Pat O'Brien Putting

My Trip to Japan

I recently spent a few days in and around Tokyo.  I was there on behalf of SeeMore and I gave a few clinics for their distributor over there.  I found the Japanese people to be very receptive and gracious.  I hope to return one day soon.

Tokyo is a sprawling city of around 13 million people, yet it never felt crowded.  It was very clean and well run.  Here are some pictures and a Flip video of the view from Tokyo Tower.  I will spare you the 2 minute 18 second video of me eating a mollusk.  I definitely took one for the team there!

A clinic at Mitsukoshi Department Store

The Imperial Palace

With My Hosts

At a Beautiful Japanese Garden

Video From Tokyo Tower

 

Breaking the "Rules" of Putting - www.putterzone.com

by Sean Weir - PutterZone.com  
 

Much is made these days about the concept of putter fitting, in which the length, loft, lie and weight of a putter are carefully matched to your personal physique and mechanics.

But before you get fit for a putter, you may want to consider the putting philosophy of the person doing the fitting. For example, some putting instructors advocate that you get your eyes directly over the ball, while others suggest that your eyes should be inside the target line.

So what one person considers a good “fit” for a more upright setup will be different from a good “fit” according to someone who advocates a more bent-over, eyes-over-the-ball setup. Indeed, the former requires a longer putter, while the latter requires a shorter putter.

So the putting theory changes the fit—an interesting topic, and one that’s not discussed enough.

On that note, we reached out to leading putting instructor Pat O’Brien to talk about his own approach to putting, and specifically some of the old putting “rules” that may be on their way to becoming exceptions.

We’ll start with the notion that your eyes should be directly “over the ball” and thus right over the target line, a bedrock of traditional putting instruction. Here’s what Pat has to say on the subject:

“There’s been a paradigm shift in the last 20 years or so. Greens are now more manicured and faster. Back in the day, greens were slower and more grainy, so the style was more of a wrist stroke, or pop stroke. Go back and look at old footage from the ‘60s and even ‘70s, and guys were more bent over, and they popped it, and the ball wouldn’t go too far past the hole because the greens were slower.

Well, the easiest way to get yourself in a position to make that stroke is to get your eyes over the ball, because then your hands and arms are trapped underneath your chest, so you can’t swing your shoulders very freely, and it’s more of a small-muscle stroke.

But if you look at the best putters of the past 20 years, and the guys that come to mind would be Greg Norman, Brad Faxon, Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson, these are guys that stand up to the ball. They have good posture, they are very athletic. And I would venture to say that their eyes are anywhere from the heel of the putter to an inch or two inside of that.

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Pat O'Brien - Golf Better @ Edwin Watts (podcast)

GolfBetter host Tom Brassell and Edwin Watts Golf technical specialist, Kenny Nicholson talked with me at the Edwin Watts, Southlake store.  Had a great time and thanks again Tom and Kenny.  Let me know your thoughts..

CLICK TO LISTEN TO PODCAST

Putting guru Pat O'Brien stresses fundamentals - www.dallasnews.com

By BILL NICHOLS / The Dallas Morning News 
brnichols@dallasnews.com

Putting Tips Video from Pat O'Brien

Although he was working with PGA Tour players Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor, Pat O'Brien kept a low profile teaching at the Practice Tee in Richardson.

But he was overtaken by a strange sensation after checking on his prized pupils before the 2007 Masters. Both looked in top form when O'Brien returned home for a teaching clinic after the first round.

Turns out O'Brien made a perfect read. On Easter Sunday, he was back at Augusta National. Phil Mickelson was draping the green jacket over Johnson's shoulders, and O'Brien was about to don a hotshot-putting-guru tag. Johnson celebrated in Butler Cabin, O'Brien walked down Magnolia Lane in silent darkness, mind racing, toward the bright lights on Washington Road.

"If I wasn't a man of faith before, I sure was after," O'Brien recalled. "I had this feeling. I knew something good was going to happen."

After years of studying his craft, O'Brien had become an overnight sensation. His reputation as a short-game expert rose dramatically. And he landed his dream job as director of instruction at Dallas' Lakewood Country Club.

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Masters Memory

In honor of this special week, I will share a quick story with you about 2007.  When I arrived on Monday at Augusta National, after seeing Zach and Vaughn practice, I realized very quickly that they were both dialed in.  Zach hit every fairway with a perfect 5 yard draw.  Vaughn was hitting his irons so crisply.  Both their putting strokes were perfect.  A strange sense of calm washed over me that day and I knew in my heart that something good was going to happen that week.  It was an indescribable, unshakable feeling.

