Does the PuttBANDIT improve putting?
We think so. But what about hundreds of real customers up and down the country? Is the PuttBANDIT improving their putting too? We’ve done some research to find out. August 2021 customer research We conducted our first customer feedback survey in the last week of...
One down, one to go for Team Europe
This September’s epic spectacle of Europe vs USA in both Women’s and Men’s golf is well under way. On Monday 6th September, Team Europe won and retained the Solheim Cup, 15-13, in a brilliant exhibition of some of the best golf you will see anywhere, by any team....
Swing like a Lady
With the AIG Women’s Open and the Solheim Cup nearly upon us and more women and girls taking up the great game of golf throughout the country, I thought it was time to visit one of my pet subjects – the female golf swing – and why I wish I could swing like a lady....
From T71 to Claret Jug
What a difference a week can make when it comes to golfing performance. One week, you’re struggling - the next, you’re The Champion Golfer of the Year. How does that happen? Can’t buy a putt At the Scottish Open, the traditional preparation and jet lag cure for The...
Open to learning?
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...
Scrambling a recovery
When you hit a poor shot and the ball ends up somewhere less than ideal, how well do you recover to make a nett par? Do you take your medicine and take a drop or the sensible route, adding up an extra stroke, or do you try and hit a heroic risky recovery shot?...
How does the weather affect your game?
I always take the weather into consideration when thinking about my game plan. Cold and raining = stay home. Sunny and warm = break out the shorts. Windy = just play the downwind holes. The problem is the weather variables keep changing. In April it was sunny and...
How big are your greens?
I’m not talking about the size of your vegetables but those patches of turf we spend our days trying to hit in regulation. How can you miss? My last round of golf included just 7 greens in regulation - that’s about 40%, compared to a PGA tour pro’s GIR stats of...
How a nightmare round improved my game
Three weeks ago I had a dreadful start to my round. It started very badly. With no hope of a low score, I stopped chasing a decent number and changed my mental approach. That decision has improved my game ever since and I think I know why. Beware brothers bearing...
Why PuttBANDIT?
Why do you need a PuttBANDIT? To us, the answer is obvious - which keen improvement-minded golfer doesn’t want to set their putting line better? We want to be better golfers We want to play better, shoot lower scores, maybe win a friendly four-ball now and then or...
Back to golf – Round 1 scorecard
After a 3-month lockdown break, it was great to be playing golf. The sun was out, it was warm and breezy with winds gusting above 30mph - so bright but a little challenging. The course was predictably packed with jabbed-up escapees and the pace was on the...
Don’t miss those short ones
I have to admit that the most frustrating thing for me is to miss a very sinkable short putt, or worse, a tap-in. We’ve all done it. Thankfully I do that less often these days but when I do miss a short one it’s very annoying because I’ve wasted a relatively easy...
Today I booked a tee time!
It was just by chance that I glanced at my phone. I had an email from my golf club saying the booking system had opened. Fantastic. It had been a massive 30 minutes since the email was sent, so fearing a panicky rush to book tee times, I panicked and rushed to book...
Things we never knew about golf
I like unusual facts, and although I have been playing golf for a long time, I still come across interesting facts that I didn’t know. Here are just a few of them. 4 under for the hole Scoring a hole in one on a par 5 or taking two on a par 6 is called a ‘condor’....
What do I do now?
Oh what to do without golf during lockdown? We’re getting PuttBANDIT up and running as soon as possible, despite the challenges that lockdown brings. But outside of that, I’ve worn a groove in my living room carpet, not just from putting, but by practicing my very...
Going the distance
Last week the R&A and USGA released ‘The Distance Insight Report,’ delivering a comprehensive 102 pages of research data and analysis about the contributors to, and long-term impacts of, hitting distance in golf. 100 long years If you pride yourself on your...
My golfing bugbears
Although I love the game of golf, and really miss it when I can’t play, there are certain things about the game, highlighted below, which can drive me up the wall, especially during a particularly bad round. You may agree or disagree or have others of your own so...
Vernier acuity
Vernier acuity isn’t the latest French golfing prodigy. It is the ability to detect misalignment amongst parallel line segments. Put plainly, it’s why stripes can help you putt better. Get perspective Imagine a long straight road - or runway. The farther you look...
