Putting

Don’t Leave Putts Short!

Clearly, when it comes to putts from 20 feet or less, we have one goal. Hole it! Make the putt!

From 50 feet, getting it close and two putting is fine. Well done. BUT if you are not trying to make every putt inside 25 feet, you will lose to someone who is.

The worst miss from this distance is short. Ugh! Even thinking about leaving a makeable putt short hurts. There are four misses: Long, left, right, and short. We don’t love any of them, but short is the worst.

This great drill will assist your feel with feedback so you avoid leaving those putts short.

Lay a mid-iron down two and a half to three feet behind the hole. Use three balls and your normal routine for each putt. Simulate playing conditions just like you are on the course. The goal: You can’t leave any putts short. You must get every putt either in the hole, or past the hole, yet short of the golf club behind the hole. This is feedback. Practicing without it just gets you sunburned. Practicing with feedback can make you great!

As you can see in the first photo, no good. I left it short. In the second photo, I was able to roll the balls with good speed and not leave them short. I know this drill will help you make more putts.

Challenge yourself: In time, practice this drill until you make nine putts and leave nothing short. The penalty for leaving a putt short? Fetch it and start over at 0. Not easy, but it will 100% make you a better putter, with great speed control.

Barry Goldstein is Director of Instruction at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, Florida

Learn The Art Of Spotputting

There are many factors to consider while putting on the greens.

Is my putt uphill or downhill?

How fast are the greens?

How much slope is there? Is the slope to the left or to the right? Is there a double break?

Is there wind or grain present that will affect the line and/or the speed, or both? If so, how much?

Follow the process I’ve outlined below to learn to view any putt and choose the optimum line that matches the speed you’ve chosen in order to hole more than your share of putts.

Considering this information all at once may seem overwhelming.

However, using a concept I call “spotputting” will improve your putting skills and thus your scores.

Even the best putters are making an educated guess of both the line and pace for each putt they hit. What these exceptional putters use is a stockpile of experience and knowledge, having practiced their putting in a most efficient way. By following the pictures and drills outlined below, your understanding of your own tendencies will improve—as well as your scores.

Many exceptional putters also use spotputting, which I define as “envisioning a spot on the green to aim at to ensure optimum putting accuracy.”

Base Putting Eye Position On Your Stroke

When I talk about putting with my students, I like to work on these top three skills:

Ability to aim
Ability start putt on the intended line
Speed control

This tip will help you master the top two.

Everyone’s sights and visuals are different, so it is important to calibrate each player specifically and find out where they operate at their best.

The photo at right illustrates the position where my dominant eye is looking over the ball. I would like to see my players have their eyes directly over the ball, or inside their target line up to the width of two golf balls.

There is no exact, textbook eye position over the ball, but those are my parameters — however, I never want to see a student’s head and eyes outside the target line.

For players who have a very straight-back-and-through stroke with little amount of arc, I prefer to see their eyes sit directly over the ball. That will give them the truest indication of the proper line.

For players who have more arc to their stroke, I would like to see their eyes more inside the ball. Since the blade opens and closes slightly during the stroke, a slightly inside eye alignment can help square the putter face at impact.

These are just some basic examples to help you identify where your eyes should be over the ball. It’s up to the golfer to practice and measure to find out where is the most optimal eye position for them to perform at the highest level.

Again, if you are able to aim your putter blade more consistently and start your putt on your intended line, you should make more putts — assuming that the read and the speed are correct also.

Nam Padung, PGA, lives and teaches in Augusta, Georgia

How To ‘Stick’ To Good Putting

In any good putting stroke the hands, wrists and arms form a stable structure that stays intact during the entire motion (Photo 1).

The putter head is put into motion by the movement of the shoulders and the structure created at address should remain throughout the stroke…otherwise the structure breaks down and inconsistencies in the stroke are sure to pop up (Photo 2).

