Putting and the empty hand (Dickerson style)

[txmxer]

My putting has been frustrating for a while. I can make big putts and miss little ones. Often I'm lax on the short ones, but there are times when I'm trying and I throw a flyer right by the basket.

This happens to me in practice as well. I usually set up with 5 to 10 putters from a particular spot and throw all of them. Out of the 5 or 10 throws, I'm likely to have at least one flyer that I early release or late release and so the throw never has a chance.

I decide to try something similar to Dickerson--the empty handed release. I tried it and I really like it for cleaning up the errant flyer throw. Don't know if my average number of makes will improve, but eliminating those ugly air balls (discs) would make me feel better. It seems like I am determining where the release point is going to be with the empty hand, including height, angle and speed. So now I've got an imaginary target for my hand to hit. It's kind of like tapping a nail before taking a big swing.

Anyone here tried this? Results?

 

[ru4por]

I'm not sure everyone will be familiar with Chris Dickerson's putting routine. I think you mean the way he addresses the shot, pre-shot routine? He does it here before each round.



I'm not sure this is the answer for everyone, but having a routine to focus and visualize your toss is sure going to help.

 

[sidewinder22]

Yeah, can't remember who did the video on that tip, probably ten years ago or so. I remember having some success, but never stuck with it, maybe I should revisit.

 

[txmxer]

Yeah, can't remember who did the video on that tip, probably ten years ago or so. I remember having some success, but never stuck with it, maybe I should revisit.

Nothing is universal. It's those ridiculous flyers that it seems to help me with.

For me, this could be anything from 10-50 feet. The ones that hurt are inside the circle. 15 to 20 feet. I think this could really help me clean those up.

 

[txmxer]

I'm not sure everyone will be familiar with Chris Dickerson's putting routine. I think you mean the way he addresses the shot, pre-shot routine? He does it here before each round.



I'm not sure this is the answer for everyone, but having a routine to focus and visualize your toss is sure going to help.

Yes, exactly. And watching that—if you want to putt like a pro, you better be hitting metal pretty much every throw out to 50 feet. Anthon missed more, but I don't think he missed hitting the basket more than once or twice.

 

[RocHucker]

Your mileage may vary, but I find that when I have the putting equivalent of a grip-lock and I yank the putt way off to the right (which is what I think you're describing), it's almost always because my release point is too late into my arm extension.

If your arm is already fully extended when you release, then the momentum of your hand/arm has nowhere that it can go except to swing out to the right. So if you release the disc the tiniest fraction of a second late, then it's going to the right.

In contrast, pretty much all good spin/splush putters that I've studied release the disc when their arm still has a significant amount of extension that it can still make towards the basket. I only noticed this by studying them frame by frame, because their putting strokes are so long and smooth and it *looks* like they are holding the disc for a long time. But in reality, Paul McBeth (for example) releases the disc about halfway through that nice long stroke that he has.

My intuition tells me that if I want to impart more power on my putt then I should use a longer stroke to spend more time accelerating it. My intuition also tells me that if I want to keep my putt straighter then I should hold onto the disc longer to guide it on the straight line longer. My nervousness also makes me want to hold onto the disc so that I feel like I'm controlling it for a longer amount of time. All of these intuitions are wrong.

Activate your wrist/finger pop and release about halfway through your arm stroke, and use the second half of that stroke to ensure that your empty hand stays on line towards the basket, and this will ensure that you aren't yanking the disc to the right for the reason described in my second paragraph. I'm guessing that your empty hand pre-putt routine is helping to remind you of a better release point, and that when you omit the routine your faulty intuition takes over and you hold onto the disc until too late in your arm extension.

I could be wrong about your specific case, but just sharing what I've learned recently since it seemed like you might be experiencing something similar!

 

[seedlings]

My putting has sucked lately. Watching this vid of Andrew reminded me to finish the putting motion toward the max height of aim, which I have not been doing. 'Shake hands with the basket'

 

[txmxer]

Good points RocHucker. You pretty much nailed it (I think). I'll keep the release point/pop in mind as I practice.

 

[RFrance]

Sorry for my adolescence getting the better of me but that sure looks like the BW Drill 2.0.

My putting has sucked lately. Watching this vid of Andrew reminded me to finish the putting motion toward the max height of aim, which I have not been doing. 'Shake hands with the basket'

 

[seedlings]

Sorry for my adolescence getting the better of me but that sure looks like the BW Drill 2.0.

I'll wipe the disc with anything on it's way into the basket every time.

 

[RowingBoats]

Your mileage may vary, but I find that when I have the putting equivalent of a grip-lock and I yank the putt way off to the right (which is what I think you're describing), it's almost always because my release point is too late into my arm extension.

If your arm is already fully extended when you release, then the momentum of your hand/arm has nowhere that it can go except to swing out to the right. So if you release the disc the tiniest fraction of a second late, then it's going to the right.

In contrast, pretty much all good spin/splush putters that I've studied release the disc when their arm still has a significant amount of extension that it can still make towards the basket. I only noticed this by studying them frame by frame, because their putting strokes are so long and smooth and it *looks* like they are holding the disc for a long time. But in reality, Paul McBeth (for example) releases the disc about halfway through that nice long stroke that he has.

My intuition tells me that if I want to impart more power on my putt then I should use a longer stroke to spend more time accelerating it. My intuition also tells me that if I want to keep my putt straighter then I should hold onto the disc longer to guide it on the straight line longer. My nervousness also makes me want to hold onto the disc so that I feel like I'm controlling it for a longer amount of time. All of these intuitions are wrong.

Activate your wrist/finger pop and release about halfway through your arm stroke, and use the second half of that stroke to ensure that your empty hand stays on line towards the basket, and this will ensure that you aren't yanking the disc to the right for the reason described in my second paragraph. I'm guessing that your empty hand pre-putt routine is helping to remind you of a better release point, and that when you omit the routine your faulty intuition takes over and you hold onto the disc until too late in your arm extension.

I could be wrong about your specific case, but just sharing what I've learned recently since it seemed like you might be experiencing something similar!

This is one of the biggest reasons putts come out high right, for sure. I started having a lot of issues with this when I started realizing the putt is just like a drive mechanically (MOSTLY). This one aspect is much different, you have to release the putt and you cant just let the levers do the work.

 

[autocrosscrx]

FWIW, I don't think Dickerson did that for very long. Or at least doesn't do it with regularity.