Tiger Woods said he can putt again Tuesday, about two months after back surgery.
And he did.
I also coached some people.
One might expect to see at least some golf from Woods this week as he hosts the Hero World Challenge. Below, you can watch the 15-time major winner through a two-minute video published on his event team’s social media feed on Wednesday. Here are some additional thoughts.
According to Tiger Woods, what moves first in a putting stroke?
Putter head, he said.
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Not the body.
“It’s just like a golf swing,” Woods said.
Tiger Woods explains why he looks like he’s “punching” his putts
When making a putt, Woods brings his putter back to a length appropriate for the length of the putt, then brings it back to make contact, making the follow-through look short — or, as he said, more like a punch.
He explained the reason.
“I think the weight of the golf ball is what slows down the putter,” Woods said in the video. “So it looks like I’m punching because I accelerate all the way to the end, but the weight of the putter head actually slows me down. I’m just putting all my energy into the ball, and the ball ends up slowing down the putter head.”
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“I see some players have that kind of follow-through (long one), but I don’t understand it because when you look at players who hit punch shots, the swing on the follow-through is shorter, but compared to a player who launches and picks up, the follow-through is longer. Well, it’s a similar concept. If the putter head is stationary due to the weight of the ball, the momentum on the front side will slow down. It doesn’t look the same, so it looks like you’re punching, but the weight of this golf ball is just slowing down this mass (the putter head). ”
According to Tiger Woods, why an old putter helps Tiger Woods’ putting stroke
Woods said that’s because of their small size.
“The grip is much lighter, the grip is smaller, so the overall mass of the putter is much lighter,” Woods said in the video. “So it’s so light that it’s more sensitive to the weight of the ball than these new putters. Your putter with a bigger grip, bigger head, more mass is going to go through more than my putter.”
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“Ben Crenshaw’s little 8802 putter? It stops right away. It has no mass, so the weight of the ball has a lot to do with it. That’s why it looks like I do it, but it actually doesn’t.”
But should you putt like this?
That’s a good question. Perhaps the best answer is comfort. If you perform a 360 degree rotation before putting and the ball goes in, perform a 360 degree rotation. If for some reason your follow through is long and the ball goes in, keep your follow through long.
Again, if a short follow-through works for Woods, it’s at least worth considering. If you want to know more, Australian-based instructor Ryan Mouque also recently posted about this move, and you can read his post here.
The post Tiger Woods grabs his putter – and explains why he looks like he’s ‘punch’ appeared first on Golf.
