Putting with Overspin

[edshaw]

Not intending to muddy up the water, here,
but does anyone else here putt with overspin?
I got the idea years ago, reading the
legendary gambler, Titanic Thompson. He
said it was his secret. Years later, after finally
getting nerve to try it, I did, and never looked
back.
(Briefly, all you do is contact the ball above
its "equator." If there is a "trick" to it, it's that the
contact point on the club is the leading edge
of the sole.)

[LowPost42]

Re: Putting with Overspin

That sure sounds like a 'gambling' way of putting - wouldn't it lead to inconsistency? If you don't hit the equator, you get a different roll than if you hit above or below.

Almost all strokes cause the ball to hop a little bit, with a touch of backspin, then the overspin starts when the ball starts rolling. Better putters have design keys to reduce the distance of the hop, which reduces the amount of backspin, which gets the ball rolling sooner, which helps it track your line better.

But taking, say, an 8802 and trying to blade the ball perfectly every time?

I'll stick with my MentorSports putter - with all the tech built in to do it for me.

[edshaw]

Re: Putting with Overspin

When I say it took me years to try it, Low Post,
I mean that I would putt a few on the practice
green, some thought to exactly going on, i.e.,
do a little on the fly risk assessment, and mutter,
"Forget it."
One day I just thought, "I'm going for it."
When I say "trying it," I mean commiting to it.
Here's the thing: a pendulum type golfer contacts
the ball exactly on the equator, consistently,
on the green.
The fact is, it is a very simple matter to raise
the contact point about three eighths inch.
There are psychological horror points here, and
they are, first, "Isn't the putter going to slip off
the ball?" The fear turns out to be groundless.
Second, I no longer can hit the ball with the face
of the putter; I have to hit it with the leading
edge of the sole -- this is like putting with a
five iron.." Now, I admit, that's a big one.
(You could close down the face to raise the
contact point, but that would seem to go against
the grain.)
The question is naturally, "Why bother with any of
this?" The answer lies in a simple benefit: eliminating
that first millicesond of skid, the ball tracks like a
son of a b...., running over breaks and grain like
they weren't there. That was Titanic's claim, and
right he was.

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: Putting with Overspin

When you can get on the practice greens early in the mornings, with the dew still undisturbed, you can see how much a putted ball does, or does not bounce after impact using your own putting stroke. This is also a the time to study, and practice putting breakers.

I putt like edshaw has discribed, and find the ball does bounce less, and tracks to the hole better. My key is make sure my hands lead the putter face into impact. This way I still contact the top part of the ball with the putter face, and not the bottom 90* edge of the putter. That bottom angle between the sole, and face of the putter is what will cause errant putts if it contacts the ball first.

Back when the greens were not as manicured as they are today this was an accepted way of putting. If you watch some of the older shells wonderful world of golf programs you will see this type of putting. In other words it is old school, but still works for some of us. GJS

[Scragger63]

Re: Putting with Overspin

So, if I understand you correctly GJS, ensuring hands ahead of the ball at impact has the effect of delofting your putter, yes...???

Or, much the same effect as perhaps having the ball positioned back in your putting stance, as opposed to forward......

As I understand it, all putters come with some marginal (and I do mean "marginal") amount of loft built in.

That said, from a physics point of view, hitting the ball above its equator, notionally on the downstroke, to my mind would squeeze (if only slightly) the ball down into the turf of the putting green, tending I would have thought to decrease the likelihood of getting topspin needed to start the ball rolling nicely along the target line......

Just thinking out loud.....

Cheers

[BrianW]

Re: Putting with Overspin

Here are some things I have learned relating to putting and I own up I learned them from a book "Search for the Perfect Swing" They have cleared up a few misconceptions I had though.

When struck with a putter the ball bounces then skids for the first few inches of it's path, It is not affected by spin, you cannot hook or slice a putt with sidespin, topspin and backspin make no worthwhile difference to the carry of the ball. Hitting down at the ball or up above it's equator will only increase the bounce and make the ball behave unpredictably. The only reason a putter has a small amount of loft is to reduce the bump effect at the start

The most efficient way to putt a ball is therefore straight down the line with centre contact. Mind! if someone feels better hitting up or down or in to out then that's fine.

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: Putting with Overspin

S-63 you are quite correct about driving the ball in to the turf, but if the ball is contacted at, or just barely above the equator with a delofted putter face, the downward motion of the ball is minimal. I have been putting this way for more than 50 years, and never really found a reason to change. Most of the time I am below 30 putts per round. I should also add that I am bit more wristy than most modern players. That being said on todays manicured greens, my opinion is that the pendulum, arms, and shoulder stroke would be the better of the two.

What you might find is that on longer putts, you will get a longer distance roll, with a shorter back, and foreward swing with my method. Back in my heyday I had to really pop the ball to get the distances needed, since the green surfaces were a bit higher. Todays green apron (second cut?) are pretty much the same as the greens I learned to putt on. I travel alot, so I get to putt on a lot of different surfaces, most of which are slow, and bumpy. Now when I get on green that is much faster, and smoother than I am use to, I have a lighter putter that I use, so that I don't need to change my putting stroke.

Putting is such a personal thing, that people should use what ever works best for them. There is no right, or wrong way to putt, just a best way to get the ball into the hole for the individual.

Sorry to be so long winded. GJS

[Scragger63]

Re: Putting with Overspin

Putting is such a personal thing, that people should use what ever works best for them. There is no right, or wrong way to putt, just a best way to get the ball into the hole for the individual.

Sorry to be so long winded. GJS

Please GJS, no apology necesary, your thoughts there make perfect sense. I couldn't agree more about the personal preference aspect of putting. As I mentioned, I was simply thinking out loud about the hitting the ball downwards.

For me, (glances around for those I consider argumentatitive, yes, I'm about to make another unqualified "guesstimate... ) for as many of the guys on the PGA tour that look to have similar style swings (ok, Furyk being the "obvious" exception amongst few others) there would be almost as many different putting styles as there are PGA members.

GJS, this fact alone, upon reflection, simply emphasises your point about the individuality of putting...

May your chosen putting stroke continue to work for you. Meanwhile, I am still looking for one that will work for me...

That said, I experimented with a new putting stroke over the weekend with some good results. But, I think I might start another thread with this question...

Cheers

[edshaw]

Re: Putting with Overspin

Interesting to me that two schools of
thought exist, even among the few who
practice overspin putting: those who
deloft the club and hit the ball with the
face, and me, who represents the school
of hitting the ball with the edge of the
head.
The thing I definitely would not want to
do is hit down on the ball.
I know, my method sounds crazy, but it
has been working for me. It would seem
to me that, after the first six inches or
so of roll, everything else would be equal.
Still, my observation is the overspin ball
appears less succeptible to break and
grain. Physically impossible, right?