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Performance Spot and Putting Tips

Improve Your Game with Style and Make
Your Next Putt A Stroke of Brilliance^®

Looking to improve your putting stroke?

Putting is about confidence. The putter that looks good and feels solid is the one that will enable you to hole more putts than ever before.

When choosing a new putter, pay close attention to its technical construction and its visual aesthetics. Enjoying your equipment, and buying equipment that is customized to your individual frame and tastes, means that you will likely be more enthusiastic and excited to play. Never doubt how much a positive attitude can enhance your performance!

Also remember that committing to a pre-shot routine is imperative to making consistent putts. Assess the contour and grain of the green. Read the putt from in front of the hole as you walk on the green. Mentally rehearse strokes, focus on speed, and visualize the putt rolling in a perfect line into the hole.

It is important to keep hands soft, minimize wrist action, and establish a rhythm. Rhythm creates the steadiness of the putting stroke, and is the predominant factor in controlling distance and speed. Rhythm is the "heartbeat of a good stroke," and is the backbone to successful putting. Regardless of your speed, the putter should move at a constant pace, going back and coming forward. The sure sign of a stroke with good rhythm is one where the backstroke, and follow-through, move at the same speed and are of equal lengths.

The best golfers in the world keep their heads steady during the putting stroke, and align their eyes over, or just inside, the target line. To keep your eyes still during the stroke, focus on the grass under the ball after the stroke has been made, and stabilize the lower body as much as possible.

Using alignment guides such as the Gemspot's patented "Diamond Alignment System", helps you square the putter head to your target, inspires you to visualize your intended target line, adds confidence to sink more putts to lower golf scores.

Gemspot News and Golf Tips Quick Links:

30 May 2012 - Laub is hitting the links with all the boys

Laub is hitting the links with all the boys
By GERRY FALL, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
May 27, 2012 8:02 AM

Wendy Laub is mixing it up with the guys at this year's Santa Barbara City Golf Championship, looking to gain key tournament experience.

Santa Barbara resident Wendy Laub is mixing it up with the boys this weekend at the 53rd Annual Santa Barbara City Golf Championship.

She is one of only two women— Cody Free being the other— playing in the city's oldest golf tournament.

Laub opened with a 93 on a windy Saturday afternoon at the Santa Barbara Golf Club. While disappointed that her goal of breaking 90 was not realized, the 10-time Montecito Country Club women's champ still flashed a big smile after playing from the men's tees in the tournament at Muni for the first time.

"I never thought they would allow a woman to play in it, so I never thought to ask," she said before her first round. "This year I just happened to ask, and they said, 'definitely,' so I signed up."

What's remarkable about Laub is that she has been playing for only 15 years and has a 9 handicap. Patton and I would love to be able to brag about that kind of golf success in the sports office, but we'd only be telling a tale.

It's also quite interesting how she picked up the game. She knew the Montecito Country Club layout long before she ever took her first swing on it.
"I liked to run on the golf course and they told me I had to be a member, so I started playing golf," she said.
Now it's her passion.

Laub is as competitive as they come and she hopes to use this weekend's experience to elevate her game even more.

"I want the tournament experience," she said. "I need more championship experience to try to figure out more of the mental aspects of the game. I have the physical abilities, now I just need to hone in on the mental-performance abilities."

She's picked a great one to do just that.

Up and down the tee sheet of this year's City championship are the names of some really good players— ones who have competed in the tournament for a number of years, and ones who, like Laub, aren't in it for just a leisure walk or cart ride around the 6,000-yard track, which happens to be in fantastic shape for those of you thinking about calling in sick to work on a day next week.

"It's my mindset to just play the course and not worry about anyone else," she said. "It's going to be very challenging. I'm playing from the (back tees) and I'm playing gross, no handicap. I just want to keep it down the middle and keep it in play."

Don't we all.

Laub could be intimidated with the field, but she's not. She could feel out of her element, but she doesn't. Her approach to this weekend's competition is the best one she could possibly have, and one that should take a lot of the pressure away and allow her to enjoy every shot, whether on target or not.

"I really don't have anything to lose," she said. "I'm out here for the learning experience. I'm out here to learn about myself and learn about the game and to try to get better.

"I'm hoping to make the cut. It's a definite goal and we'll just see how the rest of the field plays out and see if I make the cut."

Gerry Fall has been covering sports in Santa Barbara County for 19 years. His column appears on Sundays. Email: gfall@newspress.com.

23 January 2012 - January Newsletter

>> Download January 2012 Newsletter here

26 November 2011 - GemSpot Owner Wendy Laub Clinches Ladies Club Championship

From Montecito Country Club -

Congratulations to Wendy L. Laub for her decisive victory in the Ladies Club Championship. The last round was cut short by heavy rain but Wendy remained in command throughout the entire tournament. This makes it eight out the last nine years Wendy has won the championship. What an amazing record of a true champion!

Justin Allen
Assistant General Manager
Montecito Country Club

21 September 2011 - Quarter Putting Drill with a Gemspot Jewelled Putter

26 August 2011 - Here Are My Five Tips for Buying a Putter

By Scott Johnson, PGA Head Golf
Professional, Montecito Country Club

Here Are My Five Tips for Buying a Putter:

1: See and feel as many models as you can.

2: Look for a putter that has a good sight line that fits your eye.

3: Find a putter that is the right weight, and feels good in your hands.

4: Make sure the putter rests on the ground properly, with the sole lying heel to toe on the ground.

5: Choose a grip that has the right tackiness and thickness for your hands. My overall recommendation is that putters are like clothes. Everyone has their own tastes, and it is important to choose a putter that looks good to you, and even more importantly, one that gives you CONFIDENCE!