1. XXX / G O LF D I G E S T. C O M / m o n th 2 0 1 1 P H OTO i l l u s t r at i o n s B Y / jim luft

2. b r ea k i n g
100/90/80
s putting with feeL BY ToDD SOnes / with Matthew rudy
o much of putting instruction is focused on how the putter is moving
throughout the stroke, how the putterface is aligned, or what the best putters
do. With all of that information, it’s easy to get what I call too “putterhead conscious.” You’ll
putt best when you forget about stroke mechanics and focus on reading break and rolling the
ball on line. (Hint: Read breaking putts looking down the putt’s starting line, above, not on a
sones operates
the Todd Sones Impact
Golf Academy at White
Deer Run Golf Club,
Vernon Hills, Ill., and
owns Coutour Golf.
straight line to the hole.) The advice on the next few pages will get you set up, then help you
concentrate on the feel elements—the speed and the line—that are so crucial to putting well. ∂
P H OTO G RA P H S B Y / Dom furore march 2012 / G O LF D I G E S T. C O M / 127

3. breaking
1 2 3
100
T
the grip he first goal in open and closed during the Stand with your hands at your
set your putting is to roll the ball stroke, but that’s a tough thing sides (1), then extend your arms
hands straight off the face; in other for average players to regulate. and rotate your elbows inward
neutral words, to hit the ball with the Instead, try to keep the face as so your palms are facing (2). Clap
face square. You do that by square as you can throughout them together in front of you. If
using a grip that doesn’t fight the stroke. The best way to do you grip the club like that, with it
itself. You might hear teachers that is to match your hands so running through your palms (3),
talk about the face swinging they face each other on the grip. you’ll control the face better.
Posture statfacts
consistency
comes from On average, players shoot-
stability ing about 100 face 13 putts
per round from three feet or
W hen you set up with
a neutral grip, your
forearms line up with the shaft
closer. They’ll miss three or
four of them. Keep track of
your makes and misses from
(right). Then, it’s a simple mat- short range, and be sure you’re
giving these putts the atten-
ter of tilting at the hips to get tion they deserve.
down to the ball—assuming peter sanders / shotbyshot.com
your putter is the right length.
Start with a putter fitting to
get your arms and the putter
working as one unit, without
extra motion. A putter that’s
the right length will help you
do that. Then you can focus on
feeling the putterhead swing.
Any instability at setup creates
tension and destroys tempo.
128 / G O LF D I G E S T. C O M / march 2012 P H OTO i l l u s t r at i o n s B Y / jim luft

4. pre-PUTT
a good setup
WILL free
your stroke
I t sounds a bit strange
to say you need to work on
a specific position so that you
can be less mechanical, but
it’s really true about the setup.
With a good setup, you don’t
have to manipulate your stroke. statfacts
Here are a few keys. Your feet
can be slightly open or closed to Players who shoot in the 90s
three-putt about twice a round.
the target line, but your shoul-
Thirty percent of those three-
ders should be square. Your eyes putts come from within 30
should be over the inside edge of feet, which in my stats-analysis
the ball, and your hands under program is considered an error.
your shoulders. Set your hips The quickest way to lower
your scores is to target errors
over your heels (right) and your that immediately cost you a
weight on the balls of your feet, stroke—like three-putting.
with some knee flex. Remember, peter sanders / shotbyshot.com
balance relieves tension.
breaking
90
Y
the stroke ou hear the putting and letting the putterhead fall decrease your stroke size and
let the stroke referred to as a from its own weight through let the head just swing. Feel the
putter fall “pendulum,” but what does impact (above). weight in the head—getting the
to the ball that really mean? It means Instead of using the same right swingweight helps—and
learning how far back you have backstroke for every putt and you’ll develop a good sense for
to swing to putt a given dis- then speeding up or slowing distance. Make sure you don’t
tance, then relaxing your arms down to hit the ball, increase or have a “signature backstroke.”
march 2012 / G O LF D I G E S T. C O M / 129

5. ➞ FOR OUR VIDEO-LESSON LIBRARY,
bre aking TIP CLICK GOLFDIGEST.COM/GO/TIPSPLUS
80
the break
look at the
putt, not
just a spot
M ost players aim the
putter by picking a spot
by the hole that represents
the amount of break. This is a
recipe for under-reading putts.
Why? Because at address you
can’t see the putterface and
that spot without turning your
head. When you look up at the
spot, your brain sees the hole,
and you tend to inch your aim
in that direction. Then the putt
misses below the hole, and your
next impulse is to start hitting
the ball harder to take out some
of the curve. All of a sudden
you’ve got six-footers coming
back, the last thing you want.
It’s a good idea to survey
the break near the hole, as I’m
doing here, but when you come
back to the ball, look at the
whole putt. When in doubt,
play more break to avoid miss-
ing on the low side.
the line statfacts
reduce your
focus to Players who average in the
six inches mid-80s make about half of
the putts they face from six
W hen you bowl, you
don’t aim at the pins;
you aim at one of those dia-
feet. (PGA Tour players make
70 percent.) Percentages drop
off sharply at seven feet and
monds on the lane in front of beyond, so don’t beat yourself
up every time you miss a putt
you. Putting is the same. During of less than 10 feet.
your pre-putt routine, visual- peter sanders / shotbyshot.com
ize the line from start to finish.
Then pick a spot on that line six
inches in front of the ball (left).
When you set up, forget about
the hole and focus on aiming the
putterface to that spot.
So the sequence is like this:
Find the line and commit to it,
using the intermediate spot.
Then turn your attention back
to the hole and to rolling the
ball the correct distance.
130 / G O LF D I G E S T. C O M / march 2012

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