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Golfing with Chris Henderson
Eliminate three putts
In order to putt well
consistently, you need to be able to control both the direction and
the distance of your putts.
Last month I showed how
controlling the direction of your putts starts with getting your aim
correct, and how getting your aim correct is much easier when you
get your eyes over the ball at address. When your eyes are over the
ball, they are also directly over the target line, which makes it
easier to get the face of the putter lined up correctly to your
target. It also makes it easier to bring your putter back and
through on the target line.
Controlling the length of your
putts requires solid contact and good tempo. When you hit the ball
squarely on the center of the face of the putter, the ball will roll
the same length consistently. When you don’t make solid contact, the
ball won’t roll as far as if you made the same stroke and hit it
square.
Solid contact on your putts
starts with a making a pendulum motion with your arms and shoulders
that is on your target line. You want your wrists to remain firm
and your head and lower body to remain quiet. If your head or lower
body moves during your putting stroke, it is easy for the putter
head to get offline, making it more difficult to make solid contact.
Tempo is also very important in
controlling the length of your putts. You want your tempo to be
accelerating through impact, but to remain smooth throughout the
entire stroke. The key is keeping your tempo the same for every
putt. Do not try to hit longer putts harder. Just change the length
of your backswing. It is very easy to increase the speed of your
stroke on long putts, which can lead to increased grip pressure and
a motion that is not smooth.
Once you are making more solid
contact and a smooth stroke with good tempo, you will start
developing a feel for the length of stroke you need for different
length putts. There is nothing an instructor can do to help you
develop this. Feel is something you develop through practice. Here
is a great drill to help you develop feel with your putts.
The Ladder Drill
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Take three golf balls and place one six feet, one 12 feet, and one
18 feet from the hole.
• Hit the six-foot putt first.
Focus on distance control, making a stroke where the backswing and
follow through are equal lengths, and the tempo is accelerating but
smooth.
• Next hit the 12-foot putt. The
stroke should be the same tempo as the six-foot putt. Do not try to
hit the putt any harder because it is longer. The only difference
will be that the backswing is slightly longer.
• Finally, hit the 18-foot putt,
again focusing on a slightly longer backswing with the same smooth
tempo as the first two putts.
When you do this drill, pick a
hole that is on a slight side hill lie. This will give you uphill,
downhill, and side hill putts as you move around the hole. You can
also pick different distances. Doing this drill from different
lies and distances is a great way to develop feel.
As you learn to control the
distance of your putts, you will also make less three putts. Most
three putts are caused by leaving the first putt too short or too
long. You probably don’t miss too many putts 10 feet right or left
of the hole (unless there is a severe break in the putt). But it is
very easy to leave a putt 10 feet short or hit it 10 feet past the
hole, making it difficult to two putt. As you develop feel and learn
to control the length of your putts, your will get that first putt
closer to the hole, make more two putts, and even make some of those
long putts.
Chris Henderson, Director of
the Lake Lanier Islands Golf Academy.
has more than 15 years of teaching experience at clubs and resorts
including Walt Disney World, Lake Nona, and Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill
Club. For more information on academy programs, contact Chris at
706-380-1415 or
chenderson@pga.com, or visit
www.lakelanierislands.com.
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