Golf Swing Secrets Revealed

Continually missing short putts is one thing that frustrates all golfers to no end. And of course no one is immune to, at least bouts of, poor short putting. Anyone that has ever played golf, with the possible exception of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, knows how painful it can be to hit a wonderful approach, only to blow the rare five-foot birdie chance. Or execute a perfect chip - but miss the three-foot par save.

I get asked all the time — what’s the secret to short putting? My answer is always the same and extremely simple — know your line.

I know, I know — most would agree that speed is the most important aspect of putting. Without consistent speed, you cannot have a consistent line. A fifteen-foot putt hit with the force to die at the hole has a completely different line than the same putt hit with the force to go 3 feet past the hole. So yes, I think overall, speed is the most important thing in putting. But — on short putts — or at least most short putts — line is the most important thing.

I tell my students to be speed-aware from outside 5 feet and line-aware from inside 5 feet. This is usually a good rule of thumb — unless you’re lucky enough to play a course line Augusta National everyday. Then you may have to worry about speed on 3-foot putts as well. But for the rest of us who play on normal golf courses — we can usually get away with thinking about line only from short distances.

Here’s what I want you to do.

Go to the drug or hardware store and buy some string. Then, cut off about 15 feet of string and attach both ends to either long nails or pencils. Just wrap the string around the pencils or nails and use regular scotch tape to secure the connection. When done, you will have the two pencils or nails connected by the string. And my guess is; the distance, when pulling the string taut, between the two pencils will be about 10 feet or so. That’s perfect!

Okay, next I want you to find a straight putt on your practice green. Then, take one of the pencils or nails and stick it in the ground just behind the hole. Then, put the other pencil or string in the ground as far away from the hole as the length of your string will allow. Now, with the string, you should have a straight taut line sitting a good 3-4 inches above the ground. This will be your training tool to become a great short putter.

Now, go ahead and place your ball directly under the string — about 5 feet from the hole. Also, in set-up, your eyes should be directly over the ball and the string should dissect the ball. This guarantees the ball is perfectly on the correct line. From there, just make putts. You will be able to see in a matter of minutes what kind of stroke you have. If you cannot make putts from there — then you have some work to do. But my guess is — you will, within 10-20 balls, start making putts consistently. And within a couple practice sessions, you’ll start making 50 putts in a row easily. What’s happening is — the certainty of the line has improved your stroke and confidence. You KNOW the line, which allows you to trust. It really is that simple.

Next, as you’re setting up to the ball and making all these putts in row — pay attention! Pay attention to looks and feels. And most important, see the string before you stroke every putt. Swivel your eyes right down the string line and see the ball rolling in the hole. Then, when on the golf course, visualize the string. As you set up to the ball and prepare to make your stroke — swivel your eyes and “see” that string. Of course it won’t be there — but you can still see it. As a matter a fact, a lot of times, in practice rounds, I have my students take the string with them. Then, when they have a five-foot putt — I tell them to set up the string — just to get confidence.

If you do this — you will make tons of short putts — and score much better.

So remember — know your line from short distances and watch your scores drop considerably.

Good Luck!

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 at 2:57 pm and is filed under The New Four Magic Moves, Putting, Pro Tips, Websites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.