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Perfecting Your Putting
Written By: Erika Mason | Issue: 2020/09 – September
I was recently asked by a student of mine what part of the game I felt players struggled with the most.
The answer was easy, putting! I think it’s a pretty well-known fact that the quickest way to shave strokes off your round is to tighten up your putting. Yet I see very few people actually practicing this skill.
When people do practice, they tend to practice from pretty irrelevant distances. Very rarely do I see people practicing long putts or big breaking putts.
Ask yourself, how many times in a round do I have a perfectly straight putt from 10 feet away? I’m willing to bet the answer might be one or none.
If you were to sit down and evaluate your short game, you’d probably agree with me in finding that your first putt on each hole comes from 20-plus feet away. In order to eliminate three putts, you should focus on improving your proximity to the hole on your first putt.
Two things you should be focusing on: speed and break – in that order.
Part of your warm-up routine prior to a round should include substantial time on the practice green trying to get a feel for the speed of the greens for the day. Break will be dependent on the speed of the greens. Fast greens equal more break and vice versa.
Dialing in your feel for the pace and break for the day will have your scores dropping faster than the fall leaves!
