By Tom Patri | TP GOLF SCHOOLS, Naples, FL
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Practice with purpose. Build a sound putting game!
In 1981 when my Florida Southern team arrived at Hop Meadow in Simsbury, CT. just outside Hartford, we encountered a long, tight course with deep rough and fast undulated putting surfaces.
At our team dinner after our first practice round, one of my teammates turned to me and said, ” well TP it look like it’s not gonna be your week “. I looked at him knowing he was having a go at me and asked, ” yeah why’s that “? He replied, “Much too long for you and the rough is tough”. Understand, I have never been blessed with the gift of speed, therefore yards were never in my favor.
All my teammates where long and strong. I however explained matter-of-factly that those exact reasons where why I thought I’d do very well that week. For one, it’s tight and I drive it straighter then the average bear. Second, I can chip, pitch, and hit bunker shots at a very fairly high level. More so then anything else, I can putt my rock like nobody’s business. I told my teammate simply that I hoped he could keep up. They all laughed, but I was sure the others thought he was right and I was fantasizing.
Well at weeks end we had won the 1981 NCAA ll National Team Championship by a whopping 35 strokes. My teammates all played well. Mr. Short Ball, yours truly, had captured the individual National Championship with an extraordinary putting week. As predicted.
Today and every day I go to work I find time, usually early before my day starts, to putt for at least 30 minutes. Remember, putting is first and foremost about feel. Without reps that basic most essential skill (feel) is not possible.
Below I’d like to share a few of my most favorite drills that I have learned and used both for myself as well as my students the last 36 years. At age 59, I continue to putt the ball most days at a fairly high standard.
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CONFIDENCE:
It’s the old chicken and the egg thing. Putt better, confidence grows. Have confidence to putt better. I have always approached so many challenges in life with the attitude that most all things are in fact possible. I have never considered myself a dreamer but in fact a realist. Of course I do agree, sound mechanics and a fool proof practice routine clearly needs be part of the overall equation. I know so many folks with great mechanics that still do not putt well ONLY because the belief condition is flawed. Believe therefore achieve! If you develop sound fundamentals and a solid practice routine you WILL become a good putter! Believe in the process.
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General Thoughts:
Do you have to be fast to be a good putter? Do you have to be strong to be a good putter? Do you have to be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound to be a good putter? The answers to all of the above is a simple NO! So let me ask you then why can’t you develop a putting game as sound as Spieth, Crenshaw, Zac Johnson, or Stricker? I fully believe you can, and if you did, how many shots a round would you save?! The first thing you have to want to embrace to become a great putter is a full time commitment to the amount of time/reps needed to fully excel at the skill. Putting is feel based. Reps are critical. No short cuts.
Mechanics:
The beauty of putting versus the full swing is that there are far fewer moving parts and those that do move, move at a much slower rate of speed.
The three most common ills I see with the recreational golfer during the act we call putting are a poor set up condition (ball position, position of the eye line, a balanced set up condition, a grip that will allow the putter face to properly behave through the impact zone, hand and arm tension levels) a moving head or body, and left wrist breakdown.
The Putting Set Up – I like a balanced set up with the weight equally distributed both right and left as well as heel to toe. My preference is that the eyes are located either over the ball directly or certainly over some part of the target line extended. I like the ball to be positioned under the left breast. My wish is that the grip is a unified condition and that the tension levels are such that the putter head can swing freely and therefore release through impact without manipulation.
Keep the Coconut Quiet – I believe it is 100 % critical that the head/coconut remains still/quiet post impact for as much 2 seconds.
I call this my putting insurance policy. Of course this should be true of the lower body as well. A quiet coconut ensures center face contact which is vital to the player’s athletic brain long term calibrating speed control. Speed control I feel is the most critical skill which needs to be developed to become a great putter long term.
Left Wrist Breakdown – Left wrist control is in fact face control. Control your left wrist through and post impact and control the club face. Developing a flat left wrist will put you immediately on the road to many more putts starting on line.
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My Favorite Drills:
The Lag Drill – I like to put four tees forming 4 foot by 4 foot square on the green. I then take 10 normal strides away from the square (approximately 30 feet). I place a tee in the ground. I then, in three ball increments, putt the balls towards the square. I must have 18 balls (18 holes) in a row, finish in the square. If any one missed, I have to go back to zero and start again. Keep in mind if a ball finishes in the four by four square and in theory the hole is in the center of the square, the longest second putt you could have is a two footer.
The Gate Drill – My Lag Drill is all about speed control. My Gate Drill is all about the ball starting on the correct line. For any ball to start on line, clearly the face/path relationship has to be pristine at the moment of truth we call impact. I set two tees a shade wider than the size of a putter head, then placing the ball centered between the tees, and simply rehearse making a solid center face square contact. Once that occurrence becomes somewhat consistent, I’ll build a second gate a slightly wider width half way between my starting gate and a hole 5 feet away. I then ask the student to get 9 balls (9 holes) through the second gate and again if they miss they must go back to zero and start again. It’s amazing how well the eyes start to aim the putter face in relatively short time.
Now imagine 30, 60, or 90 days having worked on these two drills. One drill basically a speed control drill (The Lag Drill) and one an On Line Drill (The Gate Drill). Let me ask you, how many shots better would your bottom line on the scorecard be?
Let’s not over simplify putting, but when you break it down putting is only two primary functions. The ability to control speed and the ability to roll the ball down a desired line.
Embrace the art form we call putting! Develop a sound mechanical form along with a solid set of drills to develop the necessary form to hole more putts!
BELIEVE!!
Sincerely in golf, Tom Patri
