This Week's Lesson
So, as I noted in the OP, I'm taking lessons and they are helping me improve my game; so far, by lowering my Handicap index by ~2 strokes. Since I've been taking these lessons for only 2 mos, I'm pretty pleased with that.
The first 6 weeks of lessons were all on the full swing. The past two weeks have been on the short game. This week's lesson (taken yesterday, Monday) was a putting lesson. It's probably the most important part of the game so, it's an important area to be proficient in. But, based on the stats from "Swing-by-Swing", putting is not a weakness in my game. I average 1.7 strokes/hole & 1.9 strokes/GIR; both figures are pretty respectable. Frankly, I'm surprised they're that good. But, I typically play on courses with moderate difficulty (not super-undulating) and moderate speeds (9-10 stimp).
Anyway, the way my lessons always progress are, me swinging (putting in this case) the way I normally do, observed by my instructor and recorded on video (as the "before" swing). My instructor then gives me feedback on what's good and what to change. I then practice this several times, going through several iterations with continuing instructor feedback, all on video. Then, when I produce what he's looking for, he asks me how that feels to me; we record that plus any other key points from him in the notes for the session, along with video of the properly produced swing (putt). Those notes and video go into my online file, along with some standard GolfTec "drills" for whatever it is one is trying to do. All of this is then immediately accessible by me from any device on which I've downloaded the GolfTec App; I chose my phone. I thought the golfers on this thread might be interested in the structure of the lessons, which I find very 'data based' and effective. And, the immediate accessibility anywhere is great!
Now for this week's lesson...putting. I use an Odyssey White Hot blade putter modified with the fattest Super Stroke grip made. We went through the process described above, and my instructor told me to make the following changes:
1. Locate the ball 'one ball' forward of the middle of my stance.
2. Make my putter shaft a bit more vertical, aligning with my forward arm.
3. Use a bit more forward press than I'd been using.
Everything else: position, stance, routine was good.
All of the recommended changes are to get the ball rolling forward as quickly as possible. The video (a worm-cam) showed that my putts actually skidded forward almost a foot before rolling, which is not good. After making the recommended adjustments, the putts were rolling after 2-4 inches, which was clearly visible on the video.
After that, we went to the practice putting green to test how well I'd taken the lesson on board. My instructor also recommended the "Ladder Drill", where you line up putts that are progressively one foot longer each time (typically from 3-8 ft).
OK, there you have it---this week's lesson.