GOLF Crab-Putting: Groundbreaking Knowledge on Putting-Technique and Unique Insights on Green-Reading-Skills

By Andreas W. Gross

Supreme putting to excel in Golf. Crab-Putting is an innovative, unique and superior putting-technique, enabling Amateur Golfer and Tour Professionals alike to excel on any green.
Groundbreaking putting-technique. The pioneering Grip & Stroke Putting-Technique is the result of years of research and development. The method is marking a new era in putting, is simple, complies with the rules of the R&A and is outperforming every other technique when it comes to setting milestones on the green.
Crab-Putting is being explained in step-by-step instructions. Tests allow to immediately check the results. It will enable any golfer to hitting perfect putts more often and to eliminate unnecessary errors once and for all.
Develop superior green-reading skills. Newest scientific findings will empower the reader to apply effective green-reading skills in no time. Hands-on instructions ensure a quick and easy development of the ability to judging speed and break.
This book is for all golfer who want to enhance their putting ability dramatically.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.W.O.X.
• Release date: Nov 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9783948907327

Andreas W. Gross

Andreas W. Gross is business consultant and leading competence in the golf industry for marketing and management in Germany, author, trainer and well-respected speaker. He is the owner of Konzeption Golf in Bonn, Germany and the author of the reference book Marketing- and Management-Handbook on Golf and of the book Golf - Stop Mind-Putting. He is an accredited Consultant of the German Golf Association and is certified trainer of Energy Therapy.

Book preview

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Copyright© 2022 by Andreas W. Gross

1st Edition

Art Credits on page V at the end of the book constitutes as an extension of the copyright page.

Gross, Andreas W. (2022):

GOLF CRAB-PUTTING - Million Dollar Grip & Stroke Putting-Technique

Groundbreaking Knowledge on Putting-Technique and

Unique Insights on Green-Reading-Skills

Publisher: K.W.O.X., Am Lenkert 38, 53177 Bonn, Germany

Printed in Germany

ISBN: 978-3-948907-30-3 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 978-3-948907-31-0 (Softcover)

E-ISBN: 978-3-948907-32-7 (E-Book)

E-ISBN: 978-3-948907-33-4 (EPDF)

E-ISBN: 978-3-948907-34-1 (MOBI)

Thank you for buying this book and for complying with copyright laws. The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use is not permitted without the consent of the authors. This applies in particular to electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and making available to the public.

Bibliographic information of the German National Library:

The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography. Detailed bibliographic data can be found on the Internet via

http://dnb.d-nb.de

Disclaimer

This book is designed to provide information and motivation to our readers. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher nor the author are not engaged to render any type of medical, psychological, legal, or any other kind of professional advice. The content is the sole expression and opinion of the author. No warranties or guarantees are expressed or implied. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, financial, or commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential or other damages. The reader is responsible for his own choices, actions, and results.

Although author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, disruption or any other detriment or harm caused by its content, errors or omissions, whether such content, errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

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Tiger Woods hits his putt at the 14th green during the final round of the BMW Championship held at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club on September 13, 2009 in Lemont, Illinois. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 ARE AMATEUR GOLFER ABLE TO PUTT LIKE A PRO?

CHAPTER 2 THE VALUE OF SUPREME PUTTING

CHAPTER 3THE PERFECT PUTT

CHAPTER 4FUNDAMENTALS OF A PUTTER

4.1 Putter Shaft Length

4.2 Putter Grip

4.3 Sweet Spot of a Putter

4.4 Squaring the Putter Face at Impact

4.5 Impact Speed & Impact Ratio

4.6 Launch Angle

4.7 Selecting the Ideal Putter

CHAPTER 5 FUNDAMENTALS OF THE CRAB-PUTTING-GRIP

5.1 Key Elements

5.2 Fundamentals of the Crab-Gripping-Technique

5.3 Mistakes to Avoid

CHAPTER 6FUNDAMENTALS OF THE CRAB-PUTTING-STROKE

6.1 Key Elements

6.2 Fundamentals of the Crab-Striking-Technique

6.3 Mistakes to Avoid

CHAPTER 7KEY ELEMENTS TO GREEN READING

7.1 Velocity Reading

7.2 Break Reading

7.3 Mastering Green Reading

CHAPTER 8 MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE

REFERENCES

LITERATURE

ART CREDITS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Rory McIlroy, Maximilian Kieffer at the Shanghai BMW Masters 2012

CHAPTER 1

ARE AMATEUR GOLFER

ABLE TO PUTT LIKE A PRO ?

