The way instinct for distance of a putt works is complex, but at the end of the process, standing beside the ball, the neck turn of the face from ball to target does the finetuned programming for touch. What is happening is that nerves in the neck that keep track of the orientation of the head direction on top of the torso (to coordinate both for action) feed the cerebellum on the back of the brain, pretty directly. The cerebellum integrates vision, balance, and body sense for the purpose of smooth, coordinated, well-timed movement, in this case with respect to a target and for the action of using a putter to roll a ball across a specific green surface as far as the target. IF the golfer has trained himself to use one and only one tempo for the backstroke and downstroke, and if the golfer has working familiarity with his ball, putter, and the speed of the green, THEN the targeting movement of the neck turning the face from ball to target (and back) "programs" the last remaining variable the cerebellum needs to generate the correct backstroke. Once the backstroke gets set (with the "one potato" timing required), then the downstroke tempo automatically results in one and only one putter head speed at impact (which is the correct speed for the distance, ball, putter, and green speed).
The cerebellum does not participate in the conscious experience of the mind. Not only does the cerebellum not have an "inner voice", it does not (and cannot) hear the "inner voice" of the mind. It is not correct to think of the cerebellum as the "subconscious." That is sort of an image of a deep-sea monster lurking beneath the waves of the conscious mind, but still in the same ocean. Actually, the cerebellum is NON-conscious. The cerebellum is essentially an electro-biological organ that is about as "conscious" as the liver or kidney. That's why "trying" is not the right approach to distance control. "Trying" is using the conscious mind to problem-solve and employ strategies and tactics for dealing with the problem of distance. That is not the approach that evolution has favored for animal movement, although it might serve well in certain limited circumstances (like picking up shards of a broken light bulb so as not to get cut). Instead, animal movement evolution has relied upon the animal's steady training to the timing of the body in gravity, and the key concept is simply "timing."
This set of circumstances has the wonderful effect of rendering any conscious effort (other than noting the need to pay attention to the environment for relevant information about green speed and spatial relations of body and target) not only irrelevant to distance control, but in fact counter-productive. The purest use of this biology is to face the ball, turn the neck to face the target, turn back, pause, start the backstroke so it completes on time, and don't interfere with the timing coming down to impact. Whatever backstroke actually occurs at the end of the timing of the backstroke is the result of the non-conscious timing processes of the cerebellum, and the backstroke length is not really known by the golfer in advance of the stroke. The golfer simply heeds the timing and finds out what backstroke occurs. There is nothing to do except start the backstroke so it ends on time, not before and not after. "Trying" to make a specific backstroke or "trying" to hit the ball with a certain force that is expected to do the job of getting the ball to the target are brain processes that invoke the conscious mind in its problem-solving, tactical mode, and this use of the brain is not near as good as the cerebellum and the non-conscious processes trained for survival effectiveness over eons of animal evolution. The cerebellum is one of the most ancient parts of the animal brain to be retained by humans, and this is because of its highly effective and long-trained working relationship between the world and its gravity and animal movement. So, "thinking is stinking" when it's time to move.
While it is best to turn the neck all the way so that the face is aimed directly at the target distance, it is also important not to get too involved with the old rule-bound conscious mind about these matters. If you do, and you start not liking the tension in the neck from a really full turn, then this discomfort becomes consciously noticed and invokes conscious problem-solving processes: "I don't think I quite turned all the way that time, so I better "add" a little to my stroke" or similar thoughts and responses. Just turn to the target as best you can and don't sweat it. Over time, you will evolve a head turn that works just great.
Incidentally, I like to combine the head turn angle with a pace of turn for richer information. For the pace of the head turn, I imagine I am watching and following at real speed a perfectly putted ball that rolls quickly initially, then slows as it nears the hole, then rolls to a conclusion inside the hole. This imaginary "movie" of the perfectly putted ball also helps the cerebellum get the timing right.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
PuttingZone
http://puttingzone.com
Golf's most advanced putting instruction -- you're either in the PuttingZone, or not.
