How to Putt | Golf Putter Prowess

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Golf Putting Tip: Don't Let Your Golf Ball Line Wobble

Symptom: Your putts leak off to the right, and short, all too often. "Where did that break come from?" you wonder aloud. Of course your playing companions know that you swipe the ball and so all your putts leak to the right. They look away whenever you putt so as not to foul up their reads...

Description: After you line up your ball's line on your putting line, strike your putt so that the line does not wobble as the ball rolls to the hole.

Why it works: In order to keep the line on your golf ball from wobbling as it rolls, you must strike the putt with no sidespin. Sidespin causes the ball to lose speed, and fall off the intended line. Sidespin is bad, it is your enemy. It comes from "swiping" the blade across the golf ball, so that (for a right-handed player) the ball ends up short and to the right of the cup, rather than past the hole (or in the hole, of course).

Let's have Nick Watney show us the right way to roll the ball. Pay attention to the line on his ball as it drops into the cup -- stop the video at 0:46 -- see the faint vertical line on the ball just before it drops? That's the line he used to line up the putt. It didn't wobble. Have a look:

The great thing about this putting tip is that it's not technical, and it gives you an easy means to diagnose your putting. That is, if your line is wobbling, you are doing something wrong that you'd better straighten out before you go try and "fix" anything else. It's almost "step one" when troubleshooting your putting stroke. I recommend you go try the balls in a line drill until you get things back on track.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Golf Putting Drill: Use the Surround the Cup Putting Drill to Master the Short Breaking Putt

Symptom: Missed short putts when there's a little bit of break, with the cup cut into a slight hill. You often mutter things like, "I thought it would break more" or "where did all that break come from" or "maybe I pushed it" or "get there" or "slow down" or perhaps less printable things...

Overview: On the putting green, pick a cup on a slight hill, and surround it with several balls in a circle. Start just a foot or two away from the cup and gradually work to wider and wider circles. Read and sink each putt as you circle the cup.

Phil Mickelson shows us how it's done (thanks Phil):

Why it works: Even though we know logically that downhill putts are faster and have more break, and uphill putts are slower and have less break, it is something you must experience firsthand to really internalize. This drill is a great way to prove it to yourself so you can execute better on the course. By keeping the length of the putt constant but varying the amount of break you need to play, you will get a better feel for how to read and execute short breaking putts. Gradually your short putting and your confidence will improve. You will find that your performance on this drill improves when your misses on are on the high side of the hole, and end up about 18 inches past the hole.

Jim Furyk knows the power of this drill too. He has a slight variation on the drill -- his caddie puts the ball about two inches from a tee as he circles the hole, making the putts. This placement combines some aspects of the starting gate tee drill with the surround the cup drill. Have a look:

Another benefit of this drill is that you will improve your ability to read the putts of your playing partners, and apply this learning to your putt! So, for example, if your buddy has a similar length putt from the other side of the hole, you will know how your putt is likely to roll based on his putt, because you've already hit both putts in the Surround the Cup Putting Drill on the practice green!

Did you like this drill? Think you can emulate Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk on the practice green next time out? Bookmark, Tweet it, Like it, email it -- spread the word! And don't miss the next one--sign up for free updates too!

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