Yes. Definitely. There is no reason, why Amateur Golfer should not be able to putt like a Tour-Professional. A convincing putting-technique can be achieved by anyone. Also, the reading of the break together with the required corresponding velocity on the green is just a matter of knowing what to look out for and how to interpret it. It can be attained by anyone.

This is not what I say, this is what the Pros say.

Nevertheless, there are putting-techniques more suitable for convincing putting and there are techniques which make it more difficult. The technique presented in this book is to ultimately enhance the putting ability.

Definition

Putting-Ability-Technique

Putting ability is to putt in the desired direction with the intended velocity, even under stress.

When it comes to velocity and break reading, it is like wine-tasting: The taste buds first have to be sensitized. In case we have no clue about how to distinguish flavors of wine, we will not be able to identify the aspects which separates one vine or region or even vintage from the other. The same is true on the green. As long as we are not aware of what to look out for, a break we detect (if we detect it) is just a break. The art of green-reading is to gather the information to sink the putt.

Definition

Art of Green-Reading

The art of green-reading is to identify all relevant influences on the ball roll and its expedient interpretation.

It is simply not possible to assess a green perfectly as long as the appropriate skills are missing.

Most errors occur, because golfer THINK they misjudged the green. This might be the case, but it also might not. Unless a golfer is perfectly sure to apply a superb technique, there is no learning from missed putts, because any conclusion very likely is wrong and – per logical consequence – will be wrong again and will lead to the next missed putt.

Learning to green reading requires a perfect putting technique first. Otherwise, putting remains pure luck.

A perfect technique will enable any golfer to hole more putts - no matter whether they play on fairly plain greens or on greens as tricky as the ones we see on TV.

This is the reason why in this book we focus on learning an unchallenged putting technique first. Insights on green reading will complete technical putting skills.

The Crab-Putting-Technique© can indeed be mastered by any golfer fairly quickly. Putting results may enhance drastically within no time.

We first focus on hitting a straight putt. Unbelievable but true, most golfer are not capable of executing a repeatable straight putt at all, none are capable of executing a straight putt all the time. Not even Tour Professionals.

According to Marc Broadie, a Tour Professional on the PGA Tour is missing putts from 3 feet in 4% of all putts made, from 5 feet already in 23% of all cases. An 8-footer is being missed by 50%. ¹

Even though many of the putts were not dead straight, it can be assumed that a bad execution of a short putt is the reason when it is being missed - even for Tour Professionals.

With Amateur Golfer, the situation is worse by far.

With the knowledge introduced in this book, every golfer will get to know what it takes to putt like a Pro. Even though some of the putting skills are a result of the right ‘touch’ when putting, it is the technique behind it that enables us not only to execute a putt precisely but also to develop ‘touch’.

Besides bad execution, false ‘touch’ is the other major reason for missing putts – for Tour Professionals and amateurs alike: Wrong velocity of a putt – putts stop short, are too long or the ball is breaking too early or too late.

A wrong velocity when putting is a result of either failing technique or misjudgment. While the latter is a matter of the right training as well as of developing the required skills, the reason for a bad execution of the velocity of a putt is mainly originating in inadequate putting-technique. Learning to putt in the desired direction with the required velocity are skills which you will acquire when reading this book.

The Crab-Putting-Technique© assures precise ‘Acceleration’ of the ball in the desired direction, every time, even under stress, even when the YIPS is involved. ²

The Crab-Putting-Technique© will enable any golfer to become a better putter, to hole more putts and to have more fun with the game of golf.

