Scoring Tip #1: The Short Putt
As a result of the last five month's newsletters, I have received numerous responses citing the steady head and weight forward at impact as the key ingredients that have helped improve ball striking leading into the summer. Thank you for your input! As I mentioned in the January 2012 newsletter, the tips for the second half of the year will address five key areas which will lead to lower scores if practiced properly. These topics will address drills not mechanics. If you follow the guidelines, even one or two of the five drills can truly help lower your scores.
The plan for the next five tips begins with putting practice, one drill for short putts and one for distance putts. The reason we need two drills for putting is because research from Dave Pelz suggests putting counts for at least forty percent of a golfer's total score. After putting, we will work on wedges inside of forty yards of the green. The following month we will focus on the all important 100 yard club (which is different for everyone). Finally, the tee ball club! Similar to the 100 yard club, not everyone hits the driver off the tee, so the idea here will be to address getting the ball in play!
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Scoring Drill #1 |
As we do in our three day golf schools, I will begin on the putting green and work back to the tee box. For drill number one in putting, you will need ten tees and a yard stick (or something of similar length) since we are only concerned with the three foot putt this month. If you do the following drill once a week for the next four weeks, you should see wonderful results every time you play. Please refer to the picture for scoring drill number one set-up. Simply use your ten tees to form a circle with a 3 foot radius around the cup. Place the ball on the green near each tee and complete five putts from each location for a total of 50 practice putts from three feet. The goal is to make at least 45 of the 50 every time you challenge yourself with this drill.
One way to develop confidence in golf--and life--is through successful repetitions. Making ninety percent of your three foot putts every time you practice putting will not hurt! This drill takes approximately fifteen minutes to complete so once a week equals one hour per month. You need to make a lot of three foot putts in this game; therefore, this is where we must begin our drills to help lower scores. Next month we will turn our focus to lag putting. Good Luck!
Ted Frick
Owner/Director of Instruction
Classic Swing Golf School
2005 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year
TPI Level 1 Certified Golf Fitness Instructor
G.S.E.D., The Golfing Machine
[email protected]