Practice feeling the putt
Practice feeling the putt
11/9/07 10:06 PM
Usually, when we 3-putt, it's because we have left the first putt either too long or too short; rarely do we leave our first putt too wide left or right of the hole. The reason for this is...
Lack of feel.
What is this thing called "feel"? Is it something that exists in our hands? No - feel exists in your subconscious! Take a ball and throw it to a target; you'll find that not only do you not think of your target distance in feet and inches, you don't consider how far back to take your hand to achieve this distance. This is because we grew up as kids throwing a ball and our subconscious knows exactly how hard to throw the ball to reach the target. So if you want to develop good feel as a golfer, you have to train your subconscious to know exactly how hard to hit your long putts.
The Method.
Set up about 20 balls and aim for a target about 35 feet away Once you have lined up, I want you to putt the ball at the target looking at the hole and not at the ball. Now this may feel a little weird at first, but you'll soon get used to it. Remember, do not look at the ball when you putt - look at the hole. If you hit your first putt too hard, then hit your next putt a little softer, still looking at the hole. If you hit that putt too soft, then hit the next one a little harder. Continue this with each ball until you get the feel for exactly how hard to hit the putt.
Once you have hit all the balls to your target, pick a new target and start all over again. Remember, though, this is a practice drill for the putting green only. When you are on the course, take your practice swings looking target, but once you line up look at the ball to make sure contact with the center of face. This practice drill, ( my tips on short putts last lesson, will all but eliminate 3-putting from your golf game.
Lack of feel.
What is this thing called "feel"? Is it something that exists in our hands? No - feel exists in your subconscious! Take a ball and throw it to a target; you'll find that not only do you not think of your target distance in feet and inches, you don't consider how far back to take your hand to achieve this distance. This is because we grew up as kids throwing a ball and our subconscious knows exactly how hard to throw the ball to reach the target. So if you want to develop good feel as a golfer, you have to train your subconscious to know exactly how hard to hit your long putts.
The Method.
Set up about 20 balls and aim for a target about 35 feet away Once you have lined up, I want you to putt the ball at the target looking at the hole and not at the ball. Now this may feel a little weird at first, but you'll soon get used to it. Remember, do not look at the ball when you putt - look at the hole. If you hit your first putt too hard, then hit your next putt a little softer, still looking at the hole. If you hit that putt too soft, then hit the next one a little harder. Continue this with each ball until you get the feel for exactly how hard to hit the putt.
Once you have hit all the balls to your target, pick a new target and start all over again. Remember, though, this is a practice drill for the putting green only. When you are on the course, take your practice swings looking target, but once you line up look at the ball to make sure contact with the center of face. This practice drill, ( my tips on short putts last lesson, will all but eliminate 3-putting from your golf game.
