Percentage Of Shots During A Round

*Putting…............35-40% Of Your Total Score
*Driving…............15-20% Of Your Total Score
*Irons, Fairways, Metals, Sand, Pitching & Chipping…40-50% Of Your Total Score

The one club in your bag that contributes to your score more than any other club is the putter. Most amateur golfers do not take putting practice (and chipping) as serious as their driving and iron play. The reason for this, I believe, is that anyone at any ability can successfully hit a putt with reasonable distance and directional control. They will not miss the ball or hit some hideous and embarrassing banana slice or shank into the boondocks. While it is true that all clubs require practice, the putter should get a little more of its share of the available practice time. Remember, it is easy to be successful at putting, but it is very difficult to be really good at putting. A goal every golfer should have it to eliminate 3 putts and make as many “percentage” putts as possible. Never take more than 36 putts and constantly stride to be somewhere in the 20’s.

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  • 10:30AM - Jun 10, 2010RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    I am using the Maltby Moment stand up putter. I play a full schedule of tournaments, including many USGA and Oregon Golf Association sanctioned tournaments. I have checked with the USGA and they inform me that the Moment has never been submitted to USGA for compliance/approval. They informed me that other stand up putters have been approved and that the stand up feature alone is not against the rules. However, they made it clear that unless the Moment itself is submitted and approved, I am at risk of playing a non complying putter.

    Is it correct that the Moment has not been officially approved by the USGA?

    If that is correct, what can you provide me so that I am assured I am using a legal putter?

    I play in the US Senior Open qualifier on June 28 so as soon as you can respond it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

    Mickey Morey

    mickeym51@gmail.com

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  • 2:38PM - Aug 15, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    Kevin, this is the putter that I personally use. Yes, it is perfectly U.S.G.A. legal and yes you can stand it up and walk all around it when lining up your putt. One thing is for sure; you will be noticed when you putt with it. I like to stand it up on the practice putting green and walk away from it and watch everybody stare at it. Kevin, this putter still holds the record for the highest moment of inertia putter ever made and marketed. Here is some more fun to prove MOI to your friends and yourself; line up your putt with the ball way out on the toe of the putter and stroke it. You will be amazed at how solid it feels and the ball rolls just like normal and with almost no distance loss like most other putters (high MOI does this). Final trick; put down two balls to be putted with one stroke. Leave 3/4” to 1” between them and line them up with the hole so that you will impact both of them at the same time (one on the toe and one on the heel). If you are lined up properly, both balls will head toward the hole in a lead/follow arrangement and both will go in the hole. Use about a 10 to 15 foot putt distance. I have also made three balls doing this but it takes a number of tries. I usually make the two balls every 4th or 5th try if it’s my lucky day. Thanks for trying Maltby designed products.

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  • 12:09AM - Aug 15, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    • kevin

    • kevin
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    Ralph, I just purchased max moment putter. It is awesome. Is this club legal? Also, is it legal to stand the club behind the ball, walk away and look at your line?

    thank you, Kevin P.S. I also bought a set of ke4 irons and 2 sand wedges.

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  • 5:20PM - Aug 3, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    Tom, like any specialty golf product, the Heavy Putter is not for everyone, but it can be a tremendous help to some golfers. Basically, the Heavy Putter slows down any of the movements the golfer makes when putting. If a golfer has a jerky stroke, lurch or lunge when putting which is usually referred to as the yips, the Heavy Putter can mostly eliminate this. Also, there are those golfers who do not have the yips that simply putt better and possibly remain more controlled and calm in their stroke with a heavier putter head, added grip end weight and finally a much heavier overall total weight. I have mentioned a number of times in my answers here that much of golf club fitting is some form of a trade-off. Of course we want all the trade-offs we make to end up positive and actually improve our games. With this said, one of the trade-offs that I have found in using heavy putters in fitting over the last 20 years (long before the Heavy Putter came out) is that it is sometimes much more difficult to control the length of longer putts with any consistency. This is something you need to find out for yourself by actually using the Heavy Putter. Also, what I have found is that it is hard for a so-called normal weighted putter to match the accuracy of a heavy weighted putter on putt lengths under 11 feet. The record number of consecutive putts (exactly 11 feet) made here in the golf club design studio was done by me with the Heavy Putter (23 putts in a row). Apparently, it is working very well for you and I would definitely stick with it. You mentioned that you were always a very poor putter and I feel that this type putter has eliminated some tendency you had that probably had something to do with the words “I now have a smoother putting stroke”. So, finally Tom, the only important comment that I can leave you or any golfer with is this; “if you can satisfactorily control the distance on longer putts, you are definitely making more of the shorter putts and you have reduced your three putts, then the Heavy Putter is the way to go.

