2017-10-29 Putting Breakthrough My putting had been a mess. Not only was the success rate low, but also or rather as the source of the problem did I lack con- sistency in my form. I putted with a push technique and really low spin. I tried some spin putting but feared long comebackers. Concerning the spin, I wasn't able to get more spin on the disc, unless I switched to spin putting. Also, I had problems with longer putts, because of the distance alone. Without enough spin my disc didn't fly far enough. To sum it up, my putting sucked and I realized that. Recently I experimented with a straddle stance. This somehow was the beginning of my putting experimentation phase. There wasn't much difference between the normal and straddle stance, but the straddle stance felt a bit more natural to me. However, I switched back and forth and realized that I could use either one, according to the situation at hand. Next was a fieldwork session, where I took a new try to drive with my P2s. It failed again. That'll be it! I will accept that P2s don't work for driving for me. This brought the Pure more into play. That disc I can drive really well with. And the new question being: Wouldn't I be able to putt with the Pure? As a disc number minimalizing guy, it hurt my feelings to carry two kinds of putters, just because I drive with one and putt with the other. If I could putt with Pures, then I could shrink my bag. For my old bad putting style, the shallow Pures didn't feel right. When you putt with discs like with stones, you want deep bricks of discs. But maybe my putting style was the real problem anyway ... Hence I investigated closer into putting. The first inspiration, I got from Nikko Locastro when he talked about releasing high would be the most important aspect of the motion. [0] I techni- cally understood what he talked about but couldn't fit that in- formation into my own putting motion. It was like words in a foreign language ... The breakthrough came with a short section in a Ricky Wysocki ITB. [1] There he talks about his grip and you see him putting close-up and in slow-motion. Then at once I understood! :-) The deep reach-back with a hyzer angle, then the arm swing that goes up high (remember Nikko?!) where at the end your fingers and hand opening pop the disc up to flat. Without that high release, you cannot get the disc to flat ... which had been a problem in my understanding until then. And without being able to start the reach-back with a hyzer angle, you cannot reach back enough to generate velocity. My understanding of all this came all of a sudden when I watched Ricky in this video. (Of course, this is all about push putting style. Things are dif- ferent for spin putters.) A further bit of information came from Dave Feldberg. He talked about having the putter fit to the palm of your hand. [2] Up to now my putter didn't touch my palm ... which was another reason why I couldn't generate spin. With Ricky's technique und Nikko's and Feldberg's notes of impor- tances, I went to the course to practice putting. It was a day with heavy wind, but still, my putting eventually had gained the necessary form consistency. It wasn't so much arbitrary in the motion anymore, why I suddenly could focus on things like the height to aim at or the release angle (for right to left winds). I putted with the P2s and the Pures both. Still, the P2s felt a bit better in the hand and I had the impression that they were more reliable into slight headwinds, because of the fade. On windless days the Pures appear to be just as good. Anyway there was few difference between putting with the one or the other. My best putts however were from 9m within trees into a slight headwind ... dead straight into the chains three times in a row with all three P2s -- bang, bang, bang! :-) The round itself was of mixed success. I started with a three- putt (because of the heavy wind). (I did manage the strong headwind on the drive well, however.) Then another time I ac- cidently threw the disc on hyzer ... and down the slope into the bushes on hole 5 ... which should be the Birdie hole! Then nice lines through the trees with the Comet. Parked drives on addi- tional shots. But an unfortunate twig hit on the approach for hole 9, leaving me with a Bogey after a good drive (strong right to left wind). I scored 33, which is rather bad. Without the wind it would have been a 30, I believe. Nonetheless, it was a great day on the course, as I had a huge breakthrough with my putting! [0] http://youtu.be/31WBwNtbQIQ#t=1m23s [1] http://youtu.be/205493297#t=5m04s [2] http://youtu.be/eqcpQLQ62Yc#t=55s http://marmaro.de/discgolf/ markus schnalke