For Shorter Putts…Keep It Simple

Having been laid up with a knee injury sustained playing football (soccer), I haven’t been able to hit the golf course for over a month. With constant rain delays during the U.S. Open over the past week, I was coaxed to come out of temporary retirement for a quick nine holes on Saturday. I was fine, a little rusty, but all in all it just felt great to get back out on the course after a long layoff.  My biggest concern, as usual, were the poor habits and fundamentals of my friends. All three of them can hit the ball, but none of them can putt to save their lives. This is not surprising in the slightest, considering 95% of their already limited practice time is spent on the driving range, and not on the practice green.

Two of them are what I would call “recreational players”. Guys who are out there just to have a good time, where their performance is not of the highest concern. The other one is a gradually improving serious golfer who has gotten much better over the last two years, and takes the game very seriously. All that aside, the three of them have the same major problem with their golf game: short putts.

I maintain, and will always maintain that the biggest reason mid to high handicappers miss so many short putts is BECAUSE THEY NEVER PUTT THEM!!! They lag a 20 footer up to about three feet from the hole, and then just rake the ball back to themselves…I hate that. The ball isn’t in until it’s actually in, but that’s a whole different story. The other reason they miss short putts is because of a mechanical flaw in their short putting stroke. Not all putts should be hit the same way. A lag putt should be hit with a longer flowing stroke in an attempt to establish a consistant feel for the speed of the greens. When you get inside of the dreaded six foot range, it becomes all about the line. In order to keep the ball on line on a shorter putt, you need to use a shorter stroke.

I see way too many people take the putter back on a five footer like they are hitting a 15 footer. Then, to compensate for that, they decelerate on the way through the ball. A serious mechanical flaw. For a putt in that range it is only necessary to take the putter back a couple of inches. If anything, this will help you keep the face more square, and the putter on the correct line, since it is traveling less distance, makes sense right? Also, since you aren’t taking it back as far as you usually would, it will force you to accelerate on the way back to the ball.

Unlike a change to the full swing, this is not a mechanical flaw that will take a lot of time and practice to incorporate. It is more psychological than anything else. The next time you get out to play, get to the course about a half hour or an hour earlier than you usually might, and hit the practice green. My favorite drill is the 2-4-6 drill. It’s pretty basic, find a flat putt or a straight up hill putt, and put a ball down at two feet, four feet, and six feet from the hole. Start with the two footer and work your way back, and keep repeating the process with a short, solid, and strong stroke. I guarantee you will be more confident and consistent with the short ones if you stick to a shorter stroke. And this way, you won’t have to rake back that three footer, you can just knock it in.

- Patrick Keegan

Tagged as: advice, golf, Putting, short game, tips