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Can someone help break down Calvin Heimburg's putt

genefish

Newbie
Joined
Nov 16, 2020
Messages
11
Location
Horsham, PA
I'm a beginner experimenting with different putting styles (and figuring out what I like).

I am a similar body type (plus a few lbs) to Calvin Heimburg and am trying to emulate him. I can't find any videos or text to break his form down and I'm sure I'm missing a lot.

Would love it if some more experienced posters helped break it down.

Especially interested in his weight transfer (looks minimal to me), how he spins the disc, the purpose of his long down swing...and well any other insight.

Thank you!!
 
You should watch videos on putting. Walk before you run. I get why you want to emulate Calvin, but I don't think you can understand what he's doing without a foundation.

Key terms push putt, spin putt, and spush (hybrid spin push) putt.

I'm still new (1 yrplaying), but I know that the learning curve is exponential.

I like Barsby as a putting style early on. Soft and floaty. Developing a nice layup that doesn't leave a nasty tester is a solid approach to putting IMO.

Also, get a basket, 5-10(+) same or similar putters and practice the motion and particularly the release. You want your putting motion to be automatic within a certain range. I played a lot of basketball as a kid, and think of it like a free throw. For me, that changes at about 20'+, but I'm working it.

IMO there is nothing wrong with throwing countless times at 10-15' to "perfect" that range.
 
I know, it's fascinating, right? He generates so much power with really minimal movement.

I'm not an expert at putting forms but I'm pretty sure that it is a weight shift putt. He's really good at catching a tiny amount of momentum that he generates at his feet and leveraging it through the whole length of his body. He will do a little hip hinge on straddle putts to generate that momentum. He's got a video out about how he thinks the stance is the key to his putt.

As far as the downswing goes, he's probably loading up his posterior oblique sling (you can reference the numerous threads on this subject as it relates to backhand power in the forums) to unload along his aim line.

He seems to keep movement along the entire kinetic chain really minimal -- it's really just "tendon bounce" or whatever it is we call it when fascia rebound) along that sling -- until the transfer to his hand, which is under a lot of torque at the release. His release happens pretty low considering that he doesn't really drop the disc below much below waist height on stagger putts. The disc springs out and his finishing position is his hand in a karate chop position, with his fingers in line with his forearm straight at his aim point when he's really locked in.

The apex of his putt is pretty close to him rather than the basket (compare this to someone like Cale Leiviska who seems to peak out about 5' in front of the basket before dropping). It takes really bouncy wrist tendons to generate enough spin to keep it flat on that kind of trajectory. If you don't have the wrist strength to handle it, you will tend to have a nose down putt (side note -- there are a lot of really great nose-down putters, it's just not Calvin style).

His 2020 ITB has some comments about his putting grip.

I've tinkered with this putt a bit and the thing that has helped me develop the necessary wrist strength was to practice juggling discs -- throwing up/down without moving my feet, keeping the disc flat in the air. Palm down, low speed wrist curls will help with strength too.

Once you feel solid that you can get a good flat release, you can start adding the weight shift to propel it towards the basket.
 
Here are the mechanics in detail...

Then imagine puting a pizza in the oven

Close. This is a 'throwing pizza boxes across the room' putt. You want the box away from you, as fast as possible, so you can put your feet up on the coffee table. His power developed so he could recline further back while still getting the box 'over in that corner.' But the key: the box was always on his lap to begin with, so he learned to lean back and throw.

Yet, I love to watch him put. It's like he doesn't really care if it goes in, but it usually does.
 
There are and were a lot of great putters from the eras before YouTube. Nothing wrong with seeing someone putt the way you like and trying to copy that. That's how I learned watching Steve Wisecup. If his style/method works for you then make sure and practice that method.

For me visual is a better learning tool than having someone tell me how.
 
thank you everyone! I've learned a lot combing through these links..

Can someone explain for Calvin, is his weight shift just very minimal or is he doing something I can't see? I see his back leg move like once inch only on very long puts...but I don't even see anything for inside the circle. (where most players I see their leg lift up and a lot of back to front motion).
 
thank you everyone! I've learned a lot combing through these links..

Can someone explain for Calvin, is his weight shift just very minimal or is he doing something I can't see? I see his back leg move like once inch only on very long puts...but I don't even see anything for inside the circle. (where most players I see their leg lift up and a lot of back to front motion).

Per my earlier post, I don't know how Calvin's putt works, but your question is kind of what I was getting at.

IMO, his putt is unique and complex. He generates a lot of speed (accurately) without a significant motion. You may be able to copy it, but I'm guessing that starting with that is skipping a lot technique learning that would be useful to build up to his style.
 
It's a shift (lateral, towards the basket). He's just got a super efficient kinetic chain. It doesn't take much v on the high side of a 165lb (generous maybe?) box of springs vs. 175g piece of plastic conservation of momentum equation.

Also, probably a touch of telekenesis.
 
^^^ Especially combined with his accuracy. And that whole disc covering face thing.... crazy.
 

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