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SeeMore SPi Cyber Coach

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Eric,
I promised myself I wouldn't post in this thread until you were done. I just wanted to soak it all in, but I have gotten up and gone into the garage so many times to try out something you and your coach have done that I feel like I need to send you a check! :act-up:

Thanks for taking the time to put all of this down in the forum. You are doing a tremendous job fella!

JM
 
Johnny mojo said:
Eric,
I promised myself I wouldn't post in this thread until you were done. I just wanted to soak it all in, but I have gotten up and gone into the garage so many times to try out something you and your coach have done that I feel like I need to send you a check! :act-up:

Thanks for taking the time to put all of this down in the forum. You are doing a tremendous job fella!

JM
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Thanks, the scary thing is this is just the tip iceberg. A month has almost already gone by but we are not even half what through the plan we put together. I am going to keep going with this for another month or so. Hopefully the weather holds up so I can do all of the drills.
 
I will hopefully be having my first SPi lesson on Tuesday (rained out two weeks in a row), but I've taken a lot of what I've learned in this thread and applied it today, especially the alignment of the shaft and forearms. I made great contact all day and it felt more comfortable. Burned the edge on ten first putts and lipped out two but couldn't get anything longer than 4-5 feet to drop. Big thanks to thp and howzat for everything we've seen so far. If we hadn't just gotten a local SPI instructor I'd be all over this.


Gently tapped like a downhill three-footer.
 
With all the great info from the last month floating around in my head I was getting a little robotic with my stroke and often times feeling frozen over the ball. My Cyber Coach Ben wanted to get a look at my routine so I sent him this video:



Ben liked me starting with my right hand on the putter only to get the line. He then recommended using a metronome for tempo and a four-step process that goes like this:

Beat 1: Look at the hole
Beat 2: Look at the ball
Beat 3: Back stroke
Beat 4: Forward stroke

Basically look-down-back-through

This has really helped me "react" to the putt and not get so stuck over the ball. It feels more natural and athletic. It reminds me of the "thumbs off" drill Jman posted a while back and I am going to try to find that one and post it as well.
 
That is really interesting.
I have used a very similar setup for about 8 months since working on a few things through instruction.
 
Here are my results from the weekend. I think at this point the lessons have shaved a few stokes off game for sure. Still plenty of work to be done and the next focus will be on my green reading skills.

Round 4 - 10/25
///
Misses Low - 6
Misses High - 4
Makes - 7
Dead Center - 1
Short - 4
Long - 3
Perfect - 4

Putts: 30
I had a 3 jack from 34 ft. Makes from 12, 7, 4, 2, 6, 4, and 4 ft.

Round 5 - 10/27
///
Misses Low - 11
Misses High - 3
Makes - 4
Dead Center - 0
Short - 6
Long - 2
Perfect - 6

Putts: 34
I had a 3-jack from 18 and 43 ft. Makes of 2in, 8, 2, and 10 ft.
 
My guess when I started this process was that my avg. putts per round was somewhere near 34. So far with the lessons I am at 31.5. I don't see any reason why I can't improve on that number.
 
Fascinating. Truly fascinating. I am debating diving right into putting practice and instruction. A couple of strokes is a huge change. We as golfers chase distance, chase precision approaches, and yet almost unilaterally forget how much difference the putting makes. We assume that because we can putt, we are good at putting.
 
There is SO much awesome in this thread and frankly I don't come in here and say it enough. I love everything about this, Erik, thank you for documenting this journey dude.
 
JB said:
Fascinating. Truly fascinating. I am debating diving right into putting practice and instruction. A couple of strokes is a huge change. We as golfers chase distance, chase precision approaches, and yet almost unilaterally forget how much difference the putting makes. We assume that because we can putt, we are good at putting.
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These lessons have really changed my mindset and focus. 7 one putts in a round was a very rare thing prior, yet over the past 5 rounds I have done it twice. If I can just eliminate the 3-jacks my avg. may be under 30 putts. This weekend I was 7/11 on putts from 6 ft. and in. Just keeping the detailed stats has me more focused on the job at hand. Ben has some interesting green reading drills for me for this week and I can wait to get out there and give them a try.
 
JB said:
Fascinating. Truly fascinating. I am debating diving right into putting practice and instruction. A couple of strokes is a huge change. We as golfers chase distance, chase precision approaches, and yet almost unilaterally forget how much difference the putting makes. We assume that because we can putt, we are good at putting.
Click to expand...

This is truth! Short hitters know this.

Eric, I tried the plane adjustment you and your coach discussed earlier in the thread. It works well for me, but I found that I'd I am not fully committed to the stroke, I push. The committed strokes track true though. Love it!

