box.

I have owned only two putters in 35 years. I would still be on my first except it broke beyond repair about a year ago. Then an exhaustive search to try to find something as close to my old one as I could.

Putters are for me all about “feel” and confidence. If you have any doubts about your putter you HAVE to explore. It is the only club in my bag that – if I have a bad day- I don’t start immediately adjusting- I just say it’s a bad day and move on. Any other club= on the first bad hot I am adjusting- all day long- and might explain why I can’t get my handicap under 10.

In my new search last year I tried the insert putters and absolutely hated them- for the same reasons you set forth. I found that any slight miss-hit would give all sorts of odd results. I use a blade putter- simple and not too much information. Mallet putters for me — too much info- I got distracted by the huge head and even the slightest mistake in my “take back” got me thinking way too much as I continued to take the shot. For me- the more simple the putter the better.

Good luck finding one that you are comfortable with. When I bought my first one it was a gift from my wife. She took me to a golf store and as a Birthday gift she said I could buy any putter in the place. I tried about 10-15 of them and this one particular putter just felt right and about ten 10′ putts went in the hole in a row. So I bought it. It was the cheapest putter in the place at $29.99. Don’t get mesmerized by name, reputation, etc etc- go with whatever feels comfortable to you
admin says:

March 30, 2011 at 8:53 pm

Thanks for the comment and insight, Dennis. I really appreciate it! As it turns out, my coach found a putter for me to try and it feels pretty good so far (haven’t practiced with it yet) so i’m going to give it a shot in the coming weeks and see if there is any noticeable difference with the one I currently use. It’s a longish process finding that perfect fit, but I know there is a putter out there with my name on it! I’m going to get it adjusted to fit me and then we will see what happens. Thanks again!

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