A simple alignment stick can help you to feel the proper structure as well as the proper movement of the shoulders in the putting stroke.

Just lift your arms and place the alignment stick across your upper chest and a lower your arms down to hold it in place (Photo 3). The alignment stick will now lock the structure of your wrists and arms in place and force you to move your shoulders to make the stroke (Photo 4).

Brandon Stooksbury is Director of Instruction at Idle Hour Golf Club in Macon, Georgia, and author of The Wedge Book. Visit him at www.brandonstooksbury.com

Draw The (Chalk) Line For Better Putting Stroke

Every once in a while you get one of those “aha” moments. I had one when I was playing in the PGA Junior Championship at Bellerive Country Club. I had lost the tournament due to my exceptionally poor putting from four feet and in. I vowed I would never allow that to happen again. So I came up with a way to improve my putting stroke alignment, and build confidence, all with one drill: the chalkline.

Whether you have a straight back and through stroke or arc stroke, you can do this drill.

Look at the accompanying photos to see what I mean.

First, I find a straight uphill putt and snap a chalkline. I always pick an uphill putt so I have to put a little bigger stroke on it.

Next, I add a board just outside the toe line of the putter and a tee on the through path, just wider than your club head to enforce a good putter path.

Stroke your putt by swinging your shoulders back and through, keeping the “Y” created by your arms and putter constant. Your hands and lower body are quiet throughout the entire stroke. As you hit each putt, allow your eyes to go from the putter face to the hole, then back to the ball. Having your eyes trace the line to the hole and back helps ingrain what being “square” looks like to you. In this drill, the putter should swing back and through along the chalkline with the club face slightly arcing.

In the beginning, see how many putts out of 30 you can make. As you get more comfortable, go to 30 in a row, each time looking at the hole prior to each putt, ingraining alignment, and holding your finish. You will notice muscle memory of your stroke, perfectly swinging over the line, improved ability to line up to the intended target, and increased confidence seeing the ball go into the hole, putt after putt.

Note: I recommend using corn starch in your chalkline, so that when you are finished with practice you can pour some water on the line and it will disappear. This process saves the green from the damage of too many people standing in the same spot over and over again.

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman is Director of Instruction at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club in Valrico Springs, Florida. Reach her at getzack2@gmail.com

How To Make Big Breaking Putts

One of the hardest things for people to understand when faced with big breaking putts is that there are and infinite number of “lines” you can take based on the speed you choose.

Sometimes certain putts require a more delicate approach while others necessitate a more direct route to the hole.

Regardless of the one you choose you must be mindful of both, and all the lines in between, in order to become a great putter under the gun.

Here at Punta Mita you must understand this fact as our Jack Nicklaus greens here tend to have some exaggerated movement to them, especially if you hit it in the incorrect portion of the green.

As you can see in Photo 1 I have a long putt with a ridge in the middle of the green as well as a sizable slope from left to right.

There is a range of “lines” we can take. One would be the highest line with the least amount of speed and the other would be the lowest possible line with more speed but not so much that it runs way past the hole.

The two balls in Photo 2 represent the highest and lowest possible line that you can take to this particular pin above. So which line is correct?

First you must ask yourself what type of putter you normally are, and what type of green speeds to you tend to play on in general.

If you play fast greens with some slope, you will tend to be more of a “die” putter where you play the ball at the apex and allow the gravity to pull it down to the hole.

If you play slower and flatter greens you will tend to be more of a firm-putter who plays less break and hits the ball harder.

The second thing you must consider is what the putt itself is asking you to do and what are the consequences of either speed. Because both can be incorrect choices.

Think of a putt you have that is super fast.

The higher and more break you try to play the faster the ball will come down the slope, leaving you with a longer comeback putt.

Now consider the short putt that has some movement to it; it might be easier to jam it into the back of the hole, taking out the break.

This this is where practice and experience comes in — helping you to make the best choice for your personality, nerves, and overall shot selection.

