The Tale of Two Greens

Water that hits the top of the mountain will roll off and down the mountain until there’s some place for it to pool. The same is true with greens. Water will flow away from the high point on the green to the lower parts. Where the water runs off into the rough or away from green, it’s going to be dryer than where water might pool.

What’s important to know is that after a big rain, parts of the green are going to dryer and harder than other parts. I saw this big time on the third hole when the ball plopped on the green and died. That’s not uncommon for a high approach shoot, but two holes later, a low bump and run pitch shot landed on the green and stopped. Wow, what’s going on?

Taking the knowledge that the greens were soft, I went for the flag on the next hole, hit two feet in front of it and watched the ball fly off the green. What happened?

The Light Bulb Moment

Whether a green slopes from front to back or back to front, the high point is dryer and harder. A pin location at the lower softer part means go for the pin. The pin at the higher dryer and harder part means to go with the higher lofted club and get the ball up in the air.

Missing short on a soft green means you’re going to be really short. If the pin is on a ridge where the green will be harder, a low runner may still fly off if it strikes the harder dryer portion of the green.

As far as reading greens is concerned, the problem is likely to be different speeds at different parts of the green. A dryer part of the green will have more speed, while the wetter or damper portion may be much slower.

A long uphill putt on a wet green against the grain may require a bazooka like stroke to make it to the hole. On the same green, a putt along the high ridge may be much much faster.

Play It Wet

My advice is to get out on a wet course if you can. Set the affects on you approach shots, chipping and pitching. Experiment on different parts of the green to see how the heavy rains affect different types of putts. Hey, these putting tips might just make you the big winner in your next skins game.

Yes, your putter has loft and it affects your putting stroke and results. My Scotty Cameron Newport Detour has a 4 degree loft. All Scotty Cameron putters do. However, your putter may be different. For instance, my Odyssey putter that the Detour replaced has 3 degree of loft.

Why is a Putter Lofted?

Regardless of how flat the green seems, it’s not completely flat and the ball will sit down in a slight depression. The loft of the putter is there to help lift the ball slightly at contact for about 3-4 inches. After it lands it may skid for a short distance and then, if struck right, should roll smoothly from that point.

There’s Loft and Then There’s Your Loft

The loft of the putter will not likely be the loft of the putter head when you strike the ball. The angle of your shaft will either increase or decrease the loft. If you “forward press” or lean the club shaft forward, you’re delofting the club. If your shaft is leaning back, you’re adding extra loft.

How do you know? You should have a pro or club maker look at you, straight on, as you take 10-15 putts. He or she will be able to see the angle of your putting shaft and how the ball is coming off the putter head. The loft can then be adjusted to compensate if necessary. The putter loft can be adjusted at many golf course pro shops by a club maker.

My putting improved a lot when I began using my Scotty Cameron Detour. Although there’s a lot of engineering that went into the club, it may very well be that the added degree of loft helped.

Why Should You Care About Loft?

If your ball is wobbling and not rotating smoothly, you could have a problem with loft. If you often pop the ball up when you strike it, you could have a problem with loft. It’s a quick fix for a club maker and it won’t cost much. If your putts are really inconsistent and you think everything in your stroke is solid and consistent, this’s something you should look into. Stan Utley, author of The Art of Putting, believes that the right putter loft is the most important aspect of putting well.

This is another in a series of single point putting lessons. This is a series of short putting tips designed to cover a single point that can quickly improve your game.

Putting tips and chipping? Putting and chipping are so closely linked that it’s impossible to reasonably separate them. Good chipping leads to fewer putts. The goal of chipping is to get as close to the hole as possible. Most pros will chip instead of putt from the fringe because they know they’ll hole out more chips than putts.

The Side Hill Chipping Stance

The secret to good side hill chipping around the green is the stance. The description of the side hill stance  may seem simple, but it needs to be practiced because it will feel unnatural at first. The stance is basically to position your shoulder parallel to the slope of the hill and to choke down on the grip until you’re striking the ball just right.

