Stopping Those 3 Putts

What is seen as one of the biggest putting woes in golf? Three Putting; so, why do we three putt?

The problem comes from the misconception that it is because we miss the short putts we leave ourselves. This is not our issue. Our ability to control the distance is. Just think back through your last few games, how many nasty distance putts have you left yourself after a long or ‘lag’ putt? Foremost how many of these long putts are left short of the hole? The majority I’m guessing; hey I’m guilty on occasion, and I think everyone is to be honest, so defiantly don’t think your alone. So, because of this how confident are you from long range? Not very I’m guessing?

So now we have identified a problem we did not really see as an issue; the correction of this can now be the turning point of our game. So why do we have problems in controlling our pace from long distance? The issue with many amateur golfers is that there is no genuine load of the club in the backstroke; and a correct release of the club through the impact zone; commonly known as jabbing. This is essentially the breakdown of their stroke timing. The most common reason for this is confidence! I’ve seen many golfer’s stroke timing breakdown when faced with pressure situations. They become conscious of the task they face. Then they become process focussed and not goal focussed. This means the golfer becomes conscious of their stroke and their action becomes manipulated and not natural.

So, the classic amateur thinking process for long putts...

The moment the golfer realises they have a long putt to deal with, they start to worry. They worry about the their score, the next putt they maybe left with, because they missed a short one on the last hole etc etc Sound familiar? 

So, when faced with a long putt, the best thinking process...

Start with analysing the putt from moment you approach the green. Study the lay of the land, whether it’s up or downhill or left to right breaking etc This helps you set precedents in your head. From this moment you can start to breakdown the putt and understand the line and pace that is needed. In my experience of coaching better preparation will always helps build confidence when approaching pressure situations. 

A great method of developing solid stroke timing is number counting, such as a; 1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3 stroke timing. Scientific testing completed by Break 30 putting performance has shown that optimal stroke timing lies approximately around the backstroke timing being half that of the forward swing. So, when we count we must feel a 1, 2, 3 to the top of the backswing, then a slight break, and a 1, 2, 3 to our final finishing position. In doing this we are attaining a stroking feeling and not a hitting sensation through impact. Promote this, in your pre-putt routine attempt to feel as if you are bowling the ball towards the hole with your hand while counting the timing in your head, or out loud if it helps. 

Before you take this onto the course try just rolling a few short putts focussing on developing a solid stroke timing and sensing that you’re bowling the ball to the hole. Next set a series of distances from 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 ft putts focussing on your routine and developing a solid confident stroke with good timing.  Remember never up, never in! So, be confident with your stroke. 

Take these methods out onto the course with you and let me know how things go! How it feels and what works best for you!

Remember practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.

Struggling with Short Putts?

If you are a golfer who struggles from short range there are a few factors that may be the reason you can’t whole those so-called pressure putts.

If you are a golfer who seems to struggle from short distance, but the further you get away from the whole the better you seem to putt. There is a simple fundamental technique that if performed correctly will totally change your game if suffer from these symptoms. If you have heard of an old proverb in golf; you must have your eye-line directly over the ball will help you putt better. Well, this is not entirely true, but if you find yourself without your eyes over the line you already set yourself up to fail. By not positioning your eyes directly over the line, your stroke will become a series of compensating movements. 

Here comes the technical bit...

The graphic above shows a player who sets their eye inside the line, and is putting from 3 different distances; 3, 6 and 9 feet. The graphic shows a relationship between eye-line and degrees of compensation in correlation to actual target-line. The graphic shows as the golfer get closer to the hole the angle between eye and target-line increases. This means that the golfer has to compensate more for their eye being inside the line the closer they get to the hole. Compensations will occur because of a parallax being created between the eye-line and the target meaning that the golfer must adjust their stroke to counteract this parallax . The reason it becomes harder to putt as you get closer to the hole is because of this. The closer you will get to the whole the greater the angle of compensation which means that you will have to adjust yourself more. This will produce inconsistencies in your stroke; therefore you can never really rely on yourself in holing out from within 5 feet. 

So, to start on the road to good short putting you must first look at your set-up whether you are in a neutral position in correlation to the target-line. A neutral set-up consists of your body-line being square to the target, your feet, knees, shoulders and eyes being square to the target like. Fitting you putter correctly so that your arms are hanging in a natural position. Having a neutral grip where the grip lies through the life lines on both hands, and your thumbs pointing directly down the shaft. Your eyes being directly over the top of the ball and square to the target line. This puts you position from where you can perform well from. Remember practice MAKES PERMANENT, NOT PERFECT so you must keep repeating your new set-up position to ‘engrain’ this new sound neutral putting position. I would prescribe a simple practice routine where you address the ball, ensure you are correctly aligned square and neutral to the target, and then walk way from the ball. This routine will help your body to familiarise itself to this new position and learn to be able to reproduce it when you take it out onto the course. 

Try practicing this position in front of a mirror, either at home, or if you have a putting mirror at the golf club. Always practice producing your set-up wearing your actual golf shoes, as the change in height from doing ti in your socks or slippers might be a an inch or so. This will change your spine angle and your eye-line. 

Try creating your new position and let me know how things go! Send me a picture  and I may be able to help you further! All the Best and keep an eye out for my next blog on “Getting Back Your Confidence on the Greens”