Sometimes it’s better to hit it harder and other times it’s better to hit it softer.

So, how do you learn how to play either putt? You must fine-tune your feel!

The best drill for fine-tuning your feel is to hit putts as I did above, finding the highest and softest line, as well as the lowest and most firm line you can take without the ball running way past the hole. Now mark these spots on the green with a tee. Your job is to practice the extremes — the high and then the low — to help you “feel” your speed control.

Now hit putts in the middle of these two spots and see if you can find that speed as well. You can spend as much time as you need finding differing lines that you can use.

From there you will have a better chance to imagine what the best line would be for the next big breaking putt you have.

From a mechanical standpoint the only thing you must remember on longer putts is to make sure that you hit the ball solidly and maintain quality impact alignments. I always want to maintain a bent rear wrist post-impact to ensure that I hit the ball with the correct amount of loft (Photo 3). Flip at it and you’ve turned your putter into a chipper — and you will leave the ball short of the hole every time.

If you don’t fine tune your feel or don’t understand the high and low point, you will never have the many options on the greens that the professionals on Tour have.

The key is to use your imagination, your feel, and your speed control to select the best line for the putt at hand. Take your time to fine-tune your feel and you will have no problem getting down in two regardless of where you are on the green.

Tom Stickney, PGA, is Director of Instruction at Punta Mita Resort, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico. Visit him at www.tomstickneygolf.com

Is It Time To Try Side-Saddle Putting?

side-saddle putting 1 — Old style sidesaddle with short putter

Lining up a putt is important. When figuring out the break of a putt, most of us stand at a right angle to the line, facing the ball, to determine it. This is not accurate, but side-saddle putting IS accurate.

Think about it: When you line up a putt, you stand behind the ball and face the ball and target so that you see the line to the hole.

If this is the best way to align a putt, then it would make sense to putt the ball in a similar position of facing the target, wouldn’t it?

Logically it makes sense. When we toss an object to a target, like pennies to a wall, or even playing horseshoes or bowling, we face the target. I use the word target because in golf our target is not always the hole as putts often break and curve.

Medically or scientifically, when we face the target our eyes are better able to read depth perception, as each eye forms a line to the target, creating a triangle. This triangle gives us distance to the target, or depth perception.

In putting, depth perception is vital in how much force to put into impact on the ball, and for distance control. It helps prevent putting too long or too short, leading to the dreaded three-putt.

Face-the-target is about better depth perception in perceiving distance.

I tried side-saddle putting several times over the years but never met with real success, as my face-the-ball putting was good anyway. While putting in my extra room with carpet floor I tried face-the-target (FTT) with a long putter rather than the conventional length putter. It was beyond my expectations.

Learn To Rule Greens With Putt Ruler

I have known The Putt Ruler inventor Bob Walton for over 25 years. We were introduced by our mutual friend Bob Ford, head PGA Professional at Seminole and past head professional at Oakmont.

Bob Walton is as passionate a golfer as any living and breathing human being I have ever met on this planet. So when he called me this past winter season in Naples and said he wanted to travel down from his home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to show me a putting training aid he had invented, I was all ears. This much I know about Bob Walton: he wouldn’t waste my time with something he didn’t feel had real merit.

I have always believed putting was simply five learned skills.

Reading the putt
Aiming the putter face
Squaring the face to the starting line at impact
Controlling within reason the path the head travels
Controlling the speed the ball travels

Putt Like A Pro: Always Hit The Sweet Spot

Every putter manufacturer stresses the importance of FEEL. Words like “soft feel,” “muted feel,” “firm feel,” “softer sound and feel,” “old school feel,” and “gentle feel” are used to describe the feel of the putter’s impact with the golf ball. All golfers know and understand that sensation, both the good and the bad. Impacting the ball at or near the putter’s sweet spot feels good.

A GolfWorks study¹ by Britt Lindsey confirmed that virtually all tour professionals and low handicap players are the best sweet spot hitting golfers.

