Applying The Pendulum Putting Stroke

This is Part 1 in a series of articles on this putting method.

You've probably read thousands of magazine articles about golf, read hundreds of books, watched untold number of instructional videos and watch the Golf Channel to the point that your wife is ready to run over your clubs with he SUV!

And every time you read or hear about putting, they tell you that its the most individual part of the game and that you can set up and swing the club any way you please, as long as it's square at impact.

To some degree, all of that is true. But if you have reached a point in your golf game where scoring lower is a priority, then never settle for this advice.

Introducing the Pendulum Stroke

Our advice to you is to use what is commonly referred to as the “pendulum putting stroke”. If you already use this stroke then keep reading this article and perfect it. If you do not already use it, then switch to it immediately!

I first came across this idea years ago on a video by Nick Faldo who used this putting method

You'll thank me a thousand times over once you apply this to your putts on the course.

Here is why you should switch:

Swinging the putter is all about maintaining a steady pace throughout the stroke. There is no acceleration through the ball, you simply maintain the pace you initially started out with. That advice is often given to prevent players from slowing down the putter (usually out of fear), but it's not true.

You want to maintain the pace of the putter's movement, and the pendulum stroke is the best way for you to do that. Other types of “wristy” strokes are too dangerous and will leave you susceptible to what is known as “handsy explosions” - rapid changes in the pace of the putter's motion.

Grasping The Concept

The best way to grasp the concept of the pendulum stroke is to watch the pendulum of a grandfather clock in action.

Just look:

...back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... always using the exact same tempo. It never goes faster at times, nor slower at other times, and no manipulation involved in it – nobody is trying to make the pendulum do anything other than what is was made to do – which is moving back and forth, back and forth...

The other thing you will notice about the grandfather clock's pendulum as it swings back and forth is that moves at the exact same distance, every time, no matter what. It does not go back a few inches, then suddenly jolt forward an inch, then back again, etc.

There is a lot you can learn from this clock thing! And that is what the pendulum putting stroke is all about: It's acceleration without effort. Force without manipulation. Once it's moving there doesn't need to be any more energy added or taken away from it.

Practice this method and you will find it will improve your putting, I use it and whilst my golf partners think its peculiar they still call me "Joe the Putt" so I must be doing something right, its just the rest of the game............ ah well practice makes perfect.

Watch out for the next lesson.

You can read part 2 of the pendulum putting stroke here

Read part three of pendulum putting stroke here

So you think you know the rules of golf... well check this out.

The Rules Of Golf Quiz

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