Applying this counterintuitive concept will make you a better putter

When some of the greatest putters of our time are asked to describe their putting motion, they say some variation of the following: “I’m trying to create a lively putterhead.”

To the average golfer, this may sound confusing. But let’s dive a little deeper to find out why they describe what they do that way and answer a more relevant question: how can we apply that to our own short game?

A “lively” putterhead imitates an object we see in motion elsewhere in everyday life. Think of it as a pendulum and think of other versions of pendulums that we encounter in everyday life, from the grandfather clock to the playground swing and the wrecking ball. In each example, the energy and pace are the same on both sides of the movement. One side is not faster than the other. A true pendulum has a backward and forward swing of equal length.

It is also important to understand where a pendulum reaches its greatest speed. Contrary to what I might have assumed, it is not at the bottom of the arch. The greatest acceleration occurs during the initial descent, when gravity begins to act on it. This ensures that the movement on both sides remains balanced and equal.

How does this apply to hitting a golf ball during the putting motion? The difference is that at the moment of impact the ball introduces a break and resistance at the bottom of the pendulum. Because the energy of the pendulum is equal on both sides, hitting the ball at the bottom changes the motion appearance of the movement. The stroke will look longer as it goes back and shorter as it goes through.

From a technical perspective, learning to make a longer backswing with a shorter follow-through is the first step toward creating a more “lively” putterhead. This idea challenges many of the traditional instructions that many golfers have heard for years. “Speed ​​up!” has long been an important part of giving advice. But that cue promotes a liveliness levernot lively goldfinch.

Remember that the fastest point of a pendulum is on the initial descent, not at the bottom and not beyond the ball.

When golfers first try to make longer backswings, they often hit the putts too hard. This usually happens because they are still clinging to the “accelerate through” mentality. What we want is a lively putter head, not a lively handle. To achieve this (and avoid over-hitting the putts) we need to do something that feels counter-intuitive: we need to feel like we are slowing the lever down as the downswing begins. Yes, slow down the handle.

From a physics perspective, when one end of an object slows down, the other end speeds up. That’s exactly what we’re trying to create: a faster, freer putter head without excessive force.

When we accelerate the lever during the downswing, we are actually slowing down the putter head. That produces a real slowing stroke – the opposite of a lively putterhead.

A longer and faster backswing is essential for producing a lively putterhead. It naturally encourages the lever to slow during the downswing, allowing the putter head to swing freely and deliver energy efficiently, without sending the ball too far.

This approach also requires a different mindset around distance control. With a live putter head, the distance is determined in the backswing and not in the follow-through. The further you want to hit a putt, the longer and faster your backswing needs to be to store the right energy for the downswing.

Many golfers try to use the same short backswing for almost every putt and then adjust the distance by hitting harder on the downswing. This typically results in short backswings and long follow-throughs, which is the opposite of what elite putters do.

The best putters with lively putter heads vary the length and speed of the backswing. Counterintuitively, a backswing that feels longer and faster – perhaps even slightly out of control – often provides more control overall.

A final benefit of creating a live putterhead is how much easier it becomes to square the face at impact. Swinging the putterhead, rather than manipulating or controlling it, makes it much easier to square the clubface time and time again.

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