The Isosceles Triangle

Technically, the secret of the accuracy in all swings - whether it is the full swing or the putter - is to be able to return to the Isosceles Triangle at the point of impact. This explains what I discovered and presented in my last post. Let us review what an isosceles triangle is.

An isosceles triangle is a triangle with (at least) two equal sides. In the figure above, the two equal sides have length and the remaining side has length . This property is equivalent to two angles of the triangle being equal. An isosceles triangle therefore has both two equal sides and two equal angles. The name derives from the Greek iso (same) and skelos (leg).

A triangle with all sides equal is called an equilateral triangle, and a triangle with no sides equal is called a scalene triangle. An equilateral triangle is therefore a special case of an isosceles triangle having not just two, but all three sides and angles equal. Another special case of an isosceles triangle is the isosceles right triangle.

For golf, let us not dwell on the other special isosceles triangle but just the one pictured above. Picture your shoulders as the side "a" and the sides "b" as the distance of both shoulders to the ball. On the upswing, the "b" sides will no longer be equal - the left getting longer and the right getting shorter. You can test this by facing both hands together and looking how the left hand gets shorter in relation to the right hand while moving the shoulders around and the arms moving up. What happens, technically speaking, is the face of the club or putter opens up. To get it back to the square position (the isosceles triangle), one has to let the shoulders wait for the hands to catch up at the point of impact.

Have you not noticed that when you really want to hammer the ball and let the body work more - the ball slices? Yes, that is the body not waiting for the arms (the other way around - hook - is possible but usually new golfers cannot do this). Now that you know the technical stuff, let us go to the practical side.

"Putting is probably a very personal thing. It is so easy to do for everyone and you really need no skill to hammer a ball to the hole. " This is what I have said for so long a time but this just changed in the last couple of days.

Here is another fallacy I have been advocating before, "The technique follows the same intention as the full swing - use the big muscles for consistent accuracy." Well not entirely wrong in a way - this statement is correct when you think of the putt as two pieces. The first is the big muscles; the second is a rebound with the absence of the big muscles. Sounds confusing isn't it?

• First, practice how hard you far you want the ball to go.
  
• When satisfied, lay down the club with the left hand roughly square to the target, both feet together.
• Start aiming the club to the target while the right hand joins in to fully grip the club.
  
• With both hands now on the club, finish the targeting of the putter face to the target.
  
• Once satisfied and while still looking at the target, move the feet apart for the proper stance.
• Start the back swing with shoulders up to the point you previously (first bullet) practiced.
• With the shoulders relaxing, let the putter bounce back with the arms guiding it back to the target.
• The isosceles triangle is achieved at point of impact - then becomes a scalene triangle again after impact. Note that the reverse scalene triangle happened at the upswing also.
  

Getting Really Technical

I just got back from a 5 day trip to Palm Coast, Florida. I played three golf games in three consecutive days. I took pictures of my friends' swings and ask them to take my picture too. After the game, while perusing my digital camera images, it became apparent that my finish form is not that good looking. My friend has a better looking form. That was the first day. Even though I was out driving my friend and out-scored him, I decided that his form will help me improve further.

The difference between my form and his is the finish of the swing. He turns his shoulders around and stays there even at the end of the swing while I seem to be standing up erect when I finish. On the second day, I decided to put that end of the swing form into mine. Disaster. I started pushing and fading my ball to the right. Although mostly serviceable, this was a night and day difference from the previous day where my ball is going straight to my target with a slight draw at times.

This effect made me to think and figure out why. There is a similarity to my putting - when I open my shoulders during the stroke, the ball goes right. The explanation is the face of the club or putter must be striking the ball with an open face. When you think about it, this is really what is happening. If you think of your shoulders as two points of a triangle and the third point is the club head, the distance of the shoulders to the club head must remain the same for both the time of set-up and the time of the hit. Opening the left shoulder makes the distance to the ball longer while the right shoulder's distance get shorter - the effect of which is an open club face. Vice-versa can happen too but seldom.

This said and proven, I reverted back to my old form and played happily ever after. By the way, this topic has a very important implication to putting. The face of the clock should be visualized, the shoulders turning like a pendulum, the force measured by the "hours" separating the backward and forward stroke - and all successfuly implemented to be able to putt straight.

Putting

Putting is probably a very personal thing. It is so easy to do for everyone and you really need no skill to hammer a ball to the hole. This is the reason why no one will believe if I say follow this technique. What I will write here is my own, designed for me, works for me, and put in writing for me to remember.

The technique follows the same intention as the full swing - use the big muscles for consistent accuracy. It also use the grip techniques extensively. It is important to note the techniques employed here. It is like the grip I rated G-10. The right hand starts and then the focus is put on the left hand. The intent is to leave the right hand immobilized, the left hand in charge and the shoulder make the hit. Here is how I do mine.

Lay down the club with the right hand roughly square to the target. Now let the left hand cradle (literally cradle!) the club. The focus is still on the on the right hand until it is laying and sitted comfortably on the putter. Usually the right thumb should find itself on top of the flat spot of the putter grip. Now comes the finer aiming with the left hand. Once satisfied, the left hand pushes the putter head out and upwards (at around two o'clock) - the shoulder instinctively following. The forward motion is done with the turn of the shoulder.

Things to note: the big muscle is employed (shoulder); the cradle position of the left hand prevents fanning, same purpose for the full grip of the right resting on the putter grip. The last focus was on the left hand.

My major problems in putting are twofold: number one is my eyesight, I have a major case of astigmatism; second is my natural tendency to push the putter. Astigmatism is really bad because you see the ball where it is really not - your vision is distorted. I really on logical memory to sight the putter. Combine this with yips and it is disaster big time.

I am thinking of not fighting this and maybe working my handicap to my advantage. In order to do this, I will open my stance from now on. This thing works! Also, from now on, thinking the result is far more important than thinking shoulders, etc. This leaves everything to muscle memory, the ultimate golf skill! The putting procedure now should be:

• Read the putt, decide on the break, and align the ball (with line) towards the target.
• Do several practice putts to get the feel for the length of the putt that is needed. Remember to the ball rolling there.
  
• With an open (including open shoulders), align the putter lines to the line on the ball, and repeat the same practice thought - move the ball to the target spot. Note that the shoulders should have taken over.

All the above were written one year ago. It is amazing that when you find a golf secret, then you somehow also discover the key to somebody else's. Here is what I read about Lorena Ochoa how she won today the Samsung World Championship golf tournament.

"She got up this morning and went for a run and then was totally calm when she got to the golf course," said Dave Brooker, her caddie. The night before at the home of Tom and Kathy Mahoney and with the help of former Bel Air assistant pro Nick Bradley she worked on keeping her weight on her left leg during her putting stroke to avoid her tendency to lift her head back too soon and open the putter face.

Well I discovered the same thing in the past few days. My putts are going to the right because I do not stay still after I hit the ball, in effect, not following through. Another error is that I always imagine that the putter must stay square to the target when that is really impossible - it actually sends your ball to the right. If you try to push the ball to the target without a back stroke, you will know that you cannot do so with the putter face square. The putter face must close after hitting the ball - else it goes right.

The putting procedure now should be:

• Read the putt, decide on the break.
• Do several practice putts to get the feel for the length of the putt that is needed. Remember to think the ball rolling there.
• Hold the putter with the left hand and aim.
• Try (only) to keep the shoulders and feet parallel to the target line.
• Bring the putter back with the left shoulder.
• Bring the putter forward with the left shoulder and instinctively letting the putter close after impact.
• Do not look for the ball - keep the eyes rooted to where the ball was at impact.
  
• Observe how the putter face naturally closes on the follow through.