When I was first learning the game, a young assistant pro at the course where I worked saw me struggling on the practice green with lag putts and distance control. He shared a tip with me that I’m passing on to you. When trying to get a feel for distance on lag putts, it helps to pace off the putts and then associate a specific stroke with a specific distance as a way to enhance your muscle memory recall. On your practice green, pace off a relatively level putt and figure out the distance. Then make several putts to the target, paying careful attention to the length of stroke you make for that length putt. After a handful of shots, you’ll notice that you’ve grooved a stroke that is of the proper distance most of the time (it doesn’t matter if you’re making the putts). Then, in your mind, you can associate that swing with that specific distance. Say, you’re hitting to a target that’s ten paces from you. After you practice the stroke and
Climb the Ladder for Putting Success
When I’m working on getting feel for distance in my putting stroke, sometimes I’ll turn to a drill commonly referred to as the “ladder drill”. It’s named that because you putt from (or to) a series of pre-determined distances, each successive try being longer or shorter than the last, similar to the rungs on a ladder. There are a couple of variations that I use, and probably many others that I’ve never even heard of. The first variation involves picking a hole on the practice green and measuring out half a dozen or so putting locations starting at three feet, and each successive one a few feet past that. Then you simply start with the three-footer and move to the six-footer, then the nine-footer, and so on until you putt all of the balls. It’s fine to be target oriented and try and drop the putts, but what you’re really trying to do is get a feel for distance and how your stroke length increases to reach the extra distance. The second variation involves putting
Engage the Abs for Putting Stability
Since I began my comeback to the game this year, one thing I’ve noticed is that my putting stroke is very sloppy. I catch a lot of putts flush and a lot off center, but there’s not really a tendency one way or another. My belief is that a good putting stroke involves a simple pendulum motion that originates at the shoulders. There should be no breakdown of the hands or any kind of motion in the body’s core or legs. The grip should be extremely light, but stable. Though I practice a fair amount, I’ve not been able to groove a consistent stroke. It’s been improving some, but not to the degree that I’d like. As I thought about it some on the putting green last night, I wondered if my basic stability didn’t have something to do with it. I’m working out a lot, but I’ve struggled with stability in the full swing because of my long layoff, and frankly it was never that great to begin with. I started to experiment to
The 100 Putt Drill: Aftermath
A few days back, I discussed the 100 Putt drill that Jackie Burke showed to Phil Mickelson. For those who didn’t see it, the drill consists of lining up a series of three-foot putts. The object is to make 100 in a row. If you miss one, you start again. I promised to try the drill and report back. One word comes to mind: humbling. I had an hour to spare and in keeping with my rule to do at least one thing each day to contribute to my goal, the drill seemed like a perfect fit. I went down to my friendly neighborhood practice green and set up. I chose to set up five balls instead of the typical ten, mainly because I wanted to putt with the same balls I play on the course and I only had 7 game balls. I measured out five spots, one putter-length out from the hole and got to work. I missed the first three. I swear. There was a little break that I just wasn’t seeing.
Repetition
The only real way to make any kind of permanent change to the golf swing is through repetition. It sounds like a given, but often times we start learning something and achieve some success then move on to something else before going through enough repetition to commit it to muscle memory. It’s like rolling a boulder up a hill. If you stop pushing too soon, it’s going to roll back down to the bottom. Repetition doesn’t just build muscle memory. It also builds mental strength. As you begin to groove the swing, confidence grows. When it comes time to execute under pressure, you’re more likely to perform well. Repetition is especially important in putting because it’s such a delicate matter. Some of you may be familiar with Phil Mickelson’s 100-ball putting drill. It was shown to him by the great Jackie Burke. I remember reading about it a while back before hearing that Phil had given it a try, and it fascinated me. The basic idea is that you line up ten balls in a
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