JM
 
I wanted to post this drill in here as well because I think it can help and also because there are some other great links in here for those that are looking for more info on the SPi method and SeeMore in general.

Jman said:
As always, each new review post will include links to my previous one's in the "Reference Link" section, all links are listed within the spoiler tag for the sake of de-cluttering.

REFERENCE LINKS:
Spoiler

  • Initial Thoughts/Process: CLICK HERE
  • Pre SPi Putting Breakdown: CLICK HERE
  • SeeMore mSeries Fitting PART 1: CLICK HERE
  • SeeMore mSeries Fitting PART 2: CLICK HERE
  • Stance Evolution and Medicine Ball Aid: CLICK HERE
  • Round 1, 2, and 3 General Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 4 Rundown and mFGP2 Thoughts: CLICK HERE
  • Round 5 Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 6/7 and Stance Drill: CLICK HERE
  • Round 8 Rundown and mFGP2 Thoughts: CLICK HERE
  • Round 9 Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 10 and Practice Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 11 Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 12 Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 13 Rundown: CLICK HERE
  • Round 14 Rundown


LOOK MA, NO THUMBS!!!:

So, this one is going to be different to say the least, I apologize now for the corny line above but hey, gotta keep it light-hearted right?

OK, if you've been reading the conversations that have been going on in this kick butt review thread the last few days then you undoubtedly will recall we had a bit of a conversation on forward pressing and the SPi method. I myself have always stayed away form and disliked forward pressing because all you are doing is providing yourself a different loft on your putter when you roll the ball and thusly you get a different roll almost all the time whether you realize it or not. I truly believe there is no way you can make sure that your forward press is the exact same every time (as to say, you can't know you are delofting your putter by 2* every single stroke, its going to vary and could be much lower or less).

I digress though, Duey made the point in here that he used to use his forward press as a kind of "trigger" to let the stroke go each time. That, I can understand as I actually kind of do that with my iron swing. This made me instantly think of a drill that I've been doing and the fact that I've actually been using that drill as a "trigger" of my own. I'm getting ahead of myself though. I'm going to first talk about the drill/trigger in type and then put up a couple of videos I took today that way those who can't watch the video can still read about it all.

THE "DRILL":

When I went down and got fit for my mFGP2 by Brady one of the biggest struggles I had then and even for a while after was making sure I let my shoulders do the work and allow the club head to open and close on its own without letting my hands into play too much. Brady had me spend some extended time on the putting green getting setup to the ball as I would and then roll the putts with my (then new) SPi grip...but with no thumbs on the grip thus forcing me to use the shoulder rock to keep "control" of the putter and to let it flow on its path.

At first this felt really awkward because I had been letting my thumbs almost "steer" the putter without realizing I was doing such. By taking them off I felt like I had no control over the head at all, but 20-30 putts later it had helped me to just trust the shoulder rock and let the putter head work. The difference of roll on the ball from the beginning of the fitting to the end after ingraining letting the shoulders work with no thumbs on the putter was really night and day, even Brady got a bit excited about it I think. This is one of those things that he has even chimed in here and in emails to me to go practice some more and has really been a major part of my practice routine. I always start with no thumbs and then after some time resume with thumbs on.

All this is something I never thought about writing/typing about until Duey started talking about using forward press as a trigger and I instantly felt dumb for having not talked about this yet. Why? Because this drill has actually become my pre-putt trigger! Its one of those things I do now that I really and truly think could help a LOT of guys who are used to having that "thing" that tells them its time to pull the trigger and I've been using it without ever thinking about it!

Early on I struggled with stubbing my putter on the start of my stroke because I was still battling hands vs shoulders in my stroke. Brady told me to use the no-thumbs on the course to prevent that. I thought he was crazy until he told me to go through my routine as normal, make my reads, step in, set-up, but when I get set and take my last look down the line to simply lift my thumbs off and when I'm ready they go back on and the stoke goes then. Its my "trigger" and something I've done for a long time now.

Hopefully the videos below will explain and answer questions about what I'm rambling on about!

Part One:
[video=youtube_share;MUzA-SzDqYQ]http://youtu.be/MUzA-SzDqYQ[/video]

Part Two:


CLOSING THOUGHTS:

I feel dumb for not talking about this earlier! That said, I really do think the drill can help those trying/using the SeeMore method and I truly feel like it could be a tremendous "trigger' for those that are used to having one as it give you that feeling, just without the forward press that messes up the loft of the putter. It won't be for everyone, but I still think its worth talking about and showing. That said, feel free to pelt any questions/thoughts at me and I'll do my best to answer them for you all!
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Howzat said:
These lessons have really changed my mindset and focus. 7 one putts in a round was a very rare thing prior, yet over the past 5 rounds I have done it twice. If I can just eliminate the 3-jacks my avg. may be under 30 putts. This weekend I was 7/11 on putts from 6 ft. and in. Just keeping the detailed stats has me more focused on the job at hand. Ben has some interesting green reading drills for me for this week and I can wait to get out there and give them a try.
Click to expand...