On Thursday, they both played very well.  I had to leave Friday morning to give a clinic in Dallas, but as I was walking out of my room at Vaughn's house, I said to myself that I would be back here on Sunday night.  I didn't even have an airline ticket at the time.  I just knew.

After Saturday's crazy round, with the severe conditions, both my guys had held the lead at one point.  I remember getting chills when VT made a fast, curling left to right putt on 15 for the lead.  They both struggled on the last few holes in freezing conditons and found themselves two back.  They would be playing together in the third to last group.  Are you kidding me?  With the help of a great friend, Cliff Fischer, and his Delta miles, I was on a 5:30 a.m. plane the next morning.   I would be at Augusta on Easter Sunday.

The calm feeling never left me.  There were plenty of lead changes and fireworks, but none of it fazed me.  As the round unfolded, it was clear that VT was struggling and Zach was hanging tough.  When he made birdie on 14, I thought he might win.  When he birdied 16, I knew it was over.  As elated as I was for Zach, I was devastated for Vaughn.  It was a very strange dynamic, I would imagine like having two sons play for the Green Jacket.  When it was over, I was at one minute consoling Vaughn and the next hugging Zach.  My emotions were all over the map.

As all of Zach's family and friends waited for him in The Butler Cabin, there were many smiles and tears as well.  Seeing him walk in with the Green Jacket on was completely surreal.  We all talked for a bit before Zach and his wife Kim were lead away to the Members' Dinner to honor the Champion.  It was time for me to head back to Vaughn's house.

The most surreal moment then occured.  I got to walk down Magnolia Lane by myself in complete darkness and total silence.  I had talked to my wife briefly before from a land line as no cell phones are allowed and she was of course in shock!  As I was walking, I was trying to gather some sense of perspective as to what just happened and what it all  meant.  At the end of Magnolia Lane, I could see the bright lights of Washington Road.  It was as if that represented the future toward which I was headed.  I had no idea what was coming, but I knew my life was about to change in a big way.    I also thought it was pretty cool that God had let me in on his secret early in the week.  Obvioulsly, a day I will never forget.

See Straight - by James Achenbach - www.golfweek.com

image by Getty Images

James Achenbach - GolfWeek

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - Other than the fact that I uncovered the Orator of the Year on the PGA Tour and learned how to sink 10-foot putts like some kind of putting fool, it was an uneventful day at Hollywood-friendly Riviera Country Club.

Movie stars used to frolic here at Riviera, which opened in 1926. Now, 83 years later, the Northern Trust Open, starring Phil Mickelson as the boy who lost his golf game, begins with a Thursday matinee.

But, what the heck, I was too busy pursuing my practice day adventures to think about the actual start of competition. Orator of the Year, I said to myself, should be a title bestowed on some worthy golfer.

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What a Week

Just a quick blog on my week.  I spent Monday and Tuesday at the FBR working with Zach, Vaughn and Ted Purdy.  Zach was fairly dialed in, I just want to stay on top of his shaft angle and head position and not let them get tilted backward again.  I worked with VT on leveling his spine to fix his aim and the path of his stroke.  With Ted, I didn't have to say much- he looked fantastic.  As I write this, he is three shots out of the lead going into the final round.  I am going to devote an entire post to him in the next few days about how we turned him around.  Very cool stuff.  I have another Tour player with whom I am working; I can't claim him yet because I am not sure he is willing to change.  Stay tuned.

Switching gears, I was in Orlando Thursday and Friday for the PGA Show, hanging out in the SeeMore booth.  While working with Tour players is fun, I get just as much gratification working with Club pros and amateurs.  To see the light go on in someone's eyes when they have a minor or major epiphany makes my job so worthwhile.  I want to thank all the people who told me how much they like my blog.  It means a lot to me.  I also enjoy so much spending time with the owners and staff of SeeMore.  They are fantastic people who share my vision to get people around the world to putt better.  We want to demystify the process and have people understand that it is not that complicated.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention my other sponsors as well.  I am on the Leadership Advisory Staff with Titleist and I could not be more honored to be associated with such a quality company with great people.  I enjoyed visiting with them and the wonderful people at Cutter and Buck, who are nice enough to keep me dressed well.  I truly appreciate all the support I receive from these fine companies.

