Practicing this integral part of the game could shave strokes, build confidence in your game
Putting is perhaps the single most important aspect of golf, yet the most neglected area by most golfers. People tend to enjoy adding distance to their game at the driving range, but forget that a missed 3-foot putt costs just as much as a poor tee shot, and is even more frustrating.
Many are not aware that putting accounts for nearly 50% of the strokes taken by a golfer.
Putting well means scoring well — isn’t that the ultimate goal of every golfer?
Good putting can make up for errors in other parts of the game. In addition, strong putting skills reduce the pressure on other types of shots, thereby actually improving remaining parts of the game by increasing overall confidence.
Given those facts, putting should be your primary focus when practicing. A helpful formula would be to spend twice as much of your total practice time on your putting as you spend on the rest of your game. For example, a one-hour practice session should involve 40 minute of putting and 20 minutes on all the other facets of the game. That may sound extreme, but again, recall that fully 50% of your score is likely attributable to putts.
The correct putting stroke is a simple pendulum motion. Backswing and forward swing should be equidistant, with a consistent rhythm. The golf ball is positioned at the lowest point of the pendulum. The pendulum motion consists of an arm and shoulder movement with minimal hand and wrist action. The keys to putting are 1) correctly aligning the pendulum and 2) effectively controlling the distance of the pendulum.
Those two putting keys can be effectively developed by practicing the following drills:
The Putting Track (alignment) — For correct alignment, focus on the putter head and your shoulders. Create a track with two clubs about six inches apart. Align the putter head so that the line on your putter head is parallel with the clubs on the ground. To align your shoulders correctly, place a club under both triceps (upper arms), so that the club is parallel with the clubs on the ground. Notice that the eyes are directly over the ball and over the target line. That allows the putter to move down this line.
Ladder Drill (distance control) — Drop balls 6, 9, 12 and 15 feet from the hole in a straight line. Start at the ball closest to the hole, concentrating on making the correct-length pendulum. Continue to the next ball, adjusting the length of the pendulum extended to various distances. Tempo remains constant regardless of distance — only the length of the pendulum increases as you are farther away from the hole.
