Want to improve your golf?
Take advice from the best! Jack Nicklaus said if you learn to putt correctly, your driver will improve.
The reason is simple. When you make a putt, you leave the green with confidence. It can also rescue a bad drive or a wide iron shot.
Here are my thoughts on putting and fundamentals.
- 1. Fundamentals make putting more fun — Learning grip, stance, posture, alignment, and how a proper stroke feels will accelerate your game.
- 2. Practice putting with your eyes closed — It will help you feel/learn correct mechanics. When I learned keyboarding skills (typing), our instructor made us practice with our eyes closed. Yes, we made mistakes, but we learned to use the keyboard while watching the screen, not our fingers.
- 3. Watch the target, not the ball — Look down the road when you drive. Look at the catcher when you throw. It’s the same when hitting a putt.
- 4. Read (Look at) the green from different perspectives — Measure your green from different angles. Look at the slope from each side, the line between the ball and hole and from the green’s lowest point, so the slope is obvious.
- 5. Read the green with all your senses — Is the grass dry or damp? Soft or hard? What color is the grass? Shiny grass means the ball rolls faster or slower on dark grass. But test with your eyes and feet! Feeling the grass or ground with your hands is not allowed.
- 6. Toss a ball to read the putt — For real! Toss/roll a golf ball nice and smooth, almost like bowling. The movement improves your feel for distance and direction. Master that physical toss, and soon you can visualize the ball rolling along the slope and dropping into the hole.
- 7. Love to putt — Take a friend, have fun and be social.
By Doug Weaver, Director of Instruction, Palmetto Dunes Golf Academy. Photo by Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort.
North Carolina and South Carolina PGA Teacher of the Year, Doug Weaver, conducts “Where Does the Power Come From?”, a free interactive clinic and demonstration every Monday at 4 p.m. at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. Volunteer for a free lesson and some will win prizes! Call (866) 455-6890 or go to www.palmettodunes.com for more information.