First, move away from the ball and find a similar slope to get the stance just right. If you take your practice swings too close to the ball, the ball may move in high fringe and you’ll be forced to take a penalty stroke.

Take you stance by setting your feet. For a right-handed golfer, your right foot will be lower than your left. Get a feel for that angle because that’s the angle you’ll set your shoulders. It’s important to have the angle or slope of your shoulders match the slope of the side hill.

Once your shoulders are set, position your hands on the shaft of the club so that the head of your wedge is moving across the grass in the same way it would if you were on a flat surface.

The Flight of the Ball

The flight of a well struck ball from a side hill lie is going to take the flight of the slope. If you’re at a 45 degree angle, the ball should fly at a 45 degree angle to the surface of the green. That flight means that you’ll need to strike the ball a little harder to carry the distance. Figuring out how much is why you need to practice.

Practice, Practice, Practice

This is one of those shots you need to practice. The side hill shot doesn’t feel natural and needs practice to feel right. You’ll also need to figure out how hard to strike the ball based on the slope of the hill and distance you need to carry to the pin.

If you don’t practice this shot, you’ll likely be way short and take another stroke to get on the green, or you’ll fly the ball through or over the green into more trouble on the other side.

Putting tips are incomplete without including chipping and pitching. Side hill lies around the green are common on many courses and chipping from a side hill lie should still result in an up-and-down. As you get more comfortable and confident with this shot, reading greens and planning to hole out the shot will become more important. If you find yourself with a lot of side hill lies around the green, learn and master this shot to cut a few strokes of your score.

Call it soft, relaxed, light or easy, but to putt really well this is how your putter grip needs to be described. Have you wondered why your putting seems different from round to round? It could very well be your grip pressure.

Tension in your hands moves to your arms, then your shoulders, then your back. It’s impossible to putt your best with tension in your body because the tension in the body will transfer to your putting stroke and the ball will go off-path.

Here’s a quick example to illustrate the point. Find a ball around your home. A tennis ball is really good for this purpose. Now, find somewhere where you can throw the ball. Throwing into a fence is great. Now, throw the ball at the fence with your regular motion. Then, grip the ball as hard as you can and throw it again. You’ll see the difference squeezing the ball too tight will make. It’s almost impossible to release the ball freely when you grip it too tight.

The putting grip and its affect on the putting stroke are no different. It is almost impossible to freely release the putter head through the ball when you are gripping it too hard.

The Toothpaste Tube Drill

Grab a large tube of toothpaste. Take the tube gently in your hands using your putter grip. Now, squeeze the tube until it starts to compress, then back off. Right around here is where your grip pressure should be on the putter. Grab your putter and try it.

This Changes Everything

I talked about squaring the putter head last week. I also talked about creating a relaxed smooth putting stroke. However, getting tension out of your hands and creating a relaxed grip is necessary for a square putter head and a smooth stroke.

You may see a few problems with your stroke after relaxing your grip. You may discount what I’m saying when you can’t hit a putt straight. What’s happening is that you’ve created compensation in your stroke for the excess tension. You need to practice and work and play through until you are smooth and relaxed and releasing the putter head freely.

Sorry, But You Must

I’m sorry, if you are going to improve, you must practice. No putting tips will help without it. Go to the practice green and relax your grip. Take along the tube of toothpaste if you must, but get that nice easy, relaxed and light grip.

Stay with the relaxed grip and give it time to make a big difference in your putting. It’s the single biggest factor that’s helped me and will help you too.

I go to the golf course to golf. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about putting tips and I need to hit the course to practice what I preach and learn more. Yesterday was a great day for putting (23) and scoring (71), but I also enjoyed some entertainment and enjoyment from nature on the course.

One of the things I love about golf is being with nature for a few hours. There’s a relatively new course in Palm Coast Florida about 1/2 hour from my home. I played there yesterday. I captured the video of these turkeys quickly while moving in the cart, but it’s still shows that you can never tell what you will see on the course.

I had just left the 18th green and was heading back to the parking lot when these turkeys jumped on the cart path in front of me. They were hunting for food off the path before I approach. I guess these guys can’t be considered wild turkeys any longer; they are very tame. I got to within about 15 feet before they started moving.

