Maddie MacClurg
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Putts make up about half of the total strokes in a round of golf, so statistically it makes sense to focus on the flat club if you want to lower your scores and make big progress this season.
Fortunately, there are just a few things you need to know to improve your swing, increase your feel, and eliminate the three-putt. Check out the guide below to level up your skills and tap into your true potential.
Check your configuration
When you hit the green button, one of the best things you can do is check your setup. This allows you to build a good foundation that increases your chances of making a solid shot every time.
And, in a video with TitleistBrad Faxon, eight-time PGA Tour winner and Rory McIlroy’s coach, said it’s one of the keys he focuses on with his students.
So what does a good address position look like?
According to Faxon, every great player has four things in common:
1. Correct posture and body alignment
Faxon breaks down body alignment, which you can check in a full-length mirror, into two sections: lower body and upper body.
For proper lower body alignment, Faxon requires that the ankles, knees and hips be approximately the same width and in line with each other. He explains that a close attitude can help encourage this organization.
For a good stretch in the upper body, he says he likes it when a player’s nose, shirt buttons and belt buckle line up.
2. Ball weight and position slightly forward
“Most of the best putters in the world have a little more weight on their left side or their lead side,” Faxon says.
He says to imagine your weight is split 55-45, which isn’t a huge difference, but enough to get you moving the putter level through