"There Is No Spoon"

25 years ago, there was a knock at the door... Some of us followed the white rabbit, took the red pill, and learned how to dodge bullets. Ok, maybe not the last part, but some of us did see The Matrix and might have taken away something from it. Here is one of my favorite scenes...

"Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth. There is no spoon. Then you'll see that is not the spoon that bends, only yourself." -- Spoon Boy, The Matrix (Full scene HERE)

So what's the meaning behind this scene? To understand it best, we'll start with a short background about the movie. I'll try to avoid too many spoilers for those that haven't seen it.

The Movie

The Matrix is the "reality" in which humans are living. That reality is defined and limited by constraints in that simulation that they believe to be true including things like physics. And let's face it, the only time anyone really ever bent a spoon in this reality was when they were over zealous digging into frozen ice cream. But, I digress...

This theme of the external definitions of reality like our beliefs based on concepts and constraints repeats throughout the movie. So what does any of this have to do with your putting?

Yeah, So What Coach?

Now it's time to consider the constraints that exist around your putting. A great example of this for players is their perceived green reading abilities. We'll take a look at a common mistake of expected break and curvature.

Let's start with what we're looking at in this picture. The light projection represents the ideal AimPoint, AimLine, and expected ball path for a moderate capture speed. The orange tee represents the player's anticipated AimPoint. The quarters represent the player's anticipated curvature of this putt.

So what's wrong with this picture?

A lot.

The common problem of under reading or not playing enough break is prevalent in my data collection and this player's orange tee is no different. That is coupled with the all too common misnomer that breaking putts "hold their line" or stay straight for too long off the putter face. That is followed by the late curve or "snap" at the hole. Basically, these quarters and orange tee aren't even close. Here's the dangerous part:

Without the projection, you might look at the player's picture that they've "drawn" and think it looks good. Now think about how far this picture is from the reality of what this putt actually wants to do. So if you aren't unplugged from The Matrix, you may think that any putt breaks "just a cup" and that it's going to be "pretty straight most of the way." But if those are just a couple of the constraints in which you are living for your putting, you might want to remember, there is no spoon.

What's Next?

This is easy. Download your free trial of The Putting Plan. When you sign up for the full course, you'll learn some great strategies* to improve your green reading and not end up in a warped reality during your next round.

*Note: This course does not teach AimPoint Express. It teaches essential strategies for understanding key concepts of green reading.