I took some other photos that I’ll show with future articles, but this scene was the most amazing and entertaining of the day.

A quick quiz. What’s more important, getting the line right or making sure the putter head is square? The answer is the angle of the putter head at impact – a square putter head. Really?

Although it doesn’t seem to make sense, here’s the logic:

The line doesn’t matter if the putter head is not square at impact because the ball is not going to go where you want it to go anyway.

Be Square, Man

If you can consistently square the putter head at impact, your ball will go where you’re aiming. If your line is off, then with a consistent square impact, you can adjust to get the line right. It could be you’re reading the greens wrong or you are aiming wrong, but squaring the head first will let you figure that out.

There is a real good drill for getting the putter head consistently square using two balls. See Putting Drills – Use Two Balls for a Square Putter Head for the drill.

Once you have the putter head square, then begin working on reading greens and getting the line right.

Now, while putter head squareness to the ball and the path is important, you will see many golfers making putts without squaring the head to the ball path. What’s going on is that they’ve learned to compensate for the flaw in their putting stroke. The problem is that bad putting techniques catch up with you, particularly under pressure.

To putt consistently under pressure, when you’re tired and when you’re frustrated, your putting stroke must be practiced and mastered and absolutely grooved. However, to be a great putter, that stroke must be fundamentally sound and having the putter head square at impact every time is one of most important fundamentals.

Don’t confuse a straight putter path direction with a square putter head. They are not the same. Dave Pelz, Phil Mickelson’s short game coach, says in an article at Golf.com -

“Study the two factors of a solidly struck putt and you’ll discover that face angle determines 83 percent of the starting line while putter path direction determines 17 percent. In other words, a square face angle is five times more important to starting putts on line than putter path.”

The putter path can be absolutely straight, both back and forward, but because of set-up, grip or other factors, the putter head may not be square.

Summary

Create a fundamentally sound putting stroke with a square putter head to the intended path of the ball. The putting tips will help, but get out on the practice green and perfect a square putter head. Use the two ball drill to make it happen!

What are you thinking about when you see Tiger Woods struggle with his putting? As I watch, I’m thinking about the world’s best golfer, with the best resources available missing putts he should make.

Two Putting Heads

Anyone want to argue that Tiger’s head may not be in the greatest shape? He’s been through a lot. I’m not going to judge what he’s done, but I will say it’s affecting his putting game.

There are two heads that are important to making putts:

• The putter head
• The head on your shoulders

The Putter Head

Tiger Woods is considered on of the best putters of all time. His putting technique and stroke are pure. I think it’s a toss-up between Tiger and Jack Nicklaus for the best clutch putter of all time. I don’t think there is anything fundamentally wrong with Tiger’s putting stroke. What’s going on then?

Is The Head on Your Shoulders Abusing You?

Tiger Woods goes into every round with the putting techniques and stroke that he’s perfected over the course of thousands of hours of training and practice. When you go into your round, you too are going into the round with all the skill and technique you have available.

Do you find it difficult to adjust your putting stroke on the golf course? I do. I have confidence in my putting, so I’m very reluctant to change my stroke. But my stroke is not usually the problem. The problem is what’s going through my head and my mind.

Too Much Noise

Distractions and frustrations make my putts unpredictable. Worse, missing the putts make me more frustrated creating a vicious circle. It just gets worse and worse.

Removing distractions is tough. I do everything I can to clear my mind on the way to the course. One of the best things I’ve found is to listen to calming music on the drive in.

Frustration Prevention

Routine helps too. Doing my pre-round putting routine sets my rhythm and let’s me work out problems on the practice green. Try it. Eliminate frustration before you get on the course.

Hot Head = Missed Putts

Do you get frustrated when you make a bad golf shot? I do. The trick is to compartmentalize that frustration. Get it out before you move your feet out of your stance after a bad shot. Leave it all right there. With your first step, start preparing for the next shot.

If you miss a putt you think you should have made, don’t rush into the  next shot. Start by taking a step backwards and don’t move forward until you’ve started to think about MAKING the next putt.

