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Unconscious Putting by Dave Stockton

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Tedfroop

One eyed and left handed
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This is a simple putting manual from one of the most sought after putting doctors in the game today.
The premise for the book is simple. Once you learn to do a task, it begins to become automatic. Like signing your name is automatic, handled by your subconscious mind. To illustrate what he means by unconscious he asks you to sign your name on a piece of paper, followed by repeating it exactly below that slowly and carefully. It is very difficult to do... but thats how a lot of people try to putt.
His method is simple, as is the advice given in the book. His focus when putting is on finding the line first, focus on the line and feel and rolling the putt toward the hole, believing it will go in.
He writes about each element of finding the line, pre-shot routine, focus on the line, how to give yourself more of the cup for the putt to go in. He talks always about rolling the ball with the putter and never about hitting it - for a reason.
One thing you won't find is advice on stance and there is very little advice on mechanics, almost none in fact. The only mechanics discussed in any depth at all is the grip and that is done halfway through the book.
One thing you will find a lot of in this book is advice on the mental side of putting. At one point in the book Dave says outright that it is half of the process of putting and what a huge effect having a positive attitude and mental picture are to the process.

The book is a rather quick read due to its being less than 100 pages long. It is packed with simple, no nonsense advice on putting and I have no doubt it will be reread quite regularly.
 
nice ill have to get this i have dave's dvd and i found his putting technique to work pretty well for me. he has a lot about the mental side of putting in his dvd also.
 
I'm about halfway thru and it's an okay read. Rotella is a better read for the mental side of the game. I wish he'd share more mechanical insight on his advice to Phil and Rory, just to name a few pro's. I highly doubt he tells them to just see the line and how to avoid 3 putting.

Does it get better towards the end because I fall asleep every time I pick it up.
 
I posted this in another thread, but this book could be seen as really good for some people and really ineffective for other people. If you're looking for mechanical thoughts, this is NOT the book for you. He feels that lots of players get bogged down by mechanical thoughts and it leads to their putting not being a natural process. His anecdote about Yani Tseng early in the book describes this, as she hits wonderful shots with her full swing without much thought, but then slowed down considerably on the greens because she was thinking too much about the process.

Full disclosure: I was already a Stockton fan in terms if his approach to putting before I read the book (mainly because I also forward-press in the stroke), so I guess I was predisposed to liking the book. I mainly like that it is so concise, it doesn't give you 10 million things to think about when you are putting. The main keys are rolling the ball over a target very close in front of the ball, using your left hand (for right-handers) as the directional hand, and focusing on the target more than anything else.
 
I don't know about better but there is lots of insight about grip and mistakes that can be made and correcting grip.

I liked that it was a short read and all the mental stuff sounds just like the mental stuff in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. Likely due to Pickard being one of the main sources of that information for Harvey and for Dave's father.

I do agree about Dr. Bob being a bit better read though. I have moved on to Putting Out of Your Mind which was one of the other books I got for Christmas.
 
Thanks. I might check this one out. I'm just looking for some tips on clearing my mind, reading greens better, and letting the putt go. I don't want technical instruction.
 
I'm somewhat interested in this book as well, if they have it for Kindle I will have to look at getting it.
 
coolbreeze said:
I'm somewhat interested in this book as well, if they have it for Kindle I will have to look at getting it.
Click to expand...

I checked on this last night. Both books listed in the thread are available for kindle and nook fyi.
 
If you want to learn about some of the methods talked about in the book, Stockton Golf has their own Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/StocktonGolf/videos

There are 7 videos on there, it's a good way to learn a little bit about what they teach, and it's free!
 
I have it for the Kindle CB. Like most have said here the book concentrates on more of the mental side of putting which I think is underrated by most. It was an ok read.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
 
I've not read this but it sounds strikingly similar to his 1996 book, "Putt to win'" which I've read four or five times.
 
Stockton has done wonders for many, but he has several techniques that just goes against what I'm trying to do with the SeeMore and even goes against what he teaches elsewhere. He get's mechanical and advocates a forward press, he want the left hand to lead the stroke and teaches keeping the head low after contact with the ball which is something I tried and tried and just hate having in my head. I love his mental approach, just not the mechanical.
 
just downloaded this onto my iphone to read really interested in what he has to say.
 
thedue said:
Stockton has done wonders for many, but he has several techniques that just goes against what I'm trying to do with the SeeMore and even goes against what he teaches elsewhere. He get's mechanical and advocates a forward press, he want the left hand to lead the stroke and teaches keeping the head low after contact with the ball which is something I tried and tried and just hate having in my head. I love his mental approach, just not the mechanical.
Click to expand...