What is a sweet spot? The sweet spot is that the small area on the striking surface of a golf club that must contact the ball if maximum power and control are to be attained. (Collins English Dictionary).

When putting, to hit the sweet spot, the golfer must align the center of the golf ball with the centerline of the putter. Almost every putter has a black or white line on the top of the putter to help aim and align the putter’s sweet spot with the golf ball. As an observer, from a distance, it is easy to see when other golfers have or have not aligned the ball and putter sweet spot.

Surprisingly, when you check out the teaching pros on YouTube or watching your friends putt, you will discover that almost everyone fails to really align the golf ball’s centerline and putter’s sweet spot.

Why? Aligning a ball and putter should be easy – not really! A technical phenomenon, a Parallax Effect, visually misleads the golfer into believing that the centerline of the golf ball is aligned with the center line of the putter.

sweet spot parallax art — 0.040” Off Sweet Spot Error

To understand the Parallax Effect, let’s take a step by step analysis of the putter aiming and alignment process.

With the ball on the green, the golfer tries to visualize the probable trajectory of the putt. After making the read, the golfer usually picks an intermediate point along the anticipated line to aim the putt.

Next, the golfer addresses the golf ball. Looking down on the golf ball, the golfer envisions the ball’s centerline. If the golfer looks direct down on the golf ball, the golfer will visualize the true centerline of the ball.

However, if the golfer does not look directly down at the golf ball, they will experience geodesic distortion skew² – in plain English, the perceived ball’s centerline is shifting slightly closer to the golfer. The perceived centerline shift is about 0.010 inches for every degree the sight line is off of vertical.

For example, if the line of sight is 86°, rather than 90°, the perceived ball centerline is 0.040 inches closer to the golfer.

Eye Position Above Ball	Parallax Sweet Spot Error
Vertical above Ball	0 inch error
88	0.020 inches
86	0.040 inches
84	0.060 inches
82	0.080 inches
80	0.100 inches
78	0.120 inches
76	0.140 inches
74°	0.160 inches
72° (Parallel to Shaft)	0.180 inches

After visualizing the golf ball’s centerline, the golfer positions the putter behind the golf ball. If the golfer aligns the putter’s centerline with the perceived ball centerline, the putter’s true sweet spot will be slightly misaligned with the real center of the golf ball.

The slight misalignment, between the golf ball and the putter’s sweet spot, will adversely affect the putt’s distance and accuracy. The greater the misalignment error, the higher the probability that you will need more putts to complete your round of golf.

If you want to ‘aim to make’ like the pros, you will need to adjust your putt process for the Parallax Effect. Hitting the golf ball consistently with the putter’s sweet spot will “feel” great and assure you will make more putts.

¹Putter Moment of Inertia, Britt Lindsey VP-Technical Service – The GolfWorks

² An apparent change in the direction of an object, caused by a change in observational position that provides a new line of sight

Woody Stillwagon is Director of Development for AcuAim Golf, LLC

How To Putt Like Jack Nicklaus

Let’s talk about “releasing” the putter head. It’s discussed a lot among golf instructors, letting that head “pass” the hands as it goes through the impact zone, but is that what you really want to do? Putt like Jack Nicklaus, that’s what.

Nicklaus, perhaps the greatest golfer, and putter, of all time, looked at and practiced putting in a much different way, one that should be emulated far more than it is among amateur golfers. In that familiar stance of his, hunched over with his dominant eye DIRECTLY over the ball so he could see his line without any distortion, his feet slightly open but shoulders square to the line, he was going for what he thought of a “battering ram” or “piston” stroke with very little or no opening the face in the backstroke or closing it after impact. No breaking of the wrists, certainly, but really, he didn’t want the putter head passing the hands, either — or at least feeling like they were passing the hands, though in reality they were, just a bit — unless it was a very long putt with more of a follow-through. He wanted to keep that face square to the target line as long as possible by keeping his hands moving forward, toward the target. Makes sense, right?