Lockdown golf – Time for Plan B
I write as the UK chalks up the second week of another national lockdown, potentially lasting for months, to rightfully stem the spread of COVID, save lives and protect the NHS. As a consequence, courses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been closed. Not...
Golf 2020: A bit different
Well, what a year 2020 has been in many ways, and golf was no exception. ‘Unprecedented’ is the word used almost daily when referring to COVID19, but it also applies to the changes golf has gone through in 2020. COVID golf I stopped being a fair-weather golfer a...
Winter golf – cold wet and perfect for game improvement
In the last few weeks I’ve learned to love winter golf. It’s been a great opportunity to keep fit, gather data and force myself to try different shots that help reduce my scores. Fair-weather golfer I’m usually a ‘fair-weather golfer’. For me, warm and sunny...
Wear glasses? Missing putts?
I’m passionate about finding repeatable and reliable ways to improve my game. I’m also very shortsighted and wear varifocal glasses. I’ve worn glasses since before I began golfing as a junior, and through the years, I’ve noticed how my eyes can sometimes deceive me...
PuttBANDIT – Supporting British Business
When we set up PuttBANDIT, we made a conscious decision, that wherever possible and practical, we would do business with British companies and suppliers as a first choice preference. We felt this was the right thing to do in a Brexit-COVID Britain to back our own...
Drawing a line
I can’t imagine going out to play golf and not having a line on my golf ball. Anything that conforms to the rules of golf that helps me stroke the ball in the intended direction is worth a try. I even use the line to help me focus on my swing path on the tee. To...
How did you get into golf?
I’m always fascinated to hear how people got into the game of golf and the answers usually have some interesting stories. What inspired you to give the game a go? I owe my love of golf to my Grandfather. When I was a lad, I was packed off in the summer to spend a...
Data driven golf
It’s the twenty first century and data, statistics, digital platforms and devices are increasingly influencing our everyday lives. So thank goodness we can leave that all sciencey stuff behind on the golf course to take a break from all pervasive big tech. Or can...
Consistency – or lack of it
Why do we perform well on some days and not so well the next? Or in my case, why is my first 9 of a round consistently mediocre but the back nine is usually very good? I put it down to warming up and getting into a rhythm. What’s consistent about your golf?...
What’s in your bag this winter?
What’s found its way into your golf bag during the Autumn, other than mud covered clubs? As we move through the seasons to the winter months, I like to reassess all those things I've stuffed in all those huge pockets that the modern golf bag provides. Here are some...
Slow Play #2 – A good walk totally spoiled
Neil and I recently visited our alternate course, the hilly fast draining one we play when our home course is booked up solid for days or closed in bad weather. Neil booked a tee time a few days ahead in a nice buffer zone of unbooked slots. Ready to play On the...
Slow Play #1 – 8 minutes of separation
Most of my least enjoyable and highest scoring rounds are when waiting to play on a packed course of ever increasing slow play. In theory it shouldn’t affect the quality of my game. I should be mentally strong and patient enough not to let slow play impact my mood...
It’s all in the stroke – maybe
No matter where we are — the tee, the fairway or the rough — our practice swing always seems to feel really good. Smooth and relaxed, guaranteed to hit the mark. And then we’re over the ball, thinking. Reality sets in: we actually have to hit that little round...
These things drive us crazy
Golf can be an incredibly rewarding game when the weather is fine, you have the course to yourself, you're in good company, playing well and hitting the occasional shot to remember. However, golf also provides plenty of opportunities for a long list of frustrations...
When you can’t believe your eyes
How many times have you judged that a putt will roll one way, perhaps left to right, but when you hit the ball it does the exact opposite and rolls the other way? And then you revisit that green during another round and you misread it again. For some reason you...
No such thing as a three putt green
“No such thing as a 3-putt green — just a bad first putt” This phrase was allegedly one of Earl Woods’ mantras for Tiger. And when you think about it, it’s probably one of the most sensible things ever said about putting. We very rarely 3-putt when our first putt...
Reading greens by the book
Greens - Not a level playing field If you’re a tour professional or you play on greens surveyed by 3D laser mapping technology, you get access to a lot of data to help you read the slopes. Golfers like us – not so much. If you and I had a Green Book showing the...
A lesson in golfing life
My brother, Paul and I — I’m Neil by the way — came up with PuttBANDIT because we wanted to be better golfers (for the full story, see our About Us page). We’re not the best golfers. We may dream of being scratch golfers, hitting the ball 300 yards and turning the...
