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Aaron Baddeley - Golf's Greatest putter?
Statistically
speaking, Aaron Baddeley ranks as one of the greatest putters in modern-day
golf. Between the start of his US PGA Tour in 2007 and 2013, he only once ranked
outside the top 15 putters on the annual stats for putting and has usually been
inside the top 10. Only Luke Donald and Tiger Woods come close to this
consistently high level of putting.
But even they don't out-putt Baddeley on the stats.
With his simple, "no frills" routine and brisk putting action, he is also a
great player to learn from when honing your skills on the greens.
Fact file :-
Date of birth: March 17, 1981.
Claims to putting fame: Led the PGA Tour in putts per round in 2003 with
an average of 27.88.
Putters used: Yar, Scotty Cameron Newport
on Aaron Baddeley's putter
What you can learn from Aaron Baddeley's putting:
You will notice that Baddeley takes considerably more time lining a putt
up than he does when over the ball. When broken down, the routine makes perfect
sense and is a failsafe way for you to improve your putting:
1) Read the last part of the putt first and establish
where the ball will be falling into the cup.
2) Walk around the low side of the putt to help find the highest point of the
break.
3) Make your practice strokes behind the ball, perpendicular to the target but
looking at the hole (remember to look along the starting line of the putt, NOT
on a direct line between ball and hole).
4) Address, execute and see the results!
Because of this, Baddeley is clearly a feel putter who combines
visualisation with a meticulous, disciplined routine.
Aaron Baddeley's putter:
Baddeley himself once described his flat stick as "a
little rusty" but if it ain't broke...
There isn't a lot to talk about on the subject of Baddeley's putter. For
most of his career, he has opted for a classic shape in the form of a Scotty
Cameron, with no mechanical alignment aids or groove technology.
In the 2012 season Baddeley used a putter from a tiny start-up firm Yar which
claimed to have the lowest (in fact zero) MOI (moment of inertia). The idea of
going for the lowest possible MOI goes against the mainstream of putter design,
and caused quite a bit of interest.
But the Yar putter didn't stay in Aaron's bag for long and he returned to
his ever-faithful Scotty Cameron soon after.
We haven't yet had the chance to test the Yar, but as soon as we do, we'll
let you know!

by Murray Rose Senior Contributor @muzzarose murraywilliamrose.blogspot.co.uk
Wikipedia on Aaron Baddeley
www.golfdigest.com
www.golfwrx.com
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