Bobby Jones On Putting (1931) *Please Read My Description Below ⬇️⬇️ for more details...

Bobby Jones did so many amazing things as a competitive golfer, it's easy to overlook another massive contribution to the game: He quite possibly invented the idea of How To golf instruction content.
The great Bobby Jones may have rose to prominence in a bygone era, but his advice lives on - and can still help golfers today... ⛳️
Of course, Robert T. Jones, Jr., commonly referred to as “Bobby Jones,” was the greatest hickory shaft golfer of the hickory golf era (with Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, and Tommy Armour spurring him on). Bobby Jones culminated his career with his four 1930 “Grand Slam” victories: US & British Opens, US & British Amateurs. Jones was only 28 years old when he retired after this amazing feat; he opened Augusta National with the first Masters golf tournament in 1934.
Bobby Jones described himself as being very nervous before tournaments and yet, his contemporaries described Jones’ putting, and especially his putting under pressure, as simply unmatched in his era. Many people attribute Jones’ amazing putting to a putting lesson with Walter Travis who told Jones to putt with his feet close together. Putting with your feet close together generally tightens the margin of error for a number of variables including: eye position, ball position, and positioning of body weight. However, there is more to Bobby Jones’ putting success than just that.
The rest of the story is actually two-fold, with one part being equipment and the second part being technique. Bobby Jones’ “Calamity Jane” putter was originally from the forge of St. Andrews clubmaker Robert Condie---a light (about 275-gram head) blade putter with a Willie Park-style offset. When Jones wore this club out, he had Spalding clubmaker J. Victor East meticulously recreate this putter right down to the three strands of whipping that supported the cracked hickory shaft of his original putter. (You can see the historic recreated Bobby Jones putter used in 1930 at the USGA Museum in Far Hills NJ; the original Calamity Jane resides at Augusta National in Georgia.)It was the cracked hickory shaft that was one of the keys to Jones’s putting success. The cracked hickory shaft in Jones’s Calamity Jane was VERY flexible.
Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that when one object applies a force on a second object, the second one simultaneously applies a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first object. Or to paraphrase this phenomenon, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The application of Newton’s law to Bobby Jones’ putting stroke is that with such a whippy shaft, Jones putter would spring back perfectly on plane during the transition between backswing and forward swing. This will not happen with a stiffer shaft. So, with the Jones’ stroke, the forward swing starts exactly the opposite direction as the backswing due to the extremely flexible shaft reversing direction as the hands stop. With a normal putter, the player must move his hands exactly on plane to start the forward motion---Jones could let the shaft rebound on perfect plane; a huge advantage. Just the flexible shaft won’t get you the Jones’ putting stroke, unfortunately.
Bobby Jones had a very idiosyncratic move in his full golf swing where he loosened his left hand at the top of his backswing before squeezing his left hand little fingers to start the downswing. Today, this is considered an error in swing technique. There are no Tour players who currently do this. Jones’ habit of squeezing the little finger of his left hand to start the downswing carried over to his putting stroke. Today, any tendency on the part of Tour players to “squeeze” the hands during the putting stroke is generally considered to be the “yips” and reason to consider the claw grip or the long putter. But this was not the case for Bobby Jones who could get away with this move because he applied no pressure with any of his other fingers, especially any pressure from his right hand. This created a simple swinging hinge at the left hand little finger. Bobby Jones could squeeze his left hand pinkie hard or easy, too soon or too late and all his putts would go straight with this brilliant technique. Totally foolproof.
Watch Jones describe his putting stroke in video, mentioning that he starts the club away with his LEFT hand and has “a nice light grip on the club.” Jones combined this hand action with his narrow, shoulders-open stance and whippy putter shaft to win 13 major golf championships by age 28 and become one of sports’ greatest legends!

[@SearchBucket2]

Anyone who is a student of the game should watch the Jones series. It contains so many gems despite contradicting modern teaching. Of course, shafts were different but after watching him make dozens of swings with his slightly over the top action and left hand grip release you get hypnotised by his skill, rhythm and repeating swing. And he was a fantastically skilled player.

[@RollYourRock]

Bucket, it seems I can always count on you for a good take. - Well said! 👍

[@ag358]

Bobby took the club back with his hips, he didn't do anything with the arms until he lift them that makes it an inside takeaway, when he brought the club down it was slightly steeper than the take away but we'll within the ball target line. Many players of his day took it back well inside then was over that line but it wasn't over the top swing that everyone wants about. Now they want you to take it back outside and come down more inside, his and other greats of his day had through swings that approached the ball from the inside. Both methods there is a slight loop and both methods attack from the inside. One instructor called his swing and Sam Snead Ott, I had to laugh if the swing attacks from inside the ball line it's absolutely not Ott.

[@Grunt21Tennessee]

The ole pop stroke. Still effective for sure. People (like me) can get waaayyyy too technical and unnatural. The goal is to get the ball in the hole and there are many ways of doing that. Love this one.

[@RollYourRock]

I'm very glad you enjoyed the video! Cheers! 🙂

[@ag358]

Bobby was strong in all depts, driver, irons (all), chipping,pitching, putting and his mind. The fact he won all those majors and retired at age of twenty eight years old while going months without touching a club and usually won the tournament is mind boggling he was practicing law two years before he retired. Over forty % win rate is astounding.

[@lizardears4861]

Love this stuff. I still have the Bobby Jones instructional VHS and his book.

