The Art of Putting like a Baller: The Mechanics of JaMarcus Thomson III

JaMarcus taking dead aim at the cup

After Bear's lovely post about the belly putter and the great work Dano has done with it over the years, it made me realize I needed to make a post on the most famous putting stroke in Mac golf history.  The stroke of JaMarcus Thomson III.  Young JaMarcus is well know for his putting.  Sometimes it goes in, sometimes he hits it twice before it even stops moving, sometimes he just picks up his ball (after an apparent gimme).  However, his putting stroke is not just an average putting stroke.  It has been meshed with his personality and style.  It has become a stroke to behold.  So, today I am going to break it down. 

There are 4 main elements of JaMarcus's stroke that make it stand out from the pack.  They would be the weight distribution, alignment of the shoulders, putter face at impact, and what I will call "the finish."  I think it is important to break down each of these aspects in order to better understand young JaMarcus's stroke.

#1 Weight Distribution

See the weight shift to the back like a playa

Let's be honest.  JaMarcus is a kid with mad swag.  And guys with mad swag do NOT do things the way everyone else does.  They walk different, talk different, and stand different.  JaMarcus is no exception.  He listened to the immortal words of Fat Joe.  He "lean[ed] back."

This move enables Mark to wear his headphones while playing.  The shifting of his weight back allows him to drop in his right hip making his pocket closer to his head.  This allows him to jam out to sick music while dropping bombs.  This is the definition of having your priorities straight.

#2 Alignment of the sholders

Now, as I have asserted before.  JaMarcus is a baller and he wants everyone to know it.  So, JaMarcus, like most ballers has given his stance even more flair than the weight shift.  He opens his left shoulder.  This has his shoulders aiming well left of the intended line, but that is ok.

The open shoulders enables JaMarcus to do two things.  First, it enables him to look like he is straight chillin'.  That is the persona he wants to give off.  Nothing says "I am just chillin' with my homies" like tunes in the ears, weight shifted back, and shoulders open.  See picture above to comprehend fully.  The second thing it does is prepare JaMarcus for a fist pump at anytime.  In this position, he can simply uppercut with his right hand, whereas tradional putting stance force a player to rise up and then turn into a fist pump.  JaMarcus's stance allows him to simply fist pump straight up at anytime without any additional movement.

#3 Putter face at impact

What a team this is!

Now, in order for JaMarcus to hit the ball where he wants to with the left should align and the weight shifted back, he has to come through with the putter face open, which is a classic mac golf putting position, one that the great Daniel "the Colonel" Kerwin perfected.  But, even this move plays into JaMarcus's baller and swag tendencies.  The putter face coming through open allows JaMarcus to gently make contact with the ball.  It isn't solid, the ball just smoothly is touched away from the face as it gently rolls down the green.  This tells your playing partners that my stroke is smooth as butter.  Bear said you want to hold the club like a young lady's hand, well, JaMarcus's soft touch with the putting stroke is a sign to the ladies that he will hold that hand like no one ever has.

#4 "The Finish"

This is probably what JaMarcus is most famous for.  It all begins with the putter raise.  As soon as he strokes the ball, the putter does not stop until is in at least past 100 degrees above the ground.  Now, this is where things diverge.  If the putt goes in, with the putter already raised and his setup poising him for the fist pump, he will straight fist pump.  It is an elegant move that requires little effort, but still shows the mad swag that he has.  But, if the putt doesn't go in, JaMarcus first takes a giant step with his left foot towards the hole.  It doesn't matter how far he is from the hole, somehow that left foot always finishes a little past the hole.  Then, he take the putter from its upward position and brings it around the his body and the hole to wait for the ball to miss right (JaMarcus NEVER misses putts to the left).  Once this happens, he will either hit the ball while its still moving either in the hole, or back to its previous location.  Or he will will pause with the putter next to the ball, back a way and lament over the fact that he missed the putt.  This finish is the signature move of JaMarcus and it is elegant regardless of the outcome of the putt.  Either an effortless finish, or a desperation attempt to save the ball from missing that ends up gaining sympathy points from the ladies.

Extra young JaMarcus's setup, as you can see, he wasn't born a baller.

  

But, a finish like JaMarcus's does not just happen.  It has to be constructed and you have to be in the proper setup in order to reach the ultimate goal.  The setup was born out of JaMacus's need to be a baller, but has enabled him to create a finishing move so elegant that no other player can react other than by staring.  The picture on the left shows that this took a lot of hard work for JaMarcus to reach baller status.  It is not easy, but it you put in a lot of hard work, you can get there.  JaMarcus did and you can too.  Don't give up.  Let the mechanics explained today help you get there and you too can be a baller on the course.

~Hogie