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  • 12:35PM - Aug 3, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    • Tom

    • Tom
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    I really enjoy your website. This is the best place to get true golf information. What is your opinion on the Heavy Putter? I was always a very poor putter (using a Ping Anser). I tried the Heavy Putter and immediately eliminated 8-9 putts per round. Is something like this common in your experience?

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  • 8:43AM - Aug 1, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    • Jim P

    • Jim P
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    I enjoy reading your comments and suggestions on different issues concerning club making and fitting. I have an old (cir’96) “Practical Club Fitting” book written by Tom Wishon. But, this thing is dated because of the changes in technology i.e. drivers are now 460 cc’s and when this book was written they were about 250 cc’s. Anyway, my question to you is which book would you recommend to replace this one. I am looking for all the geometry and relationships of club/shaft etc. An example of the information I am trying to get is a table that gives me general guide lines to driver head weight and shaft weight/length to determine approx. swing weight.

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  • 5:18PM - Jul 27, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    Rick, the biggest help from increased offset is in the longer hitting clubs (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6). The golfers that get the biggest benefit from this are usually the mid to higher handicaps or more specifically, those players that do not hit down and through the ball, those players that do not impact the ball lower on the club face and centered and those players who simply have a hard time squaring the club face at impact with any consistency. I can’t think of any 5 handicapper that I have ever worked with that needs offset. However, with that said, there are some lower handicap players that really like the look of offset (particularly, progressive offset). So, it’s up to you, but since you are not sure and you are a good player, I would definitely recommmend the KE4 Tour.

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  • 1:05AM - Jul 26, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    • Rick

    • Rick
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    O***et; does it have a big impact on club performance? For example does a few mm of offset really make a difference at impact? I am a 5 handicap player, I play low offset clubs, and I’m trying to decide between the KE 4 and the KE 4 Tour heads. Any suggestions?

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  • 11:49AM - May 22, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    Michael, I am not a teaching pro but having been involved in fitting and working with many golf professionals over the years, I am going to take a stab at this one. Of course I would always recommend seeing a PGA professional. Just watching someone swing can save alot of time in fixing a problem. OK with all that said, here’s what you need to look at. First, I would check to see if you are keeping most of your weight on your right side coming into impact. This can cause the fat shot and a hooking effect from “hanging back” and not getting through the shot. You need to basically shift your weight as follows: more weight on the right foot on the backswing, weight distributed evenly at the top and weight shifting over to the left foot coming into impact. You should achieve this weight shift by a rotation of your body and not by sliding your body back and forward. Another problem is that some golfers try to hit up on the ball when in fact, you need to swing down and through the ball. If you find the bottom of your swing arc (take a few practice swings creating a slight divot) which is usually in the center of your divot, this is the area you should be placing the ball in your setup. See if this helps and let me know the outcome.

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  • 10:57AM - May 22, 2007RE: Percentage Of Shots During A Round

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    • Michael Batty

    • Michael Batty
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    Roger, I am a 22 handicap, most people see my swing and think I’m a single digit. So I guess I have a repeatable swing, however, my biggest flaw/frustration is that I tend to frequently hit behind the ball as much as 6 inches at times, even the driver, and mostly never hit just ball first. If I appear to have a good swing what am I doing to cause this very frustrating miss hit?

    Thank You.

    PS, when I do hit the ball solid I frequently get a sweeping draw hook. Just thought I’d through that one in there as well. LOL

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