Below is an exchange between myself and Mike from Oregon. I’m sending it out to inspire those of you who don’t like homework! Mike took my suggestions to heart with an open mind and is reaping a bountiful putting harvest! Don’t get me wrong, I encourage healthy skepticism, but before you call the men in white coats to take me away, try my tips first; they were just “crazy” enough to work for Mike!
On Oct 23, 2008, at 9:41 AM, Torpedo Golf wrote:
Dear Crewmembers:
Last night I made a few calls to see how the crew was getting along (you know who you are), and I was very encouraged by your overwhelmingly positive responses. I was tested by a few of you on some sticking points about how best to putt with the Torpedo, and it gave me much food for thought. One customer in particular was struggling with hitting his longer putts too long, which I found unusual, as most Torpedo newcomers tend to come up a tad short on longer putts. I don't know how this customer was putting but I tried to construct a stroke that would cause longer putts to over shoot.
I took an extra tight grip and took the club back a bit quick then loosened my grip at the top of the backswing and let the clubhead whip through. I'm sure it would be difficult to detect as a "wristy" putt on video, but that is what it felt like. Then I did the opposite; I took the club back with a slightly lighter grip than normal which caused me to more acutely feel the mass of the Torpedo then firmed everything up toward the end of the backstroke making sure I didn't break down anywhere on the way down. I sunk 15 15-footers consecutively with the Amati using this technique, and it felt like putting marshmallows!
The putt was slightly downhill and broke from right to left approximately one foot. Where's a video camera when you need one! I know there will be doubters out there, but for those of you who have a training aid, you know how hard it is to keep that little sucker from spinning! No matter how you slice it (poor choice of words), 15 consecutive 15-footers is a lot of putts! So give it a try, it sure worked for me today!
Take it with a grain of salt, but do go out and try it!
"Fire One!"
Sincerely,
Timothy Winey
Mike wrote:
Tim,
You called and left a message for me the other night, but when I tried returning the call your phone rang without going to voicemail.
Here's my initial feedback.....
I too have found long putts more difficult to putt consistently. Sometimes I come up short, sometimes it goes way too far. I'm a 7 handicap, so while not a pro, I'm pretty good with a putter in my hand. I will have to go back and read your materials and watch the videos on your website more closely, as I am probably not using the putter like you intended. While I think I'm getting quite good with the putter, my constructive criticism is that the putter (Stradivarius) lacks 'feedback'.....it just doesn't seem to transmit a good feel back to the hands. I've wondered if this is due to the shaft material you've used, or perhaps the weight on the shaft interrupts the feedback being transmitted from the putter head to the hands, but nonetheless, the putter has more of a 'dead' feel than what I'm accustomed to. I'm curious as to why you did not choose steel for the putter shaft.....was this not possible due to the unique weight placement mid-shaft?
Don't take the above comments as my being negative on the putter, because I'm liking it more and more each round I use it (only about five rounds so far) and am getting quite good with it. Would be happy to discuss further if that would be helpful to you.
Mike
On Oct 25, 2008, at 1:08 AM, Torpedo Golf wrote:
Dear Mike:
My guess is that you are probably "helping" the putter at some point in the downstroke. I don't use any muscular effort to hit the ball, only to get the putter up in the air. I'm a pretty average putter with conventional clubs but am, without a doubt, the best long putter in the world. I repeat, the world. This is not due to any special skill but rather a very specific technique of simply trusting gravity to pull the putter through the ball with a modified setup. In 2005, the first 6 putts I hit in public were at the Magnolia course in Disney World (where I went to the Orlando Golf Show). Three went in, two lipped out and one was a tap in. These putts were all 117 feet in length. I routinely sink 50-footers in practice, far more often than even the best pros. Watch the videos carefully, especially the 3 left hand dominant youtube videos.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsQynosBP6E
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aG_rUmhGfjY
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=goeJL1wRZ0c
What you are perceiving as “dead” is actually the torpedo's most "deadly" feature. Due to the relative dampening the Torpedo imposes, off-center hits go much further than comparable off-center hits with conventional clubs. This means that putts hit out of the sweet spot still go up there for a two putt. Conventional putters are too energetic (transfer too much energy to the ball on sweet spot strikes) and not enough energy to the ball on off-center strikes.
The materials used are a product of literally thousands of trials and yes, they are expensive and a direct outgrowth of conventional materials simply not working. I'm not recommending this, but if you chopped off the Stradivari head and glued a conventional head onto my shaft, you'd understand immediately why I chose these specific material combinations.
Thanks for the feedback. It was instructive. My biggest challenge is communicating my technique, as there are subtleties that are sometimes difficult to put into words.
Tim
From: "Mike”
To: "Torpedo Golf"
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 6:52 AM
Subject: Re: Putting Experiment
Aha!
Got out to the course this morning and tried the "proper" putting stroke with the Torpedo. Wow! Thanks for your tip.....my results were worlds different and I am absolutely thrilled with how well it putts!
Mike
