MENTAL ASPECTS
Putting is mental! Kids often putt well because they just putt. They just hit the ball to the target. Adults over-analyze, over-think, and even have a fear of missing, all of which are distractions to the actual putt. Doubt is also a distraction and puts the mind in a confused state. Doubt kills.
Expectation also can kill putting. Expecting every putt to go in the hole is a distraction. Grass, (the grain, heavy, slow or bending to different directions), slope, moisture, wind, mowing, uphill, downhill all affect the putt, so sometimes good putts do not go in. Live with that and no not start messing with your stroke.
According to the Dave Pelz Putting Bible, here’s how often Tour pros and amateurs make putts of various lengths.
· Inside 2 feet: 100%
· Three feet: pros 85% to 95%
· Five feet: pros 65%, amateurs 50%
· Six feet: pros 50%
· Ten feet: pros and amateurs 25%
· Fifteen feet and over: pros 10%
Pelz also give stats on first putts holed in PGA tournaments:
· Three feet: 95%
· Six feet: 50%
· Nine feet: 25%
· Twelve feet: 19%
After six to ten feet, the percentages drop drastically so make sure you are a good putter within ten feet. This is also an advantage in lag distance putting when you can get near the hole for a short tap in.
If you want to putt better, hit the ball closer to the hole. This means extra practice in pitching and long putting. Brad Faxon says he became an excellent putter when he did not expect to make every putt. He claims this eliminated the extra stress and anxiety and left his body in relaxed control of his mechanics.
All putts are straight to the target and not necessarily to the hole. Once we have aligned the putter we now switch to our mental focus. Once we have focused on alignment and direction, we focus on distance and forget direction as it is already established. Distance and speed are now our focus as speed determines distance and break. Our brains can only focus on one thing at a time, so do not think of alignment, direction, force, etc. at one time. When ready to hit, speed is the focus.
Do not think of how hard to strike the ball. If our first putt goes long, we think of hitting the next putt more softly, and we often end up short. Do not tell yourself how hard to hit the ball as your eyes will tell you the force needed. Focus on the distance and get a good feel for the distance, then strike the ball with no delay. If you delay the stoke, you may lose the feel for distance. If you toss pennies or a horseshoe to a target, you look at the target, feel the distance and then toss. There is no self-talk. It is a look and stroke.
If you look down at the ball before striking it, keep a picture of your distance in your mind and your body will react accordingly. This may be difficult at first, but you must trust the procedure.
If you need some reinforcement, take a ball and toss it to your target. Do this and you will notice how your eyes told you how much force was needed. If you tell your body how hard to toss the ball then your mind is getting confused signals from your self-talk and your eyes. You looked at the target and with no thought process – you just did it, trusted it.
In face-the-target putting with the long putter, we use one hand for the putting action. When we tossed the pennies, bowling or horseshoes we used one hand so why not use one hand in putting. If we use two hands, we may confuse and complicate the action as two hand require perfect synchronization with each other. Toss pennies, bowling ball and horseshoe with two hands and the results are not good.
When you read the green for the putt, let it register in your subconscious mind and then focus on speed using your eyes. Trust it.
