Lure of the quick fix

Oldgolfdawg was doing what he does best the other day, putting a dent in his favorite couch while surfing the cable television offerings. His search for something of interest stopped on The Golf Channel where the latest cure for a flea-bitten putting stroke was being pitched in a slick infomercial.

After viewing the Inside Down the Line Putting System (insidedowntheline.com) for a few minutes, Oldgolfdawg was almost ready to spring from the couch and into a buying frenzy. Like Ulysses in Homer's epic Odyssey poem, his ears were being tortured by the sirens sweetly singing. A half-hour infomercial showing putt after putt dropping into the cup had him salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs. Putting being the weakest link in Oldgolfdawg's game, the teaching aid appeared to be "The Holy Grail" that would finally satisfy his forlorn hunger for putting satisfaction.

Luckily, the dent in the couch was deep and Oldgolfdawg came to his senses before he could escape the gravity of the situation. As minutes of inaction passed, Oldgolfdawg began to remember similar "Holy Grail" moments and the outcomes they produced. A Dave Pelz Putting Track, a pair of Proaim putting glasses and an assortment of devices from the Ernie Els Rockroller putting stroke trainer system are currently collecting dust in his basement. Did this aspirational collection of teaching devices obtained in the endless pursuit of knowledge really need another casualty?

Failed pro Roy McAvoy of Tin Cup fame didn't think much of teaching aids as the owner of a rundown driving range. In the movie, McAvoy, played by Kevin Costner, advised female psychiatrist Molly Griswold, played by Renee Russo, to get rid of all that crap. Oldgolfdawg agrees. If you think one of the teaching devices being hawked on The Golf Channel is really going to help your game, you're probably barking up the wrong tree.

Instead of buying another contraption, Oldgolfdawg would suggest two books, each offering a distinct school of thought. One, The Art of Putting by Stan Utley with Matthew Rudy, believes the best putting results are produced by a stroke in the shape of an arc. The other, Putt Like The Pros by Dave Pelz with Nick Mastroni, is more scientific and advocates a straight back and straight through stroke.

Oldgolfdawg says pick your poison and then hit the practice putting green. He's read both books and still finds himself re-inventing his stroke on every green when he's putting bad and not even thinking about it when he's putting good.