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Improve your putting

This is my first blog in awhile as I have had some back issues and typing was a pain - literally, but thanks to Athletico, I am on the mend. Since its been awhile, I thought I would discuss the most important aspect of the game, putting.

Putting is obviously important to low scores - we all know the stats, 35%-45% of all your strokes are with the putter. I teach my students to practice 35%-45% of their time putting and as instructors we should be teaching the same percentage. With percentages like that, PLEASE DONT CATEGORIZE PUTTING AS PART OF THE SHORT GAME. Putting is its own category like defense in football. In fact think of putting as defense, ball striking as offense, and short game as special teams. Each part is important to WINNING!

There are four major areas of putting of which are all important to dominate the greens. I will discuss these in order of importance. Work on these areas, in this order and you will improve your putting.

Touch: What good are proper mechanics if you hit a 20 foot putt 8 feet by the hole or leave a five footer 6" short? I give my students many drills (10 I can think of) to test their touch and develop better feel. One of my favorite drills is too line up 7 balls on 5 foot increments starting at 10 feet and going to 40 feet. I place a driveway marker 3 feet past the cup and they have to get each putt past the hole but not hit it hard enough to jump over stick. Try it, great touch drill

Repeating motion: This is still more important than mechanics in my opinion and I really believe mechanics are over taught, especially posture and eye position. I rather have someone cut putts consistently aiming on THEIR LINE (more break on left to right putts less on right to left) than to try and set up perfect, aim perfect and stroke it perfectly 1 out of 3 times. To build a repeating motion, good hard work is needed. Working on chalk lines, 2x4s, Swinkeys, and other putting devices will help. Make sure to putt on and off these devices as you dont want them to become a crutch. The Swinkey is my personal favorite.

Mechanics: There is no doubt that proper mechanics can lead to a more repeating motion however you can repeat the putting motion with less than stellar mechanics. Mechanics in my opinion are pre-shot fundamentals such as posture, grip, eyeline, ball postion. Just watch tour players and senior tour players set up to the ball and see how different they all look. The top 5 artists of all time (I can only name 2) all had a different style for sure.

Green Reading: The last but still very important part of putting is green reading. This is an art in all of itself and can be learned via experience and coaching and also from companies such as AimPoint. Make sure you spend time learning greens, reading break, and charting your findings (if you area tournament player). Remember reading a green correctly requires proper speed.

Make sure you spend more time on the greens in 2012 and you will lower scores!

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Good stuff Brett! Great coaching philosophy! Aspiring players need to understand the importance. Well done.

Posted by Jon Sielsky on February 6, 2012 @ 10:14 am

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