[@RollYourRock]

Me too! - I received the Box Set (2 VHS Videos/Book) as a Christmas gift. Had to be the early 90s. ???

[@kenthansen3557]

I teach Hogan to this day (to those just getting started) because it plants a seed of understanding about the cause and effects in golf. That understanding, in my humble opinion, is more important than anything else. People will usually adapt as necessary to their own personal build and capabilities but they do so more effectively with a solid basic understanding of the dynamics of the club and ball relationship

[@RollYourRock]

There is a need for more instructors like you...

[@alexcurtas2616]

Love this. Thanks for sharing! Not exactly what they teach you to do nowadays, but it's so cool to see this history. I'm reading The Grand Slam by Mark Frost right now, so hearing Jones's voice helps to round out the whole feel of that era.

[@RollYourRock]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers! 🙂

[@jefftaylor8644]

I dont care what they say about modern fast greens. This stroke works. Forward press and pull the trigger.

[@RollYourRock]

Yes, sir! Educated hands...

[@poocrayon4588]

It really does, it's my belief that putting is the most natural part of the game and you can either judge it well or you cant. If you cant then locking yourself up and following modern advice may help cut down huge mistakes - if you can then it really makes no difference what you do.

[@robgilbert1330]

I use this stroke and this exact Calamity Jane putter and it is devastating.

[@RollYourRock]

Love it!🙂

[@Mblandreth1]

This is the perfect lesson for putting. 😊

[@RollYourRock]

Mike, I love your taste in caps! Check out the Stetson Hatteras Cashmere/Silk Flat Cap Made in Germany. They wear like iron and look better with age. I have a gray and a brown and wear them all the time. They are a bit expensive, but well worth it! The quality is unbelievable! Cheers!🙂

[@RollYourRock]

Here's the cap I'm talking about: www.amazon.com/Stetson-Hatteras-Cashmere-Silk-Flat/dp/B0079IUL9Q/ref=asc_df_B0079IUL9Q/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=550156420535&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1153828289102527104&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033604&hvtargid=pla-531851472371&psc=1

[@batswbennett]

Uh, no, it may have been 80 years ago, but no longer.

[@RollYourRock]

@@batswbennett 1931

[@montegustafson5142]

Regarding your transcript notes, I believe Phil Mickelson also slightly loosens his upper hand grip on the backswing (especially with the driver), and regrips as he starts down. Haven't seen him swing recently so I don't know if he still has that tendency, but over the years his wayward drives certainly contributed to "Phil the Thrill"!!

[@RollYourRock]

I wouldn't be shocked if he had done this earlier in his career, but you won't see it any longer. The last eight or 10 years he has put in considerable time to tighten up his swing.

[@gealyca]

Interesting. I already have my thumbs like that, but not the alternate overlap. I'll try that.

[@RollYourRock]

I think you will learn to appreciate the reverse-overlap grip for putting. Very few high-level players use the same grip for putting that they use for their full swing. Cheers! 🙂

[@joshclayg]

Put bobby Jones on a 14 stimp green and you'd have Cam Smith.

[@RollYourRock]

Absolutely! I'm sure he could figure out what to do...

[@MK12DUDE]

1931 this man played better golf that I admire

[@RollYourRock]

Clearly one of the greatest players of all time...

[@crispyduck1706]

1930 you mean - year of the grand slam

[@Somefatdude]

Putting technique has certainly gotten a lot better over the years!

[@RollYourRock]

It has changed, that's for sure!

[@poocrayon4588]

Everyone will be back wrist putting decades from now and insisting thats right - golf is full of pointless teaching fads

[@Somefatdude]

@@poocrayon4588 I really doubt that. A wristy putting stroke has no benefit.

[@poocrayon4588]

@@Somefatdude it has benifet when your stroke is almost all wrist just as much as almost all arm. Your more capable of making fine movements with wrist and fingers than whole body/upper body. If your naturally good at putting it really doesnt matter. If you suck youll still such with modern teqnique. Of all golf tips putting syle is the most overrated of them all.

[@Somefatdude]

@@poocrayon4588 a wristy stroke is less consistent, which is a data-proven fact, so no, I don’t agree with your position. Go look at gears or Sam putt lab data. Wristy strokes have more face rotation, less consistent arc, less consistent face to path, and less consistent speed control.

[@BartmanSA]

Cam Smith has a watered down version of this stroke.

[@RollYourRock]

Fair assessment. 👍

[@Longarmshortarm]

I’d say more developed

[@RollYourRock]

@@Longarmshortarm certainly, for today's conditions.

[@maxwatson6953]

Jones has the club in his fingers much like a Faxon or Crenshaw, whereas many today are taught to grip it in the lifelines. What are your thoughts on fingers vs lifelines?

[@BartmanSA]

@@maxwatson6953 I think if you are a feel putter, you must hold it in your fingers. Cam Smith is a feel putter. So was Locke and Jones. It's hard to gauge distance with your shoulders. It's why you hold a dart in your fingers, not in your palm. There is a putting method using the shoulders which is more mechanical and for this you want the grip more in the palms. I think the secret to great putting might be holding the grip in the fingers - why? Because distance control is more important than line and, like throwing marbles an exact distance, you must use your fingers.

[@jamesbaine580]

Not much of that pertains to today's greens, they are much faster. Not mention we have way more putting styles, claw, left hand low, belly putters, etc.

[@RollYourRock]

Hi Jim, did you read the description... ???