First I line up my ball (I mark straight lines on all my balls to make the process easier) on the path consistent with my reading of the green. Next I concentrate on placing my hands on the putter — the markings on my putter grip enable me to do this exactly the same way every time. I now build my stance @12 inches away from the ball, with my feet 6 inches apart (about 1 & a half the length of my putter head), and with the ball position directly under my left eye.  I place the putter behind the ball, look at my target, look back at the ball, and then within one second start my stroke. I start my stroke by concentrating on moving the putter head back with my left arm and moving the putter head forward with my right arm. This whole process takes me between 15 to 20 seconds.

My putting process is a sequence of steps that I perform in the same order every time. I never have to think of more than one at a time, with each step naturally leading to the next. Concentrating on the sequence of steps breeds consistency & builds a putting motion that you can repeat time after time.

A huge bonus to concentrating on the putting sequence occurs under pressure — when you have that 4 foot putt to break 90 for the first time or to close out a match.  Rather than battling crunch time thoughts about how important the putt is, you will be actively engaging your mind in going through your sequence.

Let me repeat a thought from my last post.  The best place to build a repeatable putting stroke is away from the golf course, away from all the distractions of the slope & grain of the green, lag putting, the wind, etc.  Your living room rug provides you with the perfect consistency needed for you to groove a repeatable putting stroke. And you never have to worry about the weather either.

Lee Triplett ***
The Frugal Golfer

Golfers who regularly shoot over 100 typically take more than 40 putts per round. Golfers shooting in the 90s average about 37 putts per round. Golfers in the 80s, about 34 putts per round, and golfers shooting in the 70s, about 31 putts per round. The pros average about 29 putts per round.  The lesson is clear — improve your putting and watch your handicap go down.

Most of the game requires a high level of coordination, strength, & athletic ability to play at the highest level — but not putting. Compared to the full swing, there is very little motion that goes into putting, which is exactly why most of us have the capability of becoming excellent putters.  We just need to learn how!

Judging slope, reading the grain of the greens, learning how to lag putt, etc. are all important to putting, and are best learned on an actual green. However, none of these skills will do you much good if you do not have a repeatable putting stroke — the foundation of all golfers who putt well.  Even if you have a putting stroke that is flawed with the grip, stance, or how you maneuver the club, the ball will still travel basically the same path every time when your stroke is repeatable! Once you are confident that your ball will follow the path you want, getting it to the hole becomes a much more reliable process.

So how do you go about building a repeatable putting stroke? We’ll talk about that in my next post.  But I can tell you where right now — it’s not on the golf course or the putting green –  it’s on your living room rug or a piece of indoor/outdoor carpeting in your basement.  And when? When there’s snow on the ground or you’re waiting for your laundry to dry or watching tv or in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep, in other words — whenever!

Lee ***

The Frugal Golfer

Now the first thing to come to mind for most of you involves pounding ball after ball at your local driving range. Hitting real golf balls with a full swing is certainly an integral (& fun!) part of improving your game, but the full swing still is only a minor portion of the game. Keep track of all your shots during your next round & you’ll find that you will hit full shots approximately 35% to 40% of the time, short shots (pitches, chips, & greenside bunkers) 20%, and putting between 40% & 45% of the time.

While most mid and high handicappers spend most of their time practicing their full swing, most low handicappers & virtually all pros focus much of their energy on short shots & putting. That’s because they know the short game is the quickest, easiest, & most efficient way to lower scores. And perhaps the best news is working on your short game doesn’t involve a lot of money!

There are two basic ways to practice your putting — on your living room rug and on a outdoor putting green. Each is best for working on a particular part of putting. The artificial uniform nature of the living room rug limits the usefulness of practice involving aiming & distance control, but it can be an outstanding place to groove a putting stroke. By utilizing simple training aids to get your eyes behind the ball, to line up your shoulders and to restrict your backswing, you can build a fluid, accelerating, repeatable putting stroke. I strongly recommend checking out the The Putting Plane Alignment Systemwhich is ABSOLUTELY the best aid I have found for grooving your stroke. Check out the rest of my website — I don’t give out my total, unqualified endorsement to any other product!

Now take your new grooved putting stroke to your local golf course or practice facility. This is where you will work on aiming, slopes, & distance control. Since you don’t have to concentrate on the mechanics of the stroke itself, you can spend your time & energy on pace, feel, & the alignment of the ball. And outdoor putting practice is cheap or costs nothing! Full outdoor facilities normally charge only a nominal amount for use, and golf courses don’t charge anything at all. The key to working on your putting at a golf course without getting hassled is to either arrive early before actually playing or to look like you belong. I worked on my putting & short game for years at a private club without hassle because I dressed and acted like I was a member!

Practice your pitching & chipping, indoors and outside! Focus on mechanics indoors. It should go without saying (although I’ll say it anyway), use an indoor golf ball like the realistically reacting AlmostGOLF Point3 Practice Golf Balls . Then take your mechanically sound pitching & chipping strokes outdoors to work on feel, aiming, & distance control. If you have a decent size backyard, you can hits balls there. Again, some facilities and golf courses have very nice setups for chipping, pitching, & sand work. Actually any reasonably sized open area works well enough. Just make sure you have a target to focus on or bring one.

When you work on your full swing at the driving range, make sure you do so efficiently. Watch how the low handicapper (or if you ever get a chance to, the touring pro) practices. Many of them will place an extra club on the mat so they can constantly ensure they are aligned correctly. Also, few of them will just pound ball after ball. Typically, they will step away from the ball every few shots to go through their preshot routine. You should too — it will slow you down, help your concentration, & make your session more efficient (& cheaper, since you will hit fewer balls!).

Also, make sure you utilize all those lost golf balls you find on the golf course. I save up the ones I don’t recycle, put them in a baggie, & supplement the ones I buy at the driving range. Occasionally, I’ll hit them in an open field or into the woods as long as there’s no danger of hitting anything (or anyone) of significance.

The Frugal Golfer knows practicing efficiently saves dollars, leaving more money to play the game!