I noticed this new aid in your training aids section. This looks to be rather useful for connecting shoulder motion to putter motion. This would seem to be a good aid for training longer strokes (where most/all pemdulum putting aids fail to challenge) to achieve at a minimum a good connection with the sholders...I wonder if either a vertical or gating stroke can be practiced with the EGO Putting Coach? Also what are your thoughts on my comments above?
I agree that this aid (the EGO Putting Coach) would probably help with longer shoulder strokes and would also work with a vertical stroke or a tilted stroke motion of the shoulders. But I haven't really tried it yet. Maybe the company will send me one to learn about it.
Here's a picture:
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction.
I am thinking that the pivot point on this device is similar to say a belly putter which produces more of a pendulum stroke than a gating stroke. Do you not think this aid then is primarily for the pendulum stroke more so than the gating stroke?
I just wonder how sensitive this unit is to wrist and arm action in the stroke as opposed to only shoulder motion. It may only pickup (or identify) large flaws rather than subtle errors?
i just happened to be browsing the web and stumbled upon the forum. i am the pro that invented and markets the EGO Putting Coach. recently the EGO was launched at this years PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando., where in the coming weeks the EGO will be in place in over 60 golf schools.
This message has been edited by aceputt from IP address 24.167.140.53 on Feb 17, 2005 6:33 PM This message has been edited by aceputt from IP address 24.167.140.53 on Feb 17, 2005 6:33 PM This message has been edited by mjdpro from IP address 69.140.8.105 on Feb 16, 2005 8:21 PM
I received one of these training aids today and want to express that it works very well at creating some of the feels that you're looking for re a shoulder dominated stroke.
The attachment at the back of the shoulder blades focuses your attention nicely on what you want to feel initiates the stroke. It encourages you to feel that the back and gut muscles start the shoulders rocking, and if you desire, you can reverse that feeling for the through stroke. For me, it will make a nice winter companion to my triceps track! If you wish for a free fall from the end of the back stroke, it does not discourage that.
Regarding the wrist and arm motion, it has a couple of good indicators that allow you to gauge excessive motion in those areas without herding you towards a specific stroke. It does give you great feedback if you wish to stabilize the pivot at the sternum, and stroke putts with a stable pivot and shoulders moving around that pivot.
It does not differentiate between vertical or tilted planes, allowing both, but it does discourage arm, wrist or putterface rotation. It very much discourages arm extension or contraction during the stroke.
The 'triceps track' has not been invented actually!!!
What I did was, take the concept that I wanted a vertical straight stroke. Then mix in the concept that in spite of the wealth of training aids 'out there' that train a straight stroke, they are a little counterintuitive in that unless you have shoulders that contribute to either a vertical or tilted stroke, then you are training an inefficient and/or contrived stroke.
So I went to the source... the shoulders! What I did was set up a straight, thin board such that I could hang my arms over the board with it touching the triceps on the outside and the pecs on the inside, and with the ability to make strokes and/or putts over it. The theory being that the upper arms should hang perfectly straight down, and if I 'run' the triceps along the board, then I move the shoulders correctly for a straight stroke without having anything contrived.
