Jul
23
2008
Do you ever get those really long putts? Like 75 feet or more? Yeah I know it is crazy long, and you have to swing your putter way to long to make a proper putt. So what do you do?
Play it just like a chip shot. Open up your stance a little bit (to the left if you are right handed). Play the ball a little further back in your stance. Not extremely far back but only two balls further back than normal. And use your chipping stoke.
Opening the stance up will allow you to make a little longer backstroke and give it a little more pop than normal. It will also involve your body a little more with the stroke.
How much further? Just as much as a normal chip. Practice a few times and you will see that it makes those long long long putts a little easier.
Jul
16
2008
Playing with a young player who was struggling during a recent round I noticed something that I have not yet addressed here.
I have talked about the 40-60 swing where the back swing should be about 40% of the total swing and the follow through should be about 60% of the swing. I personally exaggerate this even more giving it about a 20-80 swing. But that was just a simple quick problem to fix.
The big problem with the young man was that because he was using a longer backstroke than a follow through he was not accelerating through the ball. Now I don’t want to imply that with a putt you should accelerate through the ball like a full stroke, but you should have a steady acceleration to promote a longer follow through than backstroke. It is quite a simple step that will improve your putting stoke.
This may be one of the biggest faults in amateurs golf strokes. But it is also the most simple to fix. Try a longer follow through. The only way to achieve this is to accelerate through the putting stroke.
Jul
09
2008
Warm up routines are very important to having a good round. It is probably more important to warm-up on the putting green to get ready to play.
A good warm-up routine is to start with short putts. Use no more than three balls to start out with. Hit 9-12 shots or all three balls 3-4 times.
Then go to a medium length putt. Medium is different for everyone, I would say from 10-15 feet. Do that for 9-12 shots or all three balls 3-4 times.
Then try a few long ones. Go as long as possible. You don’t have to spend a whole lot of time doing this, you don’t even have to make them. Practice getting it as close as you can to the hole. If some go in it is a good boost. If they do not go in but get close then you have the right speed. Again don’t spend too much time on the long putts. Focus on getting the right speed and distance.
Finally finish up with some short 3 foot putts. Start off with trying to make 3 in a row. Once your skills are getting better make 6 and 9 in a row. This is a great boost getting ready to play, and will build the confidence in the short putts. Knowing you can make 6 in a row on the practice green will help you with those tricky putts on the course.
Jul
02
2008
With all stokes in golf your grip is the only point that your body comes into contact with the club. Your grip controls the whole golf swing. No matter what grip you use your leading hand guides the stoke, the trailing hand delivers the blow.
So how does this work? It may seem more complicated with a full swing but it is not. Lets look at the putting stoke.
As you take the club back the hands gently pull the club away from the ball. The hands are working in tandem. Once the swing shifts to the downswing the hands have very specific jobs. The leading hand guides the club right back to where it began. Delivering the club back to where it started will ensure that the club is square at impact.
The trailing hand is the hand that gives the stoke the power. On a full swing if you are concentrating on the feel you can really tell that the trailing hand does the work. On a putt you have to keep it in control. There is no popping motion, no quick actions, simply use the right hand to deliver the power.
Using both hands as one will give you a consistent putting stroke leading to more putts made.
Jun
18
2008
Keep your head and body still during your putting stroke. Without keeping your head and body still you will be inconsistent at best, and have very little chance of making any putts.
Keeping your head still will reduce tension in your shoulders and neck and give you a more fluid swing. Your shoulders will naturally swing around your neck with your head still. This is a loose and tension free swing. If your head is moving there will be additional tension in your swing and this will lead to inconsistent putts.
Also what did every coach tell you when you were young? It did not matter if it was baseball, football, soccer, or golf, what did they tell you? Keep your eye on the ball. With head movement it is difficult to keep your eye on the ball. So keep it still and you will have more consistent putting, and better scores.
Keeping your body still will again reduce inconsistent putting and increase your putting ability. We have spoken about forming a triangle with your shoulders and hands. This triangle hinges on your neck and swings around it. Your body stays still, especially your lower body. There is no need to give extra movement. Extra movement leads to extra putts and higher scores.
The more simple your putting stroke is the more consistent it will be. With practice your putting will get better and better. Without a consistent swing no matter how much practice you do you will not improve your putting.
