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| | Putting
| An article from Used Golf Clubs and Golf Bags
| | Never underestimate the difference good putting can make to your golf game. If you can consistently decrease your putting average from 3 to 2 putts a hole that will cut 18 stokes off your round.
There are 4 aspects to accurate putting - reading the green, lining up the ball, hitting the ball in a straight line, and getting the pace right.
Reading the Green
Reading the green is not easy but do it consistently and you'll gradually get a feel for how the ball will roll. Always read the green from the opposite side of the hole to the ball, look for the general lie of the green, then check how the hole appears - does it slope down to one side. Also look for any slopes between the ball and the hole. Based on these factors you will then make a judgement on how the ball will roll as it carries to the hole. Remember a faster ball will curve much less than a slower ball.
Lining up the ball
Once you have decided how you think the ball will roll, pick a spot on the green to aim for. This might be one edge of the hole if the green doesn't have too much of a break, or it might be a spot away from the hole that you judge will be where the ball should curve around to reach the hole. Use a marker to mark the current position of the ball then lift it and line up the logo on the ball with the spot you picked. Squat down well behind the ball and check it's accurate. If you find it difficult to see the logo to line up, you can buy a mould and a waterproof pen to draw a straight line on the ball.
Putting straight
You are aiming to make the ball leave the putter in a straight line. That way you can consistently hit the ball on the line you've determined by reading the green. Have the ball just past the middle of your stance. You should be standing over the ball such that your left eye (for right-handed players) is directly over the ball. This will probably feel much further forward than you would think - to check it hold a golf ball against your eye and drop it, see where it hits the ground. Line the putter up accurately, some putters have ball shapes and/or lines to use, line these up accurately with the logo on the ball that you previously set to point to your target spot. Make sure you swing the backwards and forwards on a straight line.
Getting the pace right
This will only come with practice. Remember even the same greens vary from day to day depending on how dry the grass is, how recently it's been cut etc. A good exercise to do before each game is to go to the practice green with half a dozen balls, find a level stretch of green and hit sets of balls to judge the length of backstroke you need for different distances. The easiest way to do this is use your shoes. For the first set take the backstroke back to the inside of your right shoe - try to maintain the same swing speed each time - hit 6 balls then stop and pace off the distance they reached. Now repeat the exercise but take the backstroke to the outside of your shoe, then again to 6 inches past the outside of your shoe. You now have a measure of how far each swing will take the ball. When you get out on the course you can pace out the distance of the ball from the hole and judge how big a backswing you need to reach the hole.
Exercises
On the practice green set up 6 balls at increasing distances in a straight line from the hole. Putt from the closest to the hole to the farther. Keep repeating until you can sink all 6. As a variation line the balls up on a curved line from the hole, or on a slope.
To help in swinging the putter in a straight line, find a straight edge - this could be the edge of a rug - and practice swinging the putter along it without curving it. | |
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| | Comments: | | On 15 October 2008 Joy Gregory wrote: | | test |
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