Finally, Payne Stewart's long time caddy and one of my dearest friends, Mike Hicks, has started a new company called The Big Putt.  A fantastic training aid, The Big Putt ball is 35% larger than a golf ball.  It feels just like a normal golf ball!  If you do not have access to one of those small holes, or if they frustrate you, you will love this ball.  After you putt three of them to a regulation sized hole, your golf ball looks so small and the hole looks so big.  I highly recommend it and I was so happy to see them selling like hotcakes at the Show.  Check it out!

Pat O’Brien Launches A Golf Blog - by Traveling Golfer.com

Here’s another new golf blog you’ll want to bookmark.

Pat O’Brien, putting and short game teacher to some fine golfers has started to blog.

He’s the putting guru for Zach Johnson and works with several other tour pro’s as well.

A real test would be to see if he could make me into a putter. Nobody’s done it yet

by Mike Sigers - TravellingGolfer.com

Zach Johnson

Obviously my congratulations go out to Zach for his win yesterday at The Sony Open !  I am so proud of him not only for his golf, but for his faith and the kind of man he is.  What you see is what you get with Zach.  He is a great guy and a true friend.  I admire him so much for the competitor that he is.  He is truly unafraid of the challenges in golf and I look forward to him having a great year!

One of the most special things about working with Zach is being part of such an incredible team.  I have so much respect for Mike Bender, his swing coach, Morris Pickens , his mental coach, and Chris Noss , his trainer.  Damon Green, his caddie, is one of the best out there.  We all are on the same page with Zach and we truly enjoy spending time together. 

Last fall, during Zach's hiatus from the Tour, Mike and I worked on Zach getting his shaft angle more neutral at set up in both his long game and putting.  It was easier to change them both at the same time in that set up tendencies usually carry over into both parts of the game.  Through looking at some video from a few years back, Zach was finally convinced that the shaft and his spine had been tilted a little too much to the right.  When I saw him in San Antonio before The Texas Open , I knew good things were coming.  Everything had fallen back into place.  I told him I was going to start sleeping alot better again!

I owe a tremendous amount to Zach and the team.  I would not have my dream job today at Lakewood without them.  Now I want to see my other good friend, Vaughn Taylor, win a few more.  I know Zach does too! 

Pat O'Brien and Golf Digest (February, 2009)

Happy New Year.  What an incredible few years I have had working with players from Zach Johnson to Vaughn Taylor (and many others) on the PGA Tour, to so many great college players, mini tour players, and simply avid golfers who have traveled from near and far to meet with me here at Lakewood Country Club in Dallas.  And now to kick off 2009, Golf Digest has featured my simple putting theories in a 4 page article (pages 90-93 February 2009 Golf Digest, on sale now), called simply Three Putting Myths Shot Down.  A link to the Golf Digest article online follows below.  My teachings are all about bringing simple, repeatable fundamentals into the putting stroke.  I will talk a lot more about that in future blogs over the next few weeks, but for now enjoy the article from Golf Digest!  Would love to hear your comments.  And may 2009 be a great putting year for you as you chase your own personal goals.  Pat

excerpt:

Three Putting Myths Shot Down

by Pat O'Brien with Matthew Rudy source: Golf Digest.com 

Back in the day, golf course superintendents didn't have access to the agronomy techniques we do now. Greens were slower, so you needed to pop the ball pretty aggressively to get it up and moving. Green conditions have changed since the 1950s, but the same putting principles are commonly taught, and they don't promote the more flowing stroke you need today.  Break the three myths shown here to take the hand action out of your stroke, and you'll make more putts.

'Grip it in the Lifeline'  - Instead: hold it in your fingers.  If you had to have surgery, would you want the surgeon to hold the scalpel in the palm or fingers?  If you follow the age-old advice about placing the putter grip along your lifeline, you not only rob yourself of feel, but you encourage a rotation of your left forearm under your right.  This affects your aim and prevents you from moving the putter on an arc. 

The fingers are where you feel is, and if you grip the putter in them, anchored under the pad at the base of your left palm, you have more leverage and control of your putter.  Your left and right thumbs should line up on the top of the putter grip.  From this position, your forearms are parallel to the target line, and your wrists are less likely to break down.

Read entire article here: Download POBGolfDigestHotList(c)

Article photographs by Joey Terrill