If you take your frustrated distracted hot head to the next shot or putt, you are beating yourself. Do what you need to do to cool your head and focus on preparation and routine.

Summary

The head on your shoulders is probably more important that the putter head when making putts. Putting techniques and putting tips are going be of very little help if you’re playing with a hot head. Cool down, focus, prepare and follow your routine and step back until you’re ready.

Putting drills don’t need to be long and difficult. I’ve talked a lot in putting tips about a smooth putting stroke; A stroke without any hesitation or erratic moves from beginning to end. Forgetting about the ball and making it invisible is a good tip to keep in mind.

A golf tip to remember about all golf swings and putts it that you are not striking at the ball, you are swinging through it. It’s important to understand the distinction. Let’s use a baseball analogy.

The only way to get a solid hit in baseball is to swing the bat and strike the ball. The ball can be moving 90 miles an hour or more, so there’s a lot of coordination, skill and practice required to hit a fast. On the other end of the spectrum is a bunt. The bunt is intended to just push or pull the ball in front of the plate.

Your putting stroke must be like the full baseball swing. You start it and swing through. If you decelerate the putting stroke, you’ll be bunting at the ball instead of stroking through it. Deceleration is what happens when you bunt or stab at the ball. Most times, you will push the ball to the right for a right handed putter.

So the drill is pretty simple. Get in your stance and be ready to putt the ball. Look at the target on last time, then close your eyes and make take your putt. Feel how you stroke right through the ball. Your stroke should be smooth and accelerating through the ball.

The ball may not go where you intended the first few times, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly you will compensate. Taking away your visual cues for the point of contact should go a long way toward developing the smooth putting stroke.

I’m aiming to keep these putting drills simple and to the point. Good luck.

Squaring the putter head is to fundamental to good putting. Here’s one of our shorter putting drills to help you square the putter head.

Single Point Putting Lesson

This is a single point putting lesson focusing on just one aspect of putting. Single point lessons are focused and designed to improve a particular aspect of the putting game quickly.

The Two Ball Putting Drill

The drill is very simple and there’s no learning curve. Simply take two balls side by side and attempt to putt them at the same target. If both balls travel the same distance, the putter head is striking squarely.

If the inside ball goes farther, then the putter head is not square and is striking the inside ball first. If the outside ball goes farther, then the outside of the putter head is striking first.

To improve, modify this one aspect of your putting routine until you get it right and then repeat and repeat to burn it into your muscle memory.

Too Easy to Be Effective?

Simple? Yes. Easy? Yes. Effective? Oh Yes!

The whole point of short single point lessons is to help you improve your putting game fast. Short targeted putting tips and drills can make a big difference, but must be applied. I urge you to go to the putting green before your round. Just a few minutes on the practice green saves me at least two strokes every round. Try this quick drill.

My day job is consulting to major corporations in the pharmaceutical industry. I was thinking tonight about how to best present lessons on how to putt when one of the techniques we use in focused training came to mind.

Single Point Putting Instruction

In my consulting practice, we use a tool call single point training that’s designed to be delivered quickly and focused on a single topic. That way people can learn an important point and start using it immediately. It appears that this concept fits perfecting with putting tips and instruction.

So, what I’ll be doing of the course of the next days, weeks and months, is breaking down the best that I know, and can find for you, about putting into short single point focused putting lessons. I’ll also cover other parts of the golf game that are important to putting. For instance, I see chipping and pitching as very important to the lowest possible putts in a round. If you can chip within a few feet of the hole, you can make more putts. I’ve had many rounds when my ball striking was off, but I was able to score low because of my play from 100 yards in.

The plan is to present short single point lessons on the different aspects of putting. I realize that many golfers just don’t have the time for long lessons and need quick tips and pointers that can be learned and used quickly.

I’ll be presenting one or more of these single point putting lessons each week. After a few months, there will be quite a few lessons that can be incorporated into longer instruction if you have the time. I will probably create an ebook at that point.

If you have particular points that you want covered, let me know. My plan is to start with the very basics and build for each aspect of putting.