It’s amazing what you can learn by just watching golfers play golf – live. Watching tournament highlights videos is ok but you just don’t get to see the player’s full process – the way they prepare, the studying of the data, their pre-shot routines, shot execution and then the final outcome. And this week, we have a golden opportunity to see a golfing masterclass –The Open at Royal St George’s.
Learning from live golf
When you have the opportunity to watch golf live, it’s always a learning opportunity. It’s a real treat to be a spectator at the event, but when I last went to The Open, I didn’t see much from a distance. Did a lot of walking though.
I much prefer the TV coverage from multiple camera angles and the revealing close-ups. You can notice a lot. The refreshments at my house are less expensive too. And when I watch live golf on TV, I have a notepad and pen and take notes of what I learn. Sometimes, it helps me try something new with a positive impact.
This year’s Open coverage is a great opportunity to look, listen and learn. I watched a few featured groups live on the The Open website which was great quality, excellent low angles on the greens and free. And, if my brother happens to leave his NOW TV login credentials lying about, I might catch it on Sky if my Dad hasn’t got there first.
Stalking the 18th green
It’s not just watching the pros that’s insightful. Every now and then I’ll camp out on my club’s terrace, overlooking the 18th green, and watch the Saturday competition 4 balls make their approaches and putts. It’s a very revealing experience.
I’ve seen everything on the green from a quick ‘step up and hit it’ without any obvious read of the green, to a lengthy professional process you’ll see from players at The Open with all sorts of variations in between.
Can I ask you a question?
Watching golf is fine, but I often feel the urge to run onto the green and ask the players a bunch of questions: “Why did you choose that line and speed?” or “Why did you choose that type of putter?” and sometimes, after a very poor or excellent putt. “Do you do that a lot?” I’d be very tactful and sensitive about it, of course.
It’s great to want to learn more, and I do, but I think I might be forcefully escorted off the course, clutching at my clipboard, if I started bothering the 7 day members with tricky precision questions from my well prepared 4 page questionnaire.
July 2021 Golf Survey
So to avoid being banished for stalking golfers and mainly to start building a knowledgebase on how ‘golfers like us’ approach their game, in particular their putting, we launched the PuttBANDIT July 2021 Golf Survey this week.
We want to know more about how golfers play, the gear and gadgets they use, their putting process, how customers use our products and how their putting has improved. And in return we’ve put in place a reward for those that take the time to complete surveys and share their thoughts. Only fair.
Insights and innovation
Our July survey is one of a series we will run throughout the year. The resulting data will help us develop new PuttBANDIT models, innovate new products and market them at those who could benefit from them the most. We will also share what we learn with you as I’m sure we will uncover some fascinating insights that might help your game.
You can learn more about our July 2021 Golf survey here
Enjoy The Open but make sure you take notes. There will be questions later.
If you’ve recently learned something that improved your game, let us know in an email to contribute@puttbandit.com and we’ll build that into our research programme.
Paul Hart is a founding director of PuttBANDIT Ltd, co-inventor of the PuttBANDIT Ball Marker and enthusiastic improver.
PuttBANDIT Ltd is not affiliated, endorsed by, or connected to other brands or websites that we may mention or link to in our communications.