In order to execute the Crab-Putting-Technique© to the fullest potential, key elements to green reading are completing a 360° view on the most important aspects in putting. Even though green reading is a challenge to communicate in writing, key findings will show how to train our consciousness with every putt we make.

I am convinced that this book contains what it takes to revolutionize the putting ability of Amateur Golfer and Professionals alike. I thank you for your interest and wish that the best rounds of golf are yet to come.

Years of research have been imperative to develop the technique being presented here in this book. The information given on the Crab-Putting-Technique© has never been published before. It is therefore up to the reader to judge the real value of it for the game.

In order to make it most easy for the reader to follow the information and explanations given, the book is following a step-by-step approach to get familiar with the Crab-Putting-Technique© while immediately being able to apply it.

For better orientation and later easy reference, important issues are highlighted:

•  Instruction (dark blue): Whenever the technique is being explained in detail

•  Definition (light blue): Whenever terms are being used to get a common understanding

•  Research (red): Whenever results of analysis or studies are being presented

•  Information (green): Whenever it is helpful to highlight special knowledge, new findings or insights

•  Test (pink): Whenever a technique is being presented to be applied personally

Since putting like a Pro comprises various skills, it is recommended to re-read some sections a second or third time once having read the complete book. The highlighted sections may guide finding relevant passages quickly and can be used as a reference.

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The Open 2017 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club Tommy Fleetwood

Chapter 2

THE VALUE OF SUPREME PUTTING

Supreme putting for many golfer is priceless, especially for Tour Professionals.

According to Mark Broadie, only 14 winners of the 315 PGA Tour tournaments played between 2004 and 2012 putted worse than the field. ³ With other words: Supreme putting is vital for a win and it is possible to achieve for any golfer.

info

The Value of Supreme Putting

The latest evidence of the value of supreme putting is Rory McIlroy’s win of the 2022 Tour Championship and FedexCup for the unprecedented third time:

His putt over 10 feet on the 15th hole of the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia during the final round, a Par 3. This putt has very likely been the decisive point to make.

However, supreme putting is vital not only for Tour Professionals. Have you ever witnessed a golfer after holing a difficult putt? Pure energy is flooding the body. They get into the flow, a state of mind which provides self-confidence and optimism.

In the state of flow golf gets a much easier game to play, fatal errors rarely occur. ⁴

Supreme putting is pure adrenalin! The question is, how do we repeat supreme putting? Or let me put it this way: What would you pay to become a supreme putter?

The good news is, while reading this, you have all the prerequisites you need right in your hands to power up your game.

You will not have to consult any teacher or have to buy expensive equipment. You do not even have to train hard to take your putting to the ultimate level.

All you have to do is to invest a little bit of time. Time to read this book, to follow the instructions carefully and to get acquainted with the Crab-Putting-Technique.©

Once the mechanisms of convincing putting are completely understood, it will require little time only to excel in putting.

It will not happen overnight, but results will be seen within a couple of weeks. The better a player you are today, the easier and faster the transformation will be.

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A PERFECT PUTT

It is time to get more precise: A perfect putt consists of three completely independent measures.

Research

3 Requirements for a Perfect Putt

•  the right tempo

•  the straight stroke with the ball starting on the target-line ⁵

•  the green reading to identify the target-line and to assess the required putting speed

The first two measures require a suitable putter and technical skills: The Crab-Putting-Grip- & -Stroke.© The key elements given in this book on green reading will complete your skills for supreme putting.

SIGNIFICANCE OF TECHNIQUE FOR DEVELOPING FEEL

Since every green is different, the right tempo varies from green to green, day to day and course to course. There is no use to learn by heart which tempo is ideal for which distance.

The key for the right tempo on any green any day is to be able to dose a putt perfectly depending on all conditions: equipment, weather, surface, stress.

