Use Your Noodle 2

In 2015, in the pages of Golf Tips, I introduced my “Use Your Noodle” plan to help golfers improve their game, and it caught on so well with readers that we’re keeping the noodle — in other words, those long, cylindrical foam swimming aids you can pick up at any sporting goods store or major retail chain — in play.

This time around, we’ll “Use Your Noodle” to keep your lower body still during the putting stroke.

In the August issue, Noodle Bumper Putting (above) helped keep the putter on line with the use of two parallel noodles. In this article, you will learn how to make a training aid out of noodles in order to help you keep your lower body still during the putting stroke.

A quality characteristic among great putters is they keep their lower body very still during the stroke. Not only does the stable lower body help to keep the putter online, it helps to establish a rhythmical pendulum motion.

The Noodle Lower Body Stabilizer System

The Noodle Lower Body Stabilizer is a training tool that helps you see when your lower body is moving so you can begin to work on keeping it still. It consists of:

• Two 4-foot noodles
• Two skewers
• Two 2-inch pieces of noodle, rubber band and duct tape
• Tape the center point of each noodle with duct tape
• Place rubber band around the duct= tape center point of each noodle
• Cut two 2-inch pieces of noodle and attach to ends of each skewer
• Placed “noodle skewers” three inches from each end

Benefits of the Noodle Lower Body Stabilizer

1. Helps to work on keeping the lower body ‘still’ during the stroke
2. Promotes an ‘online’ putting stroke

Helps to establish a ‘pendulum’ feel in the stroke. You will make ‘More Putts’ as a Result

Situation: Excessive Lower Body Movement

A very common characteristic of amateurs who struggle with putting is they move their lower body too much during the stroke, causing the putter move off-line, resulting in missed putts.

An important putting fundamental is keeping the lower body very still. The lower body needs to act as a base, similar to the base of a pendulum. In order to create a pendulum stroke, you MUST keep the lower body very still.

This is often very challenging due to the fact that it is very hard to know when the lower body is moving, but with the Putting Lower Body Stabilizer, you will see it, so you can fix it.

Solution: Visual Feedback

Position the legs in between both noodles, then set up to the ball. When you do this, the two skewer noodles will be in your peripheral’ vision. If the lower body moves, you will clearly see the skewer noodles moving. You can now begin to work on keeping your lower body still.

Benefits

1. Keep the lower body still and it will help keep your head still. 2. Develop a pendulum stroke, consistent to many great putters 3. With the lower body very still, your putter will stay on path and on line with more putts going IN THE HOLE

Watch the Pros: The next time you are watching a golf tournament on TV, observe this with PGA/LPGA Tour players. They keep still … and they make those crucial putts.

Chris Johnston, PGA is a golf instructor at Twin Brook Golf Academy in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. For more information, visit: www.cjohnstonpga.com