I was hoping to write about Tiger’s success at the Masters this week but Patrick Reed stole the show with his putting on those extremely difficult Augusta greens. He really reminded us that if you can chip it close or putt it close, you can win this game. His 80 foot putt on the 17th green hit the hole to keep his ball at 6 feet for the par putt. He did many things right but that one saved the day. It also reminds us how important putting is for our games.
GolfRX also pointed out a “staggering statistic wrecking golf… 41.6% of your shots are putts.” So you better pay attention.
To help you catch up with Patrick’s game, Golf Tips Magazine released an article by Tom Patri, PGA, TP Golf Schools, Naples Florida about his favorite putting secrets. Following are the jewels of his article:
Confidence
The more you practice, the better you putt and the more confidence you gain. But you do need sound fundamentals and practice routines for direction control and distance control. Putting is a skill developed by FEEL (for the green speed as the conditions change, even throughout your round). With practice, you will learn to adjust for the feel for each putt. Eventually you will believe that you can sink every putt and your skill will improve.
Setup with the ball forward of the center of your stance to hit up on the ball for the right roll. Hit dead center on the putter face using the “Gate Drill”.
There are no short cuts to being a great putter like Jordan Spieth or Ben Crenshaw. Reading greens and then making the right putt will make you a great putter. More experience will give you the feel for better results. So learn the right setup and swing and practice with putting games to improve your skill.
Mechanics:
1/ Setup: ball position (forward of middle, under your left breast), eye line-up (over the target line), balanced stance, light grip and a square putter face through impact.
2/ Head and lower body are locked on the ball while the arms swing square through impact. Then hold for 2 seconds after impact (don’t look up, dummy).
3/ Flat Wrist Locked: Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn to swing with a locked leading wrist to control your square club face up your target line (not at the hole).
Keep Your Mind Quiet
“A quiet ‘coconut’ ensures contact at the center of the putter face which is vital to the player’s athletic brain calibrating swing speed and distance control. Speed control, I feel, is the most critical skill to be developed to become a great putter.”
Drills;
Lag Drill: Put 4 tees in a 4 x 4 foot square at about 30 feet from your starting point. Then putt 3 balls at a time from different positions as you move toward the hole. Getting it inside the 4 X 4 square ensures a 2 foot second putt.
Gate Drill: Practice putting through a gate setup with 2 tees spread out a little wider than the length of your putter head. Making every putt from the dead center of your putter is key for straight putts up your target line. For 5 or 10 foot putts, place a second gate of tees about half way to the hole.
Practice putting using your GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist locked so that you can hit every putt on the dead center of your putter. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com
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