Speed Putting – A Technique to Free Up Your Putting Stroke and Sink More Putts
By Neville Walker

Speed Putting is a technique to free up your putting and turn it more into a reactionary motion. Unfortunately most golfers dwell over their putts too long allowing doubt and tension to creep in.

Golf as a recreational activity is grinding to a halt. With more televised events for viewing, the golfing public are watching and copying a sport that is now played in slow motion.

One of the hardest things in golf is being decisive. There is the faulty notion that if you take more care – are more deliberate, you will achieve a more successful outcome. The exact opposite generally applies.

We would all play better if we took less time over our shots, and this applies especially to putting.

The biggest killer in putting is hesitancy. Instead of committing to your stroke, you become bogged down with second thoughts. You look at the hole again and again. Your conscious mind starts to take over. You are no longer on auto-pilot, but caught up in a situation of manual control.

In similar vein Robert Allenby described how he was dithering over his putts. Once his head returned to the ball, he would spend too much time staring at the ball. This caused him to tighten up and make bad strokes.

There are two golfers, Aaron Baddeley and Brad Faxon, whose putting I greatly admire. Both display a freedom in their putting stroke that is an inspiration to how we all could putt. You need go no further in choosing a role model.

Aaron Baddeley’s routine is a perfect example of what is meant by Speed Putting. His technique is simple. You pick your line, walk to your ball, set up, take one look at the hole and your putt is away under five seconds.

Most of us do the opposite. We keep looking back and forth to the hole as if to reassure ourselves. The unnecessary delay allows time for unwanted thoughts and indecision to slip into our mind.

Dr Bob Rotella in his DVD with Brad Faxon ‘Putt to Win’ demonstrates a drill that helps you once you have set up to the ball. It is called ‘Look and Shoot’.

The drill is: Take one look at the path of the putt, follow it from the hole back to the ball, and without a second look at the hole, start your putting stroke. In short you are only allowed to look at the hole once, no practice strokes, and you hit it. There is no time to be careful.

A new putting routine will feel uncomfortable at first because it is hard to change a habit. The trick is to do all your analysis and thinking behind the ball. Then step in smartly, and with only one look put a smooth stroke on the ball.

The ‘Look and Shoot’ in Speed Putting is a tough discipline to follow. There is the always temptation to peep one more time just to be sure. In a word – DON’T.

Tags: The Perfect Putt by donwedderspoon
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How to Stop Missing Four-Footers
Follow these 4 setup keys to make short work of the short ones….

This story is for you if…

• You get nervous over short putts…
• …because you often push or pull them.

The Problem

When you stand over a four-foot putt, you have almost zero confidence in your ability to make it.

Why It’s Happening

Ian Logan
START HERE!
Stand up straight with your putter out in front of you. Then rotate your elbows inward and rest them on your rib cage. Tilt forward from your hips until your putter comes to rest under your eyes. Do it right and you’ll nail the four key putting setup positions pictured here. Your setup is off, which is causing your putter to swing out of position on your backstroke. And since the putt is so short, it’s practically impossible to recover during your forward-stroke.

The Solution

The key to never getting out of position in your backstroke is to start from the correct setup position. If you nail your setup, you’ll be able to relax and make a smooth stroke by allowing the putter to move back and forth with your arms and shoulders while keeping your head still. Copy the positions at right.

EYES OVER THE INSIDE EDGE OF THE BALL: This gives you the best optical view of the target line.

HANDS UNDER SHOULDERS: This allows your putter to swing back and through naturally on the proper path.

SHAFT MATCHES THE FOREARMS: They should form a straight line. If they don’t, your putter is too long or too short.

HIPS OVER HEELS: This sets your weight evenly over your feet so you can stay still and balanced from start to finish.

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Article Source:
Author: Todd Sones, GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher, July 01, 2009

Tags: The Perfect Putt by donwedderspoon
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Green Reading – The Art and Science of Getting Your Ball to Roll in the Hole
By Mark H Wright

You can apply some science to your green reading which will help you to make better decisions but I believe that this should be done in a fairly passive mode. That is, put the information that you are faced with on the green into your mind in a systematic approach, called a putting pre-shot routine. Observe the steps to feed the necessary information to your brain and then… GET OUT OF THE WAY. Stop analysing. Stop thinking. If you let your instincts run the show and you allow the art through to do its work of sending the ball to the target, at the correct pace, you will begin to tread the road to great putting.

