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.

You’ll find after you finish the front nine and start the back, the pressure really starts to mount as you try to remain under par.  Give it a shot, and tell me what you think.  I’ve found it to be an awesome way to practice.

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.

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.

A straight line

Recently focusing on this thought has greatly improved my accuracy. I try to think of all my putts as straight line putts.

Obviously not every putt travels in a straight line. But they have to come off the putter face in a straight line. The thought is to pick my line, then allow gravity and the green contours to bring the putt to the hole.

I started doing this because I realized that I was compensating for the break. That would result in pulled or pushed putts. I even make the straight line shorter in my mind’s eye and constrain it to 6 inches in front of the ball and six inches behind it.

At first it felt a bit weird putting like this, but by trusting that gravity and the contours of the green would take the ball to the hole, these ideas have really simplified my putting stroke. One of the other benefits, besides making more putts has been that I’ve become a better green reader. I trust that the slope of the green and gravity will both do their jobs and it frees me up to hit a purer putt.

Give these ideas a try and let me know if they work for you.

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:

1. Assess the shape of the green and where the low points on the sides of the green are.
2. Walk the highest point or middle of the green and split the green into quadrants.
3. Once it’s time to putt, isolate the quadrant you are in and focus on that.
4. Walk to the ball and look at the line your putting on.
5. Read the putt from low point and look especially at the 5 foot circle around the hole.
6. Walk behind the hole and look from the hole to your golf ball.
7. Commit to the putt.

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.

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.

Along with pristine footage of the putts is a musical score that is designed to help ingrain the images and tempo into your brain and memory. The music is beautiful and easy to listen to.

All in all it is an impressive package. Although it is not your typical training aid for your physical technique, it is an excellent training aid for your mind. With repeated viewings I felt my putting visualization significantly improve.

When you listen to the best mental game coaches they emphasize visualization. The objective is to visualize so well and so congruently that your body reacts to what your mind sees. Instead of thinking about your technique, your stroke, you can use the mind to drive the body.

Using this product I did feel my powers of visualization improve. I could more clearly see the line that I wanted the putt to start on and I was able to do that more consistently.

The more you use it, the easier it is to visualize success. Now obviously this does not mean that you will make every putt, nor does the product promise that. I did make more putts, but more importantly I could see the lines better and imagine much more vividly the putts rolling into the cup.

This is an excellent product. If you have an iPod or iPhone definitely get the mobile version so that you can have wherever you go. If you don’t yet have a portable video player or would also like to experience this on your TV (very nice on a large flat panel display), then get the DVD version, which also includes the mobile versions.

The product is endorsed by renowned sports psychologist Dr. David Cook and short game/putting guru Stan Utley.

seeitgolf Website

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?

Take a look at the following chart.  It shows how much more money each player would have made if they made one additional putt each event that they played in.

Source: Aimpoint Technologies

Now this is great for tour players.  What about your average golfer?

How much of a difference would one more putt per round make for you?

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

Fast greens may make you a bit more nervous, especially if you’ve got anything on the line.  Nerves increase tension in the hands and that causes your fingers to lose some feeling.  As a result you grip the putter more tightly.  You may not notice it because of the reduced feeling in your hands, but you do need to be aware of it.  Keeping the grip light on the putter will provide more feel, allow for a natural release of the putter, and have a better chance of stroking the putt on line.  You’re speed will be better and even if you don’t make the putts you will usually leave yourself stress free tap ins.  It is so discouraging to have an 8 foot putt on fast green and leave yourself another 8 footer coming back because you hit it too hard.  Keep the grip light and you will see that scenario greatly reduced.

Key number 3.  Read the right amount of break

Putts on fast greens will break more than on slow greens.  Putts on slow greens will break much less than on fast greens.  This is good to know especially if you play lots of different courses.  Understanding how the speed of the greens affects break is a big key to making more putts in general.  For fast greens spend some time on the practice green at the course you will play.  Try putts of different breaks and distances and get a feel.  You want to see how the different breaks react.  Having this information in the back of your head will really help you when it’s time to putt out on the course.

Key number 4. Trust your instincts

Indecision will hurt your putting, but if you follow the keys above and commit to the shot, then you can be reasonably assured that you will hit good putts.  If you don’t trust your instincts you’re likely to hit decelerating putts that will be way short, or you’ll blast the putt through the break and way past the hole leaving difficult come back putts.  Commit to your speed and your read.  You can’t be indecisive and non-committal and putt well.

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

I’ve been writing about how many putts I lipped out, or burned the edges on.  I realized that this came from reading too much break into the putts.  It is a difficult thing to change because when you are used to reading a certain amount of break it is actually uncomfortable to play less break than that.  I had to learn to trust that the amount of break was actually correct even if it seemed like too little.

Yesterday I went to the putting green to practice armed with an excellent practice aid to help me read the greens.  It is basically a circular level that shows you in what direction the green is breaking at the point where you place it.  I learned to correlate the amount of change on the level to the amount of break and I really was shocked at how much break I had been reading into the putts.  Once I started to play less break and feel comfortable with it I started sinking a lot of putts on a fast practice green.

Combining #1 and #2 above really allowed me to feel comfortable putting.  It led to making a lot of nice long putts.  A few putts that didn’t go in where on exactly the right lines, they just needed a bit more speed.  Overall I was very happy with my putting.