Being able to get close to 30 would be spectacular for me. I have been tracking my putting a ton lately and I average around 37-38 per round. I have very few 1-putts even though I have to chip 4-5 times per round and end up with 10 foot putts that I almost always miss. To take 5-7 strokes off my game would be amazing. I will definitely have to look into this training.
 
Kutros said:
Being able to get close to 30 would be spectacular for me. I have been tracking my putting a ton lately and I average around 37-38 per round. I have very few 1-putts even though I have to chip 4-5 times per round and end up with 10 foot putts that I almost always miss. To take 5-7 strokes off my game would be amazing. I will definitely have to look into this training.
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I never thought sub 30 was an obtainable goal but now I don't see why not. I think these lessons could really help a lot of people.
 
Howzat said:
I never thought sub 30 was an obtainable goal but now I don't see why not. I think these lessons could really help a lot of people.
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This is exactly the same for me. Its something I never thought I would see unless I was just chipping everything close, but with lessons and the SPi method, it has become a very real thing for me and I feel like I can/will each time I hit the course.

Also, thanks for the shout-out with the thumbs drill Erik, you the man.
 
Erik...this is awesome. It really makes me look forward to our experience coming up at SeeMore in June. But it also makes me want to go see a SPI instructor sooner. There is one at my home course but I've never worked with him before. 3 strokes a around after such a short time is amazing.
 
I have a feeling this will be a Christmas present request. Went for some range time today and was on a decent green and putted so poorly. Just a ton of pushes and pulls and lack of confidence. Then I started hammering it thinking I could at least get the ball started on my right lines then. Not so much.
 
Mward said:
I have a feeling this will be a Christmas present request. Went for some range time today and was on a decent green and putted so poorly. Just a ton of pushes and pulls and lack of confidence. Then I started hammering it thinking I could at least get the ball started on my right lines then. Not so much.
Click to expand...

I think you should do it after July 2014. :alien:
 
Mward said:
Seems like that's a long way aw... Hey wait a minute.
Click to expand...

As good as your game is already just think of what it could be if your dropped a few more putts.
 
It'd take the pressure off a lot of things for sure. Not having to worry about the putting as much means I could have less pressure on the short game.
 
This thread and the videos really have been tremendous. It has made me realize that even though I have gamed a SeeMore for most of the past three years, I have never really gotten very far into the putting methodology that would make the putter even more successful.
 
I tried that thumbs off drill on my mat tonight. HOLY. COW! I actually saw success with it almost immediately rolling putts straighter with better speed control. I wasn't trying to steer the putter, but let my natural shoulder turn get the head where it needed to be. Thanks so much for mentioning it Howzat, and thanks for the awesome videos Jman.
 
Yesterday's round:
Misses Low - 6
Misses High - 4
Makes - 7
Dead Center - 1
Short - 2
Long - 4
Perfect - 5

Putts: 30
GIR: 7
Score: 86

Makes from 2, 20, 6, 10, 7, 7, and 15 feet.

Maybe my best putting day yet. What the stats won't tell you is that even though I hit plenty of greens, I was never near the hole. My chipping is the worst part of my game right now. The stats also won't show how close 3 or 4 other putts were to dropping today. I got paired up with a very solid golfer who I had never played with before. He called my game effortless, which is not how I would describe it at all. It was interesting to get that outside perspective as the more I watch others struggle on the green, I can see how someone doing everything the same way every time and draining some long putts would make it look effortless.

On the inside there is still a mental checklist before each putt that I would like to see my muscle memory take over and have it feel more natural.

1. Set the putter down with my right arm to sole and square the putter.
2. Step in with good posture, shoulders back and putter running up the forearms.
3. Breathe.
4. look-down-back-through.

The best part for me today was hearing one of the guys I regularly play with tell me I need to get my Cyber Coach a Christmas card this year as I easily took our little match play side bet.


 
Very interesting and clearly progress is being made. I have two questions for you as I am finding this entire thread absolutely fascinating.

1. Mentally, do you find that more confidence is there due to the instruction and work being put in?

2. With the above being said, do you find that every single putt has a chance?

The two questions kind of go hand in hand, but I think its important as I have played with many a person that is very much interested in just being around the hole.
 
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