Pre-shot Putting Routine, feeding information to your instincts.

1. Pay attention and be observant when you are walking up to the green. Take in the lay of the land and get a feel of how the green lays in its surroundings. How does the land slope generally? Is there water near or around the green? Greens will very often have subtle breaks toward water even if they are not obviously apparent.

2. When reading the ball to target line you should read it from both sides and also stand side on to the putt line (from the low side) and get an idea of it travelling across to the hole. Here you are allowing you brain to get a “feel” of how the green lays from 3 different sides which gives your instinct great information. How many times have you looked at a putt from the other side after you’ve missed it and realised you never saw the slope? If you read from three areas you will pick up far more of the subtle variances in the green. Again let me emphasis that this is not so much for you to use and analyse but rather it is information you are just gently allowing in so your instincts can use it. With that in mind don’t stare hard at anything. Try to simply observe gently by running your eyes over the areas where your brain can gather its own information about the upcoming putt.

3. Watch your playing partners putts carefully even if they are not travelling on the same line as yours they are still giving you some feedback around the hole in that last critical 2ft at the hole. Naturally if the putt is on your line then pay special attention to it but observe etiquette and rules so you don’t infringe either when trying to watch the other persons putt.

4. The line that you imagine the putt taking and the break on the line is only as good as the pace. Change the pace of the putt and you change how much it breaks. Always commit to the line AND pace. This is also where the art comes in because I don’t believe that you should be trying to make pace. I believe you imagine what you want, allow the instincts to give you a pace that takes the ball into the hole with reasonable roll rate and then allow it to happen. Look at the target and then let the putt go. Don’t delay and “think” about it.

The perfect pace is one that takes the ball 12 to 18 inches past the hole if it misses. In fact scientifically it has been shown that 17″ is the best pace for holing the greatest amount of putts, but I am happy with the pace anytime I am between 12 and 18 inches past. So imagine your putts rolling at that speed into the hole and then trust your instincts to reproduce that pace for you.

5. Weather conditions play a part especially if the greens are wet either with dew or rain. In addition the wind will have a real effect on the ball and remember it is a combination between wind velocity and speed of green as to how much the break or pace will be affected. The slicker the greens, the more the wind can “push” the ball. Not only can wind affect the line but also speed if you are putting with the wind or against it.

6. Pick precise targets to putt to. If you can see it then putt to a blade of grass as your target. Putt to a slight disfiguration at the back of the cup if you cannot make out a blade of grass. The rule is pick the smallest possible target you can without straining to see it.

7. Always have two or three practice putts next to the ball and stand in the same orientation as the putt stance required. This mimics your desired putt for real and gives your brain a chance to “Feel and Figure” what it needs to do to get the ball into the hole. Also, make sure that you are fully focused on your target while making these practice putts.

Remember that putting is in my opinion more an art than a science but you can apply some necessary science in an artful way. What do I mean? Follow a pre-shot routine religiously and give your brain all the info it needs by following the steps I have described, but then get out of the way. Don’t over analyse. Go with your first impression and let your gut instincts guide you. They can make better sense of the science and apply it for you. When you have done everything just focus on your target and let the putt go thinking just of your target.

When you are set to go have one last look at the target and then putt. Don’t wait. Try to putt within 2 seconds of your last look at the target.

Finally let me say that great putting comes from instinctive trust and learning but it is not necessarily an overnight change. Sticking to instinctive putting for a period of 6 months will bring great rewards but do it for a week or two and you are wasting your time. Instinctive putting will get stronger with time as your brain builds a bigger and bigger database of information about how to putt so be patient if you are new to the game. The more time you spend practicing and experimenting with instinctive putting the faster your progress will be.

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Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS, GOLFING TIPS, The Perfect Putt by donwedderspoon
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