Which, simply put, every putt should be hit exactly in the same direction along the same straight line; the player chooses the direction based on the slope ahead of them. Now this article has all of the hallmarks of being as dreary as week old dishwater. It really does, but please stick with me because a lot of good can be done during this lockdown period, in your living room or garden.
Again, what else is there to do! If you follow these very simple points, practice them every day, your putting will be transformed because you will have created a great set of habits whilst training without pressure. It’s up to me to help you with that. That’s the easy part because the drills have been adopted by the good and great of the game for many, many years.
All of the information has been out there, the toughest part of the putting routine is understanding that the eyes have to be trained, constantly. If you think about it, the eyes are used to looking straight ahead with your eyes level, however when putting your eyes are looking down at the ball and you have to use the peripheral vision available to you, to see where the straight line from where the ball lies to where the ball should be rolling. That is a trained skill which the pros will execute almost every day.
I 100% recommend that you get into the habit of setting this drill down and getting your peripheral vision trained so that it becomes natural and you don’t become spooked when you look over the ball when it comes to you being actually on the golf course.
It is without a doubt the toughest walk in golf; the walk from looking at the straight line with you behind the ball, then moving to your address position over the ball having to use your peripheral vision and trust that the line is still true. How many times, and I ask this with a smile on my face (because I know the answer!), have you seen the line, been convinced that that’s the direction the ball should go and then stood over the ball ready to hit it and thought that doesn’t look right?
Have a good look at the photograph (right) and then go through these steps. First use two tee pegs and create a gate where the ball can only just go in between the them. Then place two alignment sticks on the ground just slightly wider than the tee pegs that are in the ground or resting on the floor. Now place the ball in the middle of this channel making sure that the ball is just a little bit ahead of your stance. Now when you place the putter behind the ball make sure that all of the alignment lines that are on your putter are either parallel to the alignment sticks or at right angles, making sure that the face is at a true right angle to the alignment sticks.
The trick or the task at hand now is to make a rhythmic pendulum like movement, with a soft grip, and hit the ball in between the two tee pegs. It’s not as easy as you think but with time you will find the rhythm and the accuracy to trust your stroke, after all that’s what you need to be able to do on the golf course when needed.
Remember at impact the ball can only go where the clubface is pointing, very simple physics, so if you’re hitting one of the tee pegs to the left or to the right that’s where the club face is pointing at impact.
There is a practical demonstration of this online which I did this morning before writing this article. You’ll find it on Facebook or in YouTube under Golf Integrated Academy, the practical demonstration is Lesson 22 of Corona Virus Coaching.
So I wish you the very best of luck, don’t go crazy, have some fun with it but make sure you do it for at least 20 minutes a day.
See you next week!