3) Approach Shots from 120 Yards

This shot has been troubling me lately.  It’s not a full pitching wedge, and it’s too much for a sandwedge (52 or 56 degree).  I started playing a knockdown pitching wedge and it turned out to be the best way to hit this shot for me.  I had a number of these during the round and I started feeling very confident from this range.  As a result I hit many more greens today then usual.

4) Short Game

This is the one area that let me down today.  I feel like the 77 could have been a 74 or maybe even a 72 if my short game had been on.  Pitches from 15 to 30 yards where my biggest weakness during the day and turned some pars into bogies.  This area definitely remains fertile ground for improvement and I look forward to being a much better short game artist next season.

I did a lot of things well today on a tough course in cold, wet and windy conditions.  I was very pleased with my play and saw some serious room for improvement still.  But I do feel like it is doable and like I should be able to reach mid to low seventies next season on a regular basis.

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.

I tried something today that seemed to help a lot and as a result I saw the lines much better.

I was thinking that whenever I’ve seen the pros putt that it looks like every putt has a chance to go in.  They don’t tend to miss by very much.  If I look at my past misses, I could say that a small number of those putts looked like they had a chance to go in, but the majority did not.  And it wasn’t that they were so off, they weren’t.  In fact I missed a lot of those putts by maybe an inch or two on either side,or hit them short, or long, but they didn’t really look like they had a chance to go in.

So I tried something new.  My putting thought was this:  “Make the putt look like it has a chance to go in.”  It doesn’t mean that it has to go in, only that it looks like it has a chance to go in.  I hit the practice putting green, and my objective was to have every putt look like it had a chance to go in.

Now you might say, isn’t the objective of putting to get it in the hole?  Yes it is.  But how many people do you know who can hole every putt.

This was, for me, a very different experience putting with this thought.  For some reason it made it easier to see the lines.  It also seemed to help with my speed.  So I was doing this for a few minutes and an interesting thing happened.  I started to hole a lot of those practice putts.  These were 10 to 20 footers from different spots around the hole.  And they just kept going in.  Normally from that range I might make, 2 or 3 out of 20.  I started to make 9 to 12 of out of 20.  That’s a big increase.  And the putts that didn’t go in, were a lot closer to going in, they would lip, or just burn the edges, rather than being a couple of inches on either side, or short or long by a few feet.

So why did this work?

I don’t really know, but I suspect that I gave myself a real process for my subconscious to follow.  I wanted the putts to look like they had a chance of going in.  In order to have that happen, both the speed and the line have to be pretty much spot on.  I also, took the pressure out of holing the putt.  Since the goal wasn’t to make it, but to make it look like it had a chance, that is actually easier to accomplish then holing it.  But because they were on good lines with good speed, many of those went in.

It worked on the practice green.  Would it work on the course?

I ended up having one of the best putting days I’ve had recently.  I holed a number of good putts, but if I didn’t hole it, I always had a really easy tap in, even putting from as far as 60 feet away.  My lag putting was terrific.  It also had a really calming effect.  It took pressure off my long game.  I knew I wasn’t going to three putt, and I knew that if I put it on the green I had a chance of making it, and a certain two-putt.

Two rounds ago I took about 34 putts.  For comparison the average PGA tour player will take about 30 putts per round.  In my latest round, I only needed 27 putts.  That’s a big difference.  So how did that happen?

I have found that applying Dr. Parent’s definition of making putts is very helpful.  It gets you focusing on the quality of your process.  Getting comfortable with this method should help especially in higher pressure situations.  If you become accustomed to focusing on the process it will release some of the pressure.  Once I have picked out my line, I find that the most important thing is to get the speed right.  This comes from trusting your feel.

In my putting practice lately I have focused on feeling the right speed on the practice stroke, and repeating my practice stroke when actually putting a ball.  It has lessened the need to hit it harder, or to ease up on it.  And has made it much easier to putt consistently.  As you begin to trust your ability to fel the right speed, you begin to feel less pressure.  Here is why.

If you don’t have good control of your speed, you attempt a tentative putt that either adds speed because you don’t feel the ball is going to reach the hole, or a decelerating stroke that ensures the putt won’t reach the target.  Do this often enough and you end up with 4,5,6 footers for your second putt.  These are not exactly the easiest putts.  However, when you can trust your speed, you will end up with a lot more tap ins.  This increases confidence and lowers pressure.  If you know you are going to have a simple tap in, it actually becomes much easier to read the line, and hit a confident putt.  Confident putts have a better chance of following their intended line and going in the hole.

What is the best way to practice this?

Go to the practice green, set down a ball and take a some practice strokes.  Really try to get a feel for the speed of the putt.  When you are certain that you have the right speed down, address the ball, and hit it the same speed as your practice stroke.  Now, you need to pay attention.  You probably won’t hit it the same speed as your practice stroke.  Without judging, notice what happened.  Did you hit it softer or harder than the practice stroke?  Do a few and you should begin to notice your particular tendencies.  Soon you will be able to consistently putt with the same speed as the practice stroke.  And when you do, you’ll start to see some good results.

Today I set out to reproduce my practice strokes.  And my speed was pretty much right on all day.  I think though this is one of those habits that just needs time.  It takes time to trust your instincts.  At least for me it does.  But I think in the long run this will be a key to reaching scratch.