Putting with the Viseo Mat

The Putting Mat

The Visio Putting Mat

Putting is where I spent quite a lot of time throughout college. I was able to build a system for my putting that has worked for me. I have the white 12 inch mat that is more of a straight back straight through stroke. I putt with my shoulders and like to keep the arc minimal. My viewpoint is to keep as little face rotation as possible to have more of a consistent start line using the bigger muscles in my body. This is the complete opposite of what Stan Utley was teaching. He uses his hands and gravity to move the club in a more fluid motion. He told me that it looked like I "mastered" the way I putt. I thought the word mastered was a stretch, but I do have a grasp what makes the ball fall in the hole for me. The Visio putting mat has become one of the most important parts of my putting routine.

The Routine

On practice days I run through 200 putts on the mat. I start with 50 two-handed, then 50 with my right arm only, 50 with my left, and finish with another 50 two-handed. I practice fine to six times a week, so that would put me 1000-1200 putts per week and if I did that over years, I knew I would get good. During tournament weeks I scale back to around 30 per arm and with both or to whatever I can get in with travel. The repetition is the point. This really frees my mind up when I am on the course to completely take away stroke thoughts while putting. I know that I have put in the work on my stroke that I can put all my focus on my start line and speed. Those two most important things in putting and what I focus my putting practice around. I do have to remind myself to focus on start line and speed when I play, especially when I have been practicing more than playing.

One of the things I do is place tees in every other hole along the mat. Teh mat is great that it has so many spots to put tees in but it gets a little overkill doing every single one. This creates a path for my putter head and gives me instant feedback on my stroke. If I clip a tee, I know immediately. There is no guessing, no video review needed. This allows me to get out of my conscious mind and get into my subconscious by getting focused on the feel of the putt. I emphasize when I do this to be aware of the thoughts going on in my head. The more routine that this has gotten I have found my mind to wonder more. That is the greatest contributor for me if it translates to the course is where my attention and clarity of mind are at doing the practice. My go to is feeling my shoulders and feeling my feet on the green. This gets me into my senses that take me away from thoughts that will mostly be trying to fix or solve the problem rather than trusting what I am doing. That is the human nature of the game that makes the best so good. They understand that the human brain is doing its job when something goes wrong by trying to fix or avoid it and cranks up when pressure is on. I spend most of my practice time getting to the feel in every shot and seeing where my mind goes, then get it to where I need it to be to compete.

As I mentioned before, the two most important things in putting are start line and speed. With the mat I can make a gate with two tees that is just wider than the ball to ensure my start lien is correct. I also place two tees at the front of the mat as a gate for the ball. I know instantly if I pushed or pulled it. The last part of the mat that I think is great is the lines on it. There is a curved line that is the arc that the center of the putter is to follow and the vertical lines to that arc to show where the club face should be. I tend to close the putter face through impact and I can check it easily with those lines. The visuals are great to work the mind body connection to where I want the club to be at different spots of the putt.

I hope this reaches you and find it interesting or insightful into things that I have done to get to the place I am in my game. We have a journey ahead but have made great progress. Thank you all!