Over the past few weeks, I’ve been harping on the word “consistency” so much, it’s beginning to sounds like a broken record. I wanted to change it up a bit this week and offer up a new topic and delve into something a bit different, putting. When you have a single part of the game that accounts for almost 40% of your score, it’s hard not to focus on it very heavily. I mean, lets face it, there is nothing worse than hitting a perfect drive and a great approach only to three putt your way to a bogey, or worse yet, a four putt double bogey. Putting is such a huge part of the game and one of the most neglected areas of practice.
First, work with what you have. There is no magical piece of equipment that will make you putt better. Putters are all about feel and confidence. Once you find one that fit those needs, practice with it. I recently switched back from the putter I had shot my best golf ever with to a Wilson 8813 that I used before it. My average putts moved from 34 per round to 32 per round. Not exactly a ‘huge’ change there, but I feel a bit more confident in the 8813 at the moment so I’m staying with it. In realistic terms, you have a few different options in models, but most of them are classified in one of the four following designs: blade, improvement blade, mallet and space age. I made up that last one, but seriously, some of these things look like spaceships from the original Star Trek show. Fortunately, all four styles of these putters will roll the ball just fine, so it comes down to what can you aim and what do you feel the best with in your hands.
Once you have your putter chosen, and honestly, take your time with this one, you need to start working on your stroke. You have a few simple drills you can do inside, even if you have hardwood floors, that will help you master your putting stroke. Many people spend money on expensive aids, but you can nail about 90% of what they do with a few simple household items and a Sharpie pen. Here are my 5 favorite drills for “free” indoor putting practice.
1) The 2 Book Path Drill – Place two books on the grounds about a 1/2” wider than your putter. Starting with the putter in the middle of the books, simply pull the putter back 6 inches and then swing forward until you are about 6 inches in front of the center. You want to master this “1 foot” area as this is the contact point of the swing. What you do before this and after this in your swing doesn’t matter, as long as your 1 foot contact area is the same every time, you’ll be consistent with your putting stroke.
2) Aim At The Coins – When you finally master your stroke, the next important thing is to learn how to aim your putter so that perfect stroke hits it where you want to. For this, you’ll need a 12-18” string or ribbon, two coins and some glue (a hot glue gun works great for this tool!) Assemble the tool in the following manner – glue one end of the string to the center of the first coin, then repeat this with the opposite end on the second coin. This is going to create a line with two weights at each end. Spread these out on your floor and and work on lining up the site lines on the putter with the string just in front of the first coin. Once you feel confident in the alignment, begin making strokes, concentrating on keeping the alignment line centered on the string. Your goal is to follow the line to the second coin and stay in alignment the entire time. It’s the same as the book drill, but with a more narrow line to follow. You can even tag team this drill with the books for an even stronger practice session.
3) Man In The Mirror – It’s back to school time, so the selection of products for this drill should be at the perfect level. What you will do is get a ‘locker mirror’ or some sort of plastic mirror that is about 8x10 in size. If you are on a budget, check your local dollar store, this does not need to be a high end item. Once you have the mirror, you will need to draw a cross on the mirror at the halfway point, so the lines cross in the middle of the mirror. You will then line the face up to the lines on the mirror – the first will align the face, the second will align to the path. You can then watch the line in the mirror and yourself to work on keeping your eyes down on the ball through impact. This will build consistency in not pulling your head and increase your focus at impact.
4) Count To Three – Just like it says, this drill will have you stroking the ball with a smooth three count, no matter how far you need to hit it. Building your pace will help you increase your distance accuracy. A shorter stroke on short putts and a longer stroke on long putts is fine, but if you swing harder or faster on one than the other, your distance control will be horrible. 1 – pull the putter away from the ball, 2 – the movement back to the ball, 3 – impact through the ball. Simple, easy and done in a perfect rhythm. The smoother your swing gets with counts, the better your distance control will become. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.
5) Do A Shot To Make A Putt – Ok, so this sounds more like a party game than a drill, but the point of this one is to take a standard shot glass (not one of the taller shooter glasses, but the short stubby ones) and putt to it for a target. This is something that should really only be done on carpet, but if you don’t have neighbors down below, you can even do it on hardwood. I don’t recommend it for tile though, the ball tends to bounce a bit too much. Just like the drill sounds, you take a shot glass and place it on the ground. Start at 3 feet away and hit the glass softly 5 times. Then move back to 4 feet and repeat. Get all the way to 6 feet, you win. Go have a drink and relax, your putting training for the day is complete. If you miss though, you start all over.
With these 5 simple drills, which cost practically nothing to perform, your putting can be better than ever in just a few minutes a day. Most of them don’t even involve hitting a ball. If you would like to see a tutorial on how to make any of the items that I use in my putting drills, just let me know and I will be happy to make a YouTube video of them and post it here. Most of them were assembled with common household items and a Sharpie marker, but others required a minimal purchase like the locker mirror at the dollar store. Even if you only adopt one or two of them to practice when you can, you will probably end up shaving at least 2 or 3 putts a round off your average in no time.
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