Move the ball for each club in your bag. Get out your putter.
Ben Crenshaw is one of the best putters golf has ever seen. His two Masters victories, in 1984 and 1995, were built on a touch of the greens that players still talk about. When he explains something to put, I listen.
When his putting went sideways, Crenshaw didn’t rebuild his shot. In his words, changing your shot is what gets people into trouble. The only thing he added was the position of the ball, “imperceptibly”, a little up or a little back, until the ball left the face with the roll that he wanted to see.
Most golfers who struggle with their putting stroke start by revising their swing. They change grips, buy a new putter and don’t pay attention to ball position.
Keep the shot you can repeat
Mass is personal and repeatability is everything. A new shot that you can’t reproduce under pressure is not a fix; it is a new problem. Crenshaw’s approach keeps the stroke constant and adjusts the variables around it.
He also said that the ball position is not just forward and backward. Too far in the stance was wrong for him and getting too close to the ball inhibited his shot which he described as more free than most. A free-flowing shot needs space.
That changes the ball position
If you are curious about what the ball position in putting can look like, how it changes and what could be ideal for you, I have gathered this table. This is not taken directly from Crenshaw. It’s more than just golf mechanics to give you some awareness of this concept.
When it moves
Crenshaw’s response was essentially to move up to the roll looks good. It’s honest but here are some starting points.
- Slipped or bounced ball: try to move a little forward.
- Putt or toss high and bounce: try to move back a little.
- The stroke feels tight: check your distance from the ball, not just back and forth.
He also stressed that greens change all the time. His routine was to hit longer putts and watch what the ball does. Make the dance position part of that warm-up.
A drill to try
- Choose a flat putt from 10 to 15 feet.
- Hit five putts from three positions: your normal spot, one ball forward, half ball back.
- Watch how fast the ball rolls, ends up on the end, if it jumps, and where it starts relative to your line. A line drawn on the ball makes this much easier to see.
- Hold the position that gives the cleanest roll and the most comfortable shot.
So stop thinking. Crenshaw believed that when you get it right, your mind is white. The position of the ball is something that is established before the shot, so you don’t have to think about the mechanics during it.
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The place Ball Positioning: Ben Crenshaw’s Correction Most Golfers Ignore appeared first MyGolfSpy.