I agree with some of what you're saying, I don't think that a Seemore works with a forward press stroke. Every time I try to use a Seemore when I'm in a golf store, I see that red dot after I forward press, so it doesn't work well. However, I disagree with what you're saying about how the information in the book goes against what he teaches elsewhere, seems to be that he's been pretty consistent with his approach towards putting. Also, in terms of keeping the head of the putter low after impact, my interpretation is that it is meant to be something that naturally happens because you're not flipping with your right hand, not actively trying to keep the putter head low. Watch the videos from the link that I posted above, one will talk about the "left hand drill" that achieves this.
 
arydolphin said:
I agree with some of what you're saying, I don't think that a Seemore works with a forward press stroke. Every time I try to use a Seemore when I'm in a golf store, I see that red dot after I forward press, so it doesn't work well. However, I disagree with what you're saying about how the information in the book goes against what he teaches elsewhere, seems to be that he's been pretty consistent with his approach towards putting. Also, in terms of keeping the head of the putter low after impact, my interpretation is that it is meant to be something that naturally happens because you're not flipping with your right hand, not actively trying to keep the putter head low. Watch the videos from the link that I posted above, one will talk about the "left hand drill" that achieves this.
Click to expand...

I see what you saying, but I myself want to establish my setup and then get all the thought out of the equation. I know I pull the trigger pretty quickly, but the only thing post contact in my head is continue the stroke for a clean roll. Plus, I never have been good leading with one hand. I've picked up several points of his that I'll practice over winter, but I kind of pick and chose from several methods.
 
I've played for 40 years and was a terrible putter for 39 of them until reading and rereading "Putt to Win" last year. I no longer think about any mechanics when on the course, particularly not the backstroke. I don't know nor care whether it's going straight back, inside the line or even outside it. I actually look forward to getting to the green now, which has never been the case.
 
Prut said:
I no longer think about any mechanics when on the course, particularly not the backstroke.
Click to expand...

Yup. Same here. Everything I have read from Penick to Rotella, to Nicklaus, and now Stockton say you are going to hit what you are focused on. If you are focused on anything but the line and the hole then you are confusing your brain as to what you want to do.

Back to the Signature thing.
When you sign your name do your think about the mechanics of doing it? Do you hold the pen 15/32" from the bottom and do three or four practice signatures make sure the paper is angled precisely and the paper is matched to the pen, then bend your elbow exactly 85 degrees....

Or do you just grab the pen, point to the right place on the paper and trust that when you tell your brain to sign your name, it will do do the complex task of signing your signature without you thinking about the mechanics of doing it?
 
Thinking this book could do a lot of people a lot of good. I don't usually have many problems with overthinking as i'm more the type to read the putt and get up there and hit it. Today I was practicing on my new putting green and was trying really hard and concentrating on making a good stroke for about 20 mins and only made about 10 of 50 I would guess. I then took a step back and putted with my right hand only very quickly, putt, putt, putt, putt... All 8 balls I was using in about 10 seconds. I proceeded to make about 30 out of the next 50... switched back to 2 hand and did the same thing as I did with 1 hand; made about 35 out of 50... Made me think a bit about my approach to putting and if this book is anything like that, then I will def look into it.
 
I've been reading this for the last few days. So far I like what I am reading.
 
okay now I like what i"m reading. Chapter 8 covers his drills previously shown on the Golf Fix and / or School of golf.
 
I personally did not get much out of this book. He basically hates to see people working on Putting Arc's and their stroke in general. He is all about focusing on the target and line.

However, many golfers do not hit their putts square to start with and this book does not address these issues.

Whole book can be summed up as follows: "Focus on target and line the entire time and you will make more putts."
 
I think I will grab this on Kindle and read it on my next flight. It cant hurt.
 
Some really good putters are blessed with good putting strokes, but yet, not really know why. "Unconscious Putting" by Dave Stockton may fall in the Latter.
 
I have always been a streaky putter. One day good and the next day I am a mile off. I watched Dave on the Golf Channel and put his suggestions into practice. I putted a lot better last year and my partners noticed. I have not read his book but it sounds like a good idea.
 
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