Trying Out That Aoki Putting Style
Alright, so the other day I was watching some old golf clips, you know, just browsing around. And I stumbled upon Isao Aoki. Man, that putting stance and stroke… it’s really something else, isn’t it? Holding the putter way up on its toe, kinda like a croquet mallet but not quite. It got me thinking.
You know how it is, you see something weird or different and a little voice says, “Hey, maybe that’s the secret!” My putting’s been average at best lately, mostly frustrating if I’m honest. So, I thought, what the heck, let’s give this Aoki thing a shot. Couldn’t hurt, right? Famous last words.
First Steps Down the Rabbit Hole
So, I didn’t have a special putter or anything. Just grabbed my trusty old blade putter from the bag. First, I just tried setting up like him in the living room. Felt super awkward. Like, really weird. My wrists felt locked, the angle was strange, and just looking down at the ball felt unnatural.
- Getting the toe way up in the air.
- Trying that unique grip he had.
- Keeping my head ridiculously still (or trying to).
Took it out to the backyard putting mat. Let me tell you, the first few putts… disaster. Balls were skittering off in random directions. Distance control? Forget about it. One putt would scream past the hole, the next would die halfway there. It felt like I was learning to putt all over again, but worse.
The Grind and the Reality Check
I stuck with it for a couple of practice sessions. Went to the actual practice green at the local course. People definitely gave me some funny looks. You know that look, the one that says “What on earth is this guy doing?” Yeah, got a lot of those.
Here’s what I found:
- Consistency was a nightmare: Hitting the same spot on the putter face felt impossible with the toe up so high. The sweet spot felt tiny.
- Alignment felt off: Because the setup was so different, I constantly felt like I was aimed wrong, even when I thought I was square.
- It just felt… forced: My body didn’t want to move that way. It wasn’t a natural motion for me at all. Aoki made it look smooth, but for me, it was jerky and uncomfortable.
I spent maybe a week, off and on, trying to make it work. Watched more videos, tried slight adjustments. But honestly, it just wasn’t clicking. Maybe you need a specific putter design, maybe you need to start from scratch as a kid, I don’t know. All I know is, it was making my already shaky putting confidence even worse.
So, what happened in the end? I gave up. Yep, threw in the towel on the Aoki experiment. Went back to my standard putting stance. And you know what? It felt amazing. Like coming home. My putting isn’t suddenly perfect now, far from it, but at least it feels comfortable and somewhat repeatable again.
It was an interesting experiment, I guess. Made me appreciate that sometimes, unconventional works for one person, but it’s not a magic bullet for everyone. Aoki was a master, no doubt, but his style? Yeah, definitely not for me. Back to the drawing board on fixing my putting, the old-fashioned way.
