Putting: Can it be a wrist-only action?

[IR8300]

Putting from 20': Can it be a wrist-only action? Or is the forearm required as well? Put another way, if I duct tape my forearm to my stomach, should I be able to putt accurately from 20 feet?

Background: My form sucks in every aspect, so I'm trying to correct putting first.

 

[biscoe]

No wrist would be a better option than wrist only.

 

[IR8300]

So if you are facing the basket, flex at the elbow & keep the wrist more or less locked? Cannot be any worst than I'm doing now. Thanks!

 

[HB2017]

You are dead in the water thinking about how each body part has to move in order to throw a 20' foot putt (or any shot for that matter). You cannot make putts if you are thinking about how much your wrist is extending. Ask me how I know.

Remember that a putt is just a short throw. You feel way more pressure to make a 20 footer than a 60 footer because you really expect to make the 20 footer, whereas your expectation for making the 60 footer is too low to cause pressure.

Focus on the desired flight path and let your body respond to that. Be mindful of where your gaze is focused shortly before, during, and right after you throw.

 

[biscoe]

The most valuable putting advice I ever got came from an article in Disc Golf Journal (DG mag in the late 90's when all we had was the occasional dg mag) where Ken Climo recommended treating the putter like it was a brick or other similar object you were trying to toss in the basket. I have never focused on anything my body parts do specifically. Other than that "aim small, miss small" and "putt through the basket not to the basket."

 

[ChrisWoj]

Putting from 20': Can it be a wrist-only action? Or is the forearm required as well? Put another way, if I duct tape my forearm to my stomach, should I be able to putt accurately from 20 feet?

Background: My form sucks in every aspect, so I'm trying to correct putting first.

Focus on the forearm, wrist, and hand FEEL at release. Might even benefit you to close your eyes and search for the same feel every time, while someone tells you if you're putting it the same every time. Wild idea, but the key point is - find the feel of a consistent motion that feels easy AND powerful.

From there, work on adjusting for distance with the shape of your arm swing, while keeping that consistent powerful feel the same every time no matter what your distance is. When I'm hot in my backyard running tons of putts the 18' putt feels exactly the same out of my hand as the 45' putt. Its the shape of the arm swing and the amount of weight shift that makes the real difference.

The exact motion is going to vary by person, and putting is probably the most personal part of the game - let your putt come to you and what feels good for your body in generating a simple repeatable motion.

 

[itlnstln]

The most valuable putting advice I ever got came from an article in Disc Golf Journal (DG mag in the late 90's when all we had was the occasional dg mag) where Ken Climo recommended treating the putter like it was a brick or other similar object you were trying to toss in the basket. I have never focused on anything my body parts do specifically. Other than that "aim small, miss small" and "putt through the basket not to the basket."

I second this. Form work never yielded any real success for me. I pick a link on a chain and toss the disc at it. Incidentally, my putting form is very consistent, but I don't think about the form. I think about hitting a link with a disc, and the rest follows.

I wouldn't start with my approach. Consistent form can create consistent outcomes. In my case, I was thinking so much about form, I lost the thread on what I was trying to accomplish

 

[geebob]

generating a simple repeatable motion.

In a nutshell, this

 

[glassila]

I would say that Matt Orum has the "wristiest" putt of anyone on the pro tour and he is a pretty good putter.
Having said that...go ahead and try putting like he does. It just doesn't work!

 

[Dcinmd]

I get the spin on the disc from my fingers, wrist and hand holding the disc to extend flat towards the basket.

I get the power from legs and hips. If I'm miss right I am trying to do too much with wrist/arm action. And trying to over compensate the power that should be generated by my lower body. And the opposite if I am missing left. Everything from the finger, wrist and arm have a single purposed of going straight towards my chosen target.

If I am putting from 5 to 90 feet everything is the same with the finger/wrist/hand, the only thing changing is the power I generation from the hip/legs. And of course the aiming point changes the further one goes outside the circle.

I equate it to much like shooting a basketball, that the distance of the shot is generated by my lower body and the spin of the ball by the upper. A 5 foot shot, free throw or 3 point shot is exactly the same in the arm and the wrist, I am just putting more into the shot with my lower body the further out one goes.

 

[IR8300]

The wrist-only putts, resulted my worst, accuracy-wise, putting sessions. But I thought for sure that is what I used in the house, with the Hydrogen putter.

But I still think facing the basket is the right stance. As to keeping your eye on the basket during the flight of the disc? ABSOLUTELY! Empirically, have seen that with putting.

Will try to work on a fluid motion, and stop focusing on body parts, and see where that goes.

BTW, sorry for the late replay, but just got the notification E-mail about this thread getting responses, minutes ago.

 

[geebob]

You are dead in the water thinking about how each body part has to move in order to throw a 20' foot putt (or any shot for that matter). You cannot make putts if you are thinking about how much your wrist is extending. Ask me how I know.

Remember that a putt is just a short throw. You feel way more pressure to make a 20 footer than a 60 footer because you really expect to make the 20 footer, whereas your expectation for making the 60 footer is too low to cause pressure.

Focus on the desired flight path and let your body respond to that. Be mindful of where your gaze is focused shortly before, during, and right after you throw.

It depends on what your goals for your game are. If your aim is to be decent at putting and make most of your putts within 20' of the basket, going by feel is a good enough method and may even produce better results depending on a lot of different factors.

In almost every sport, the top level players, whether that is an NBA player or a great rec baller, will develop a fundamentally sound technique and practice that same movement tens of thousands of times until it becomes embedded in their muscle memory. Once that motion is part of your muscle memory, then they'll clear their mind and let the muscle memory take over. Kristin Tattar explains it really well here.



I'll use myself as an example here. When I first decided to be better at disc golf, I found a few things in my game that I could fix and I got a lot better. I found a putting stroke that got me in the basket from within 20 feet at least half the time. That helped me at least enjoy the game and I was happy with that. Until I wasn't. I decided that I wanted to start competing and setting some goals for myself (they're pretty modest). I'm getting to the point where I can start locking it in, which will take a while since I'm not a great athlete and my body awareness is terrible.

I hope that is at least a bit helpful.

 

[Nick Pacific]

There's no such thing as a putt in disc golf, it's actually a short, forward facing throw with a reach down instead of a reach back. Fire it in there with confidence and be bold!!!!

Oh, and you gotta practice too, at least a couple days a week to keep those movements and muscles strong and fluid.

 

[Nick Pacific]

I would say that Matt Orum has the "wristiest" putt of anyone on the pro tour and he is a pretty good putter.
Having said that...go ahead and try putting like he does. It just doesn't work!

That's the thing, there really isn't a best way to do it as long as you can generate the velocity at the end of the day.

And Matt's a beast, that guy is like 6"5 strong athletic and long levers, he would have likely been at least a collegiate or even pro level athlete at whatever sport he was brought up playing, disc golf happened to be it.