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The Putting Clock at Miami 1905

On the Clock
with Geoff Mangum

20 May 2004

MIKE SHANNON

At the Wachovia Championship in early May, I had the great pleasure of meeting Mike Shannon -- one of a select handful of the world's top putting instructors.

 

After aim, Mike teaches an open-square-closed stroke, with the critical ingredient being distance back from the ball. He claims that the best position back from the ball does not have the eyes directly over the ball, but slightly inside.

Mike has a number of observations to offer:

  • Open or closed stances are fine if comfortable to the player.

  • The upper arms should maintain contact with the torso throughout the stroke, resulting in a more compact stroke with better line and distance control.

  • The optimal stroke pattern is a "triangle" stroke with the top of the putter staying aimed at the same spot it is aiming at address from top of backstroke to top of follow-thru, with no wrist hinge.

  • Players who aim by feel and by seeing complete curving paths instead of lines and targets should be encouraged to aim and putt this way, without conflicts.

  • Players who are consistently either always aggressive or always nonaggressive have much better touch and distance control than players who use "situational" touch and putt aggressively sometimes and nonaggressivlye at other times.

Mike agrees that players using the Putting Arc training aid should not manipulate the putter going back or thru, but should make a stroke on an angled plane that allows the putter to rise naturally going back and thru. The exact angle of tilt varies a little for each individual.

Private Lessons:

MIKE SHANNON
Sea Island Golf Learning Center
Sea Island GA
800-732-4752
seaisland.com
Individual rate: $150 per hour

Mike works out of the Sea Island Resort with Jack Lumpkin and is long associated with the "optics" of putting and with a stroke that has the face gating open and closed to the putt line.

In this month's issue of Travel and Leisure Golf (May / June 2004), Mike's teaching is featured in an article entitled: "Is Your Aim True? Probably Not, Says a Top Putting Guru," pages 117-119. He is currently finishing up a book on putting titled The Art and Science of Perfect Putting to be published later this year. And he is also in the end-stages of completing work on a teaching-training device for putting.

So what does he teach?

Mike teaches that golfers differ in their natural ability to aim the putter depending upon how their eyes "triangulate" when looking down at the ball at address. According to Mike, a study of golfer optics by a team of Orlando-area optometrist in the late 1990s determined that most golfer's perception of where the putter is aimed is skewed left or right by their unique combination of eye dominance and near- or far-sightedness. Bad aim produces bad strokes.

The fix? Move the ball position. Determine whether the golfer's vision "triangulates" directly beneath his nose on the ground, to the left, or to the right. If the eyes triangulate behind the ball, he moves the ball back in the stance to the triangulation spot; if the eyes triangulate forward, he moves the ball forward.

According to Mike, this adjustment corrects the visual process so that the golfer accurately perceives the aim of the putter face, and so can aim the face accurately at the target.

Aids Spotlight

Sindelar Putting Track

This training aid was designed by Joey Sindelar's father and trains a straight-back straight-thru stroke. Worked well for Joey in winning the Wachovia Championship!

The PuttMaster

A simple cloth connected by two metal supports / rails used to groove a square motion of the putter thru the critical impact area -- good for what ails you whether your chosen stroke path is straight or gating, and it folds up conveniently for easy fit in the bag.

ProAim Glasses

Use ambient light indoors or out to project two horizontal lines and a vertical line seemingly onto the ground -- mostly helps get head position and body square to putt.

NB: Nothing for sale by me, just the info for you.

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Recent Testimonials from Students

"You have great putting tips, especially the ones about the gaze. Let's meet and work together when I play Charlotte in May [2003]. I know if I can just get my putting improved, I can break through and win." [Golf Magazine, Feb 2004: "Everyone remembers my seven iron, but my putter won me the PGA Championship."]

Shaun Micheel
PGA Tour player
2003 PGA Champion (July 2003)

"Geoff is the most authoritative, comprehensive and enthusiastic student and instructor of the game of putting that I have come across."

Damon Lucas
Australian pro champion
Director of Instruction
Chestnut Ridge Country Club
Lutherville, Maryland

"I was blown away! If you ever have the chance to take putting instruction from Geoff, DO NOT PASS IT UP!"

Eddie Cox
PGA pro
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Tot Hill Farm GC, Asheboro NC

"Geoff Mangum is a genius in putting instruction. After two short lessons, I've never putted better in my life."

Rick Murphy
Carolina Golf Practice & Learning Center
Greensboro, NC
Exec. Secretary, Carolinas Section, PGA of America
Golf Digest Top Teacher in NC

"Geoff has more knowledge and expertise about putting than any other person that I know. He is an outstanding teacher and his philosophy is backed with an enormous amount of research. He's definitely at the top of the class."

Robert Linville
Robert Linville's Precision Golf School
Golf Coach -- Greensboro College
1993 Carolinas PGA Teacher of the Year
1999 & 2000 NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year
2000 US Coach in US-Japan Collegiate Team Matches

"Geoff knows more about putting that any one I know. His knowledge and dedication to studying putting are second to none."

Tim Sheredy
Senior Instructor
David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Bradenton FL

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