For any golfer who wants to play great golf
Putting
My new favorite practice putting game – Split Nines
Aug 10th
If you want to add some pressure to your putting practice to make it feel a bit more like what you’ll feel on the golf course then try this game.
The game is split into two halves, your front nine and your back nine. On your front 9, each putt is like you’ve hit the in regulation. Every putt made is a birdie, every putt missed leaves a par putt (you must putt in, 3 putting does count as a bogey).
On your back nine, these are your greens missed in regulation. Every putt is for par. Miss and your next putt is for bogey.
So, on the front nine, you want to get as quickly and as far under par as you can. Be sure to mix in 3 shorter putts (4-6 ft), 3 medium putts (6 – 12ft) and 3 longer putts (more than 12 feet) in each nine.
Stop quitting on your putts
Apr 14th
One night while I was on a golf trip in Maryland a few weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to have some putting contests in the room. The carpet was probably rolling about a 10 so it wasn’t too quick. We played a version of leap frog and set the cup out about 12 feet away. The thing that quickly became clear was that it was hard to hit the putts short enough in the beginning to set you up for a good potential leap frog run. It took me some time but I finally figured out why that was.
What I’ve realized is that I was decelerating on those short putts and when you do that it becomes very difficult to have any consistency or to actually control the speed of your putts. Our minds don’t react well to deceleration. They can’t judge have quickly something is slowing down as well as they can judge how quickly something is speeding up. At least that’s true in my experience, although I’m sure there are some of you out there who will disagree and that’s fine.
For putting though you always want to be accelerating. One of the best ways to practice this is actually with short putts. It will really train in feel an in an amazing way.
As I worked with this technique last night, in a very short while I gained tremendous feel for distance. The main thing I did was to ensure that on every through-stroke you feel an acceleration compared to your back swing. Try this out, take some short putts and really focus on feeling the acceleration into the ball. You’ll start to get a lot more feel, and your putting will improve.
Hit more pure putts
Sep 8th
There’s no reason that you can’t become a great putter. It’s the part off the game that requires the least amount of physical strength and it has the shortest swing of the club head.
Lately my putting has been very good. I’ve been sinking a lot of putts in the 10-15 foot range. It’s a range that I struggled with most of the season but I’ve figured out some things that work for me.
Speed
I work on speed with a few simple speed drills. The first drill is from Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent. It involves putting to the fringe. I pick a spot where I’m between 10-15 feet from the fringe and putt to it. As the putt is rolling to the fringe I try to feel whether it’s going to be short, long or right on. Is amazing how much this begins to tune your sense of speed. I do this for a few minutes then move on to the next drill. Read the rest of this entry »
TPI Friday Fix: Green Reading
Mar 27th
Titleist Performance Institute put out an excellent video that includes some excellent green reading strategies. There is a lot to digest but it makes a lot of sense.
Here are the steps outlined in the video:
Read the rest of this entry »
2 Excellent articles from Eben Dennis
Feb 22nd
Take a look at these two articles. One is on putting and the other is on grip for improving your short game.
Improve your putting with the Nick Faldo-tested thumb pointing drill
A firm-and-gentle grip will improve your short game
Eben Dennis is a teaching professional based in McKinney, Texas. His students include PGA Tour players such as Nick Faldo, Billy Mayfair, Robert Gamez and Shaun Micheel; collegiate golfers; amateurs and beginners. He is the author of “Power Feel Golf: Your Path to Great Golf.” To learn more about the book and its DVD companion piece, click here. Eben learned golf at Champions Golf Club while growing up in Houston, where he received tips from Jackie Burke, Jimmy Demaret, Ben Hogan, Julius Boros and Bruce Crampton. He attended Florida State on a full golf scholarship and played professionally in the U.S. and Australia.
Review: Aaron Baddeley: Putting from seeitgolf
Feb 3rd
Aaron Baddeley:Putting from seeitgolf is unlike any putting video you have seen. It is designed to replace the images of doubt and failure and replace them with success and confidence.
This video is intended to be used both in a 30 day training program as well as before rounds of golf. The idea is that by watching perfectly executed putts free of distractions you build in your mind solid images of success and visualization you can call upon on the golf course. It is intended to be viewed on a portable video player like an iPod, iPod touch, an iPhone or any other portable video player.
The putts are beautifully shot using 4 RED cameras. These cameras record at a very high resolution and are known for fantastic images. Read the rest of this entry »
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda – The Importance of Putting
Dec 22nd
Steve Stricker would have made an additional 2.3 million dollars this past year if he holed 1 more putt each event that he played.
That is staggering. Can you imagine that? 2.3 million dollars MORE if he had made just one more putt in each event he played.
That is the importance of putting. How much would you work on your putting if that was the payoff?
Keys to Putting well on fast greens
Nov 17th
Key number 1. Try to leave the easiest putt
One of the keys to putting well on fast greens is to leave yourself in the best positions on the green. This does not mean that you need to hit it within 5 feet every time, it means understanding the contours of the green around the pin.
I would much rather have a 15 foot uphill putt with relatively little break, than an 8 footer down a steep hill. On a fast green it is nearly impossible to get the downhill putt to stop especially if it has any side break to it.
There’s a reason when you watch the PGA tour on TV the announcers are always making a comment on when a player leaves the putt below the hole. It is simply a much easier putt to execute. Leaving it below the hole allows you to be more aggressive because the slope works in favor. It will slow down quicker as it nears the hole. Because you can hit it harder, you can also play for less break.
Key number 2. Soft hands, light grip pressure
4 Keys to a great round today
Nov 1st
Just got back from upstate NY where I got to play one of my favorite courses, Orchard Creek in Altamont, NY. I had a 77 on a tough, very wet course. Drives were only rolling about a foot, and the rough was pretty wet. The sand in the bunkers was heavy. The greens were still fast as usual though. Things I learned during this round:
1) Putting Speed
The best way I’ve found to control my speed on fast greens is with a stroke that is short on the backswing and long on the forward swing. With this stroke my speed was not only much better but the roll was truer. I marked my golf balls with alignment lines and I was amazed at how true my putts were rolling with that end over end roll. Although unfortunately I didn’t have any short birdie putts, I was able to make plenty of long (10+ feet) putts for par which went a long way toward saving the score.
2) Reading the Line
Today’s Round
Oct 30th
I shot a 78 even though I only hit 6 greens and had 31 putts.
It was a good round though. I hit the ball very solid. I had a lot of good tee shots leaving me with wedges into the greens. Most of my misses came on the approach shots. I flew a few greens from 125 yards and in, since I’m still getting used to hitting the ball at bit further (even with the colder weather) so my distances are not totally dialed in. I had a couple of nice birdies and just had a good round overall. My putting can definitely improve and that’s something I’m going to work on. I also need to get a bit more accurate with my irons, especially the short irons. Getting into the mid and low seventies is going to be a challenge but I’m definitely looking forward to spending more time in the seventies. I feel like I’m getting to know the game better and that I can score well even when I’m not hitting a lot of greens. I feel like I’m becoming a better scrambler though of course I would prefer to hit more greens. I’m confident that will happen. My main miss is a pull when I get bit quick but I’m begining to more consistently hit nice baby draws.
