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Proper Alignment is Critical to Good Putting

ALIGNMENT AND PUTTING

The moment of truth…the most harrowing moment in all of golf….you stand over that three foot putt for par to win the hole and the match. Your mouth is dry, your hands tighten, and…….many of you make a quick jerky stroke lacking confidence and worse yet, you miss the putt costing your side the hole and the match.

Whew! I started to sweat just writing that passage.

Why is it that one of golf’s shortest and arguably “easiest” shots can strike fear into the heart’s of most players?

Is it because that a short putt counts just as much as the 260 yard drive you just hit or the 150 yard approach shot?

Is it because we put more emphasis on the putt with it being the defining moment on most holes?

Is it because most players just don’t practice these putts?

Maybe it’s a little bit of all of these reasons but more importantly I think it’s because missing short putts is just downright embarrassing. Putting requires no physical strength or prowess and “anybody” can make a 3 footer regardless of age, strength, or skill level…right? Anybody can do it! My 7 year old daughter Anna can make them over and over. So why do YOU miss them?

I want you to go over in your mind your last 5 rounds. Be honest! Over the course of your last 5 rounds, how many shots could you have saved had you made everything from 5 feet in? I’m going to venture a guess and say most of us would save at least 4-5 shots per round by doing nothing else but draining short putts. That might be a conservative number for higher handicappers and beginners but even so, it’s still significant.

Would you like to save 5 shots per round? Of course you would..and I’m going to give you a drill right now that will make you the best short putter in your club. This drill is not complicated but like anything else, it does require effort and discipline and it will work for you if you will use it as I describe!

You can and will become a better short putter!

Work on the following drills weekly and you will see a dramatic improvement in your short putting.

As most of you know who have read my instructional pieces or who have purchased one or both of my instruction series, I am a stickler for good alignment and no where is good alignment more important than when you’re facing a 3 -5 foot putt.

Having said that, here’s what I’d like to see you do……

Get yourself a pointer. You can use a yard stick, an old shaft, the shaft of your driver, etc.

Pick a hole on the putting green that is flat for 5 feet around and lay the pointer on the ground parallel to the center of the hole. Grab a handful of balls and start 2 feet from the cup, making sure that the blade of your putter is square to the target line. Using the pointer as a guide, you can easily check your alignment on each putt.

Monitoring your alignment constantly, make 25 two footers in a row. If you miss before you make 25 consecutively, start over at 1!

Once you’ve made 25 in a row from 2 feet, move the pointer back from the hole and make 25 in a row from 3 feet. Again, monitor your alignment constantly and if you miss prior to making 25 in a row, start back at 1. This self induced pressure will aid you greatly the next time you have a 3 footer to win a match!

Repeat this process moving backwards in 1 foot increments.

Each time you practice your putting, which I hope is often, start the process over at 2 feet and work your way to 5 feet or as far as your practice time will allow.

A little practice combined with a little discipline will improve your putting tremendously!

Your friend in golf,

Ben

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