When’s a gimme not a gimme?
Definition: A gimme (spelling may vary) is a short putt that an opponent excuses you from playing because it’s deemed unmissable. There is no mention of this word in the official rules of golf, and gimmes are not permitted in stroke play, but are commonplace in...
Golfers like us blog
Note to contributors
If you would like to make a contribution to our ‘Golfers Like Us’ blog, please make sure you read the ‘Content Contributions’ section of our ‘Site Terms and Condition’. You can find the link below in the footer of each page.
Golfers like us blog
Does the PuttBANDIT improve putting?
We think so. But what about hundreds of real customers up and down the country? Is the PuttBANDIT improving their putting too? We’ve done some research to find out. August 2021 customer research We conducted our first customer feedback survey in the last week of...
One down, one to go for Team Europe
This September’s epic spectacle of Europe vs USA in both Women’s and Men’s golf is well under way. On Monday 6th September, Team Europe won and retained the Solheim Cup, 15-13, in a brilliant exhibition of some of the best golf you will see anywhere, by any team....
Swing like a Lady
With the AIG Women’s Open and the Solheim Cup nearly upon us and more women and girls taking up the great game of golf throughout the country, I thought it was time to visit one of my pet subjects – the female golf swing – and why I wish I could swing like a lady....
From T71 to Claret Jug
What a difference a week can make when it comes to golfing performance. One week, you’re struggling - the next, you’re The Champion Golfer of the Year. How does that happen? Can’t buy a putt At the Scottish Open, the traditional preparation and jet lag cure for The...
Open to learning?
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...
Scrambling a recovery
When you hit a poor shot and the ball ends up somewhere less than ideal, how well do you recover to make a nett par? Do you take your medicine and take a drop or the sensible route, adding up an extra stroke, or do you try and hit a heroic risky recovery shot?...
How does the weather affect your game?
I always take the weather into consideration when thinking about my game plan. Cold and raining = stay home. Sunny and warm = break out the shorts. Windy = just play the downwind holes. The problem is the weather variables keep changing. In April it was sunny and...
How big are your greens?
I’m not talking about the size of your vegetables but those patches of turf we spend our days trying to hit in regulation. How can you miss? My last round of golf included just 7 greens in regulation - that’s about 40%, compared to a PGA tour pro’s GIR stats of...
How a nightmare round improved my game
Three weeks ago I had a dreadful start to my round. It started very badly. With no hope of a low score, I stopped chasing a decent number and changed my mental approach. That decision has improved my game ever since and I think I know why. Beware brothers bearing...
Why PuttBANDIT?
Why do you need a PuttBANDIT? To us, the answer is obvious - which keen improvement-minded golfer doesn’t want to set their putting line better? We want to be better golfers We want to play better, shoot lower scores, maybe win a friendly four-ball now and then or...
Back to golf – Round 1 scorecard
After a 3-month lockdown break, it was great to be playing golf. The sun was out, it was warm and breezy with winds gusting above 30mph - so bright but a little challenging. The course was predictably packed with jabbed-up escapees and the pace was on the...
Don’t miss those short ones
I have to admit that the most frustrating thing for me is to miss a very sinkable short putt, or worse, a tap-in. We’ve all done it. Thankfully I do that less often these days but when I do miss a short one it’s very annoying because I’ve wasted a relatively easy...
Today I booked a tee time!
It was just by chance that I glanced at my phone. I had an email from my golf club saying the booking system had opened. Fantastic. It had been a massive 30 minutes since the email was sent, so fearing a panicky rush to book tee times, I panicked and rushed to book...
Things we never knew about golf
I like unusual facts, and although I have been playing golf for a long time, I still come across interesting facts that I didn’t know. Here are just a few of them. 4 under for the hole Scoring a hole in one on a par 5 or taking two on a par 6 is called a ‘condor’....
What do I do now?
Oh what to do without golf during lockdown? We’re getting PuttBANDIT up and running as soon as possible, despite the challenges that lockdown brings. But outside of that, I’ve worn a groove in my living room carpet, not just from putting, but by practicing my very...
Going the distance
Last week the R&A and USGA released ‘The Distance Insight Report,’ delivering a comprehensive 102 pages of research data and analysis about the contributors to, and long-term impacts of, hitting distance in golf. 100 long years If you pride yourself on your...