Well spring is here and summer is just around the corner. Just a short comment on the last few weeks on the PGA Tour. WOW! The Rickie Fowler show on Sunday at The Players, followed up by the clinic Rory put on at Quail Hollow were both amazing golf! Not to mention the incredible deep stable of young hungry talent. It should be not only a crazy summer of fantastic golf, but I feel it’s safe to say that the next 10 years we will be blessed to be able to watch what perhaps history will look back at 50 years from now as the “Post Tiger – Phil” era and feel strongly that those two iconic players laid the groundwork for the generation we are about to watch tear golf courses apart!

All of that said, even as I watch towering driving and iron shots hit like bullets at flag sticks there is still that one component that no one player has been able to master on even a semi consistent basis. PUTTING! Yes there have been great putters in the game. Jones was tremendous in his era. Bobby Locke the great South African, and Billy Casper needs to be mentioned of course. Players like Stockton, Miller in his prime, both rolled the rock beautifully. No putting conversation would be complete with the mention of the great Ben Crenshaw.

Although the above mentioned group were certainly elite in the putting skill set even these great flat sticks had their moments when their feel, their God-given touch, seemed to vanish for some period of time. On the other side we have witnessed many world class players go through painful periods with that one club. Some of those periods, with many great players, were so bad it was actually hard to watch. Remember the ultra-short strokes at Augusta’s 18th that changed the place in golfs history for both Ed Sneed and Scott Hoch! How about the well documented struggles of both Langer and Couples. Today we often watch world class ball striker Boo Weekly knock down flag stick after flag stick only to come up empty!

Then suddenly a week rolls along and the struggles of any of those wonderful players mentioned seemingly vanishes and the hole becomes the size of a Georgia Peach basket! Don’t ask me to explain it, I can’t. Yes you can point to technique, you can point to the equipment. I tend to point much more – to both the pre- shot ability to actually visualize the EXACT intended line as well as a rock solid belief system in self and zero ….. ZERO give up! Langer is the most amazing example I think in all of golf’s history. Twice he arrived at Augusta with the yips. Twice with two different alternative putting styles he overcame his demons and was victorious on perhaps golf’s most difficult putting surfaces in all of championship golf.

I believe most freakish great putters are born with a God-given skill. I also believe however, a great putting skill can be developed. Either way the skill requires feel. And to develop feel, thousands of repetitions are required.

In my career, I been able to develop and or turn less-than-good putters into decent putters. I believe 100% you can develop a solid putting game with proper coaching.

Go practice! Hole some putts!
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