"Sometimes the biggest problem is in your head. You've got to believe you can play a shot instead of wondering where your next bad shot is coming from." Jack Nicklaus
The flat stick is the only club that is used on every single hole during every round. So, the putter needs to be the most trusted club in the bag. But unfortunately for most avid golfers, this is the club that gets rotated in and out of “time out” and has multiple backups. Sometimes there is a lack of confidence in putting due to the frequency of three putts, but the blame gets put in the wrong place. Time after time, I see and hear about players and their lip outs as well as edges burned on the 15 foot second putts. Even though during a player’s story this is the part viewed as the tragedy, it is not where the improvement needs to be made.
Just like at this weeks The Open, lag putting is the best way to relieve stress throughout rounds. All golf courses have a specific “defense” designed to test the players and be protected from constant low scores. At the Masters this is in the constant growth in length as well as the undulations of the greens. At the US Open the defense is in the dangerously high rough and needed precision off the tee. At The Open played in Europe, the defense comes from the enlarged greens and added chaos from the weather. So to better take down your local course that requires constant putts throughout the round from beyond 40ft, try these tips, and eliminate more three putts.
The biggest mistake players make when lag putting, comes from the unnecessary acceleration and deceleration of tempo. Time after time players make the error of striking putts harder the longer the putting distance is to the cup. After hitting a putt 20 feet too far on their first putt, players overcompensate by slowing down their momentum, and the next putt only travels about half the needed distance. Resulting in the dreaded three putt. To correct these mistakes, improve your practice routines with less focus on short makeable putts and more emphasis on putts from longer distances with lower make percentage. More often than not during a round, we are putting from distances we are not comfortable with and likely two putts is the safe play anyways. We should be practicing these distances more, to turn three putts into comfortable lag putts resulting in tap in two putts.
While standing further away from the cup imagine your chest and arms swinging together like a grandfather clock. This visualization will help your chest and arms turn back together, while being guided forward to the target as one unit. This one unit is now able to turn back and forth in perfect harmony with no change in tempo. This improvement creates better muscle memory on repeating your putting tempo, effectively causing your putts to travel a much more consistent overall distance and dispersion. Start from 40 feet and practice until you are able to have multiple putts in a row end inside of 5 feet. Once able to be accomplished, adjust your starting position to a different angle to the cup. Continuously add comfort from an array of different elevations and distances. Bring this gained comfort from the practice green to your next round for lower scores and more enjoyment.
