I’ve become a fan of The Golf Fix on The Golf Channel, hosted by Michael Breed.  I was skeptical of his frantic pace on the show at first, which made me wonder how much one could glean from a bunch of disjointed tips and fixes for swings phoned and e-mailed in. I must say, however, that I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much I’ve learned from those dozens of rapid-fire tips, fixes, and information.  The show gets a big thumbs up from me, but that’s a thought for another day. A while back, Breed took a question from a viewer who had problems reading greens.  I was very impressed with the perspective he provided on the topic.  He made the point that reading the break on greens is all about good mechanics. You may have had the same reaction I did:  “Huh?” He went on to explain, though, that what players do, is look at a putt and subconsciously “remember” similar putts they’ve stroked in the past and then kind of just “know” how much

I’ve been on a real putting kick lately. If you’ll continue to indulge me, I’d like to talk about foot work. Let’s back up for a second and look at the putting stroke first. Most of us have heard the basics of the modern putting stroke – keep the hands and arms quiet and let the stroke originate from the shoulders in a pendulum-like action.  This is true whether we choose to putt with a square stroke or with an open to closed stroke. We also need to make sure we’re not shifting our weight in any direction during the stroke. Why? Consider the arc of the putting stroke.  Because of the way the human body is built, putting with a pendulum stroke means that the back swing will end with the putter head at a higher point than it was when it started.  During the through swing, the putter head will become lower and then eventually come back up again on the follow through. Dave Pelz, along with many other teachers, recommends that the

I’ve been reading Golf Unplugged by Jim Apfelbaum (great book; review upcoming) and it contains a quote from Bobby Jones.  Faced with a pressure putt, he said: I resolved that no matter how much time I consumed, I was going to tranquilze my breath before I made another putt.  So I began to take great pains to study the line.  I really did not study the line, for I have never been able to see more rolls and bumps in a minute than I could in five seconds, but I was giving my breath a chance to quiet down. It got me thinking about how much time I spend reading putts compared with the pros. I’ve been watching the PGA Tour for years.  Of course, I also watch the European Tour, the Champions Tour, the LPGA Tour, and even the Nationwide Tour at times.  It seems like just about every top-level pro in the world takes a long, long time reading putts. They typically read from the ball to the hole, from the hole to

One of the best ways work on short putts is the 100-putt drill.  It basically consists of putting a ring of balls around a hole, with each one about three feet out (approximately a putter length).  Simply start putting until you make 100 in a row.  It’s much more difficult than it sounds. Not only is it a test of the mechanics of the putting stroke, but it’s also a test of concentration.  Staying properly focused on 100 short putts in a row is the real test.  Let down your guard and you miss, plain and simple. Lately, I’ve been paying special attention to the follow-through while putting, especially on short putts.  I feel like it’s really helped me on my short putts.  This seemed like the perfect time to give the 100-putt drill another shot to see if I could finally get all the way to 100. The most I’ve been able to drop in the past is 24.  This time, I knocked in 31 on the first try.  Don’t get me wrong, a