Read Vic Williams’ review of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort

One thing that helped jack keep that face square is getting the putter shaft closer to “vertical” by lifting his hands away from the body — a technique you can also see in some of today’s best putters, including Steve Stricker. When Chris DiMarco was at his best a few years back, he did that, too.

It all comes down to this fact: Where that putter face is coming into impact is way more important than the “path” of the club — that slight opening and closing that a lot of teachers describe as “release.” Even if you have the “yips” or your hands are shaking due to nerves — which happened to me when I played in the Canadian Open years ago — you can still make putts by keeping the face on line.

In the following photos, I’ll show how I incorporate Jack’s method into my practice by stroking five-foot putts through one of several handy training aids I use during my lessons with Nemacolin guests. Work on this technique, push all thoughts of “release” out of your mind and watch your score drop.

A BAD BREAK

Photo 1 shows how stopping the hands at impact and letting the putter head release too much affects that face. You can see by the arrow that after impact, the face is aiming well l eft of my target. Only a few putters in history, like Arnold Palmer or Isao Aoki (remember him?), could get away with this method. Keep the hands moving — that’s where the “rocking shoulders” you see in the pros comes from, not from actually moving the shoulders themselves.

THE PERFECT PISTON

Photo 2 shows what I’m talking about. The goal is to keep the forward arm and putter shaft pretty much in one straight line through the putt, with the arm following the hands forward and toward the target. Look where the arrow aims now — right at the hole!

HIGH HANDS

Photo 3 illustrates the “high hands” look I’ve mentioned — the shaft is a bit more vertical, with my hands away from my body to maintain that piston action of “pushing” the ball down the line and toward the hole.

THE FINAL PRODUCT

Photos 4-6 bring everything together into the piston motion you want. Though I’m not hunched over with Jack’s open stance, I’m keeping my left forearm, hands and shaft in a solid line through the entire putt. Sure, the face opens a bit going back, but at impact and afterward, it stays square to the hole, resulting in a made putt.

Remember, instead of worrying about releasing the hands, keep them moving forward like a piston, and strive to keep that face square to the target for as long as possible. It worked for Jack and it’ll work for you.

Eric Johnson was director of instruction at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh and The Breakers in Florida before moving to the Nemacolin Golf Academy. You can make an appointment with him at www.nemacolingolf.com

Don’t Leave Putts Short!

Learn The Art Of Spotputting

Base Putting Eye Position On Your Stroke

How To ‘Stick’ To Good Putting

Draw The (Chalk) Line For Better Putting Stroke

How To Make Big Breaking Putts

Is It Time To Try Side-Saddle Putting?

Learn To Rule Greens With Putt Ruler

Putt Like A Pro: Always Hit The Sweet Spot

¹Putter Moment of Inertia, Britt Lindsey VP-Technical Service – The GolfWorks

² An apparent change in the direction of an object, caused by a change in observational position that provides a new line of sight

How To Putt Like Jack Nicklaus

A BAD BREAK

THE PERFECT PISTON

HIGH HANDS

THE FINAL PRODUCT

In Case you missed it

7 Gear Upgrades to Gift This Season

Hit More Greens with Tri-Fusion Tech

Does “Forward Axis Weighting” Actually Work?

Total Course Control with the Mileseey GenePro G1

Services

1 Putter Moment of Inertia, Britt Lindsey VP-Technical Service – The GolfWorks

2 An apparent change in the direction of an object, caused by a change in observational position that provides a new line of sight

A BAD BREAK

THE PERFECT PISTON

HIGH HANDS

THE FINAL PRODUCT

In Case you missed it

¹Putter Moment of Inertia, Britt Lindsey VP-Technical Service – The GolfWorks

² An apparent change in the direction of an object, caused by a change in observational position that provides a new line of sight