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| Putting |
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| IT'S AS EASY AS TOSSING A BALL (Jason Carbone) | |||
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Think about your last 3 rounds. How many 3
putts did you have? Try to recall them and determine if the culprit was
poor directional control or distance control. Please keep in mind that
it is easy to blame the second putt for the 3 putt, but did your first
putt come to rest less than 3 feet from the hole? If your second
putt was more than 3 feet away, you cannot blame it for the lost stroke,
but rather analyze the poor initial attempt. Most 3 putts, if accurately analyzed are caused by poor distance control. If you are one of those that still believes that direction is more important, take this little test. Lay a club down on the edge of the fringe pointed at the center of the green so 1/2 of it is in the fringe and 1/2 of it is on the green. Place another club down in the same manner, directly parallel to the original, but 6 feet apart. These clubs should look like railroad tracks, 6 feet apart and partially on the green. Now stand in the middle of the green and pretend someone offered you $1,000,000 to putt a ball between those clubs. For a $1,000,000 all you have to do is get the ball to roll between those clubs. It is as if you are trying to "putt a field goal". Do you think you can do it. If you can run a ball between those clubs, pat yourself on the back, because your directional control is very good. Now try step 2. Putt another ball from the center of the green and see if you can get it to stop rolling in that "box" that is formed by the two clubs. Much harder, isn't it? If you can get successfully complete the first part, but had some trouble with the second, don't worry. It just means that you are in the majority, and that controlling speed is harder than controlling distance. Although I cannot guarantee perfect speed on every putt you hit, I can give you a simple routine to perform before rolling your putts that will definitely improve your feel and consistency. When people play catch they never think about how far or fast their arm needs to swing. Why, then, do we continue to worry about how big our putting stroke should be? The biggest difference between playing catch and putting is where our eyes look. WE CAN LOOK AT OUR TARGET WHEN WE PLAY CATCH, BUT WE HAVE TO LOOK DOWN WHEN WE PUTT. While it is important to look down when putting (center contact influences both distance and direction), it is NOT important to look down when making a practice stroke. More and more tour players are looking at the hole during their rehearsal strokes in order to allow their hand-eye coordination to take over. You can do this from behind the ball or next to it, just keep this in mind. Since you are looking at your target while making your practice stroke, be careful not to stand too close to your golf ball. If you accidentally hit it, it is a penalty. Finally, DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PRACTICE STROKES. If you didn't think your first rehearsal would have done the trick, keep going until you are satisfied. Too many people try to make golf different from other sports because it is not a reaction game like football, baseball, or basketball. I want to make it more like those sports, and allow the player to respond to the target, rather than initiate movement toward the ball. Just allow your eyes to work for you as they do in all other sports, and see your second putts become tap-ins, while those dreaded third putts become obsolete. |
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