The technique presented in this book will help to develop a perfect feel. No matter how fast the greens are, the technique presented here allows to adapt to the circumstances within a few strokes on a practice putting green – even under stress. Just make sure to have at least 15 minutes of time available, much better is 30 minutes.

ABILITY OF HITTING A PUTT DEAD STRAIGHT

The art of dosing a putt perfectly is one thing but is no use if we cannot putt dead straight.

Definition

A Straight Putt

We define a straight putt as a putt which is starting out straight on the intended target-line with least amount of skid. Details on skid will be provided in the next Chapter.

If a green is dead flat, then the intended target-line of the putt is dead straight to the cup.

Most golfer – even Tour Professionals – are often not aware of the fact that they do not putt dead straight, especially under stress. This is only natural since as a golfer we constantly putt in an environment in which we are unable to detect not hitting dead straight putts.

If we practice on a putting green or any surface which is not perfectly plain and without slope, how should we know not being able to putt dead straight?

Research

Measures have shown that a deviation of a putted ball of only 1 degree will likely miss the cup in 95% of all cases for a putt over ten feet.

Our self-perception gets even worse when the green is not true.

Definition

Untrue Green

A green is not true if a straight putt is being deflected by higher grass, obstacles on its way or tiny undulations. In general, we talk of experiencing Rifle-Spin, see also Chapter 3 and 4.

Suddenly putts are being missed from 7 feet or less and we have no clue whether it was a bad putt or it did not fall due to another cause.

Figure 1

Pushing or Pulling the Ball

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Since 60% of the Tour Professionals are missing a ten feet putt, there is a good chance that some putts got pushed or pulled or lined up wrong, see Figure 1. ⁶

It pays to know whether you are able to putt dead straight. The Crab-Putting-Technique© will enhance this ability.

STRESS WHEN PUTTING

An important aspect often neglected when talking about a perfect putt is the ability to perform it under pressure.

Research

The Effect of Stress on Putting

Stress often leads to the most hilarious putting results: A putt way too long, a putt too short, blading a putt with the lower edge of the putter, hitting into the grass first or twisting the club during impact.

It is possible to observe these kinds of errors every week on all major tours – it can happen to any golfer no matter what handicap. The question is what we can do to perform better under stress and when we get tired. The answer is simple: By trusting a technique of putting which limits or even eliminates the sources of errors.

Many errors occur when small muscle groups interfere and do their own thing (as it is for example with the YIPS) or when the putting motion is vulnerable to all kinds of distractions.

Research

Advantages of the Crab-Putting-Technique©

The Crab-Putting-Technique© relies on the primary muscles which are easy to control while a possible influence of secondary muscle groups is being limited.

With the Crab-Putting-Technique© it is possible to replicate the identical putting motion over and over again, no matter how stressed or tired we might be.

The Crab-Putting-Technique© is easy to learn and its results are intriguing.

How good a putter are you today?

This book is to enhance your putting. Before reading on I would like to encourage you to judge your current putting ability.

Please feel encouraged to take your last ten rounds of golf and to count all your putts per round. If you have not recorded any rounds in detail yet, take the next round of golf. Count all your putts - putts from on the green only, no ‘texas-wedge-shots’. ⁷

The goal is to beat that number of putts after having read this book and after having internalized and practiced the technique presented here.

Figure 2

Average Number of Putts per Round

by Handicap

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Let us first take a look at your current putting statistics. How many putts do you usually need for 18 holes? Compare your putting results with the average number of your handicap as shown in Figure 2.

It might be a bit of surprise that improvements are rather linear for every 5 steps of the handicap and that it comprises just more or less one stroke. Only PGA Tour leaders require significantly less putts.

What do we learn from this statistic? It implies that the amount of time spent for practicing putting corresponds with the time spent to lower the handicap. It is a linear development without any structural breaks. This is changing when the golfer is off to earn money with golf. He is aware of the importance of putting and spends a vast amount of time for the right technique of putting.

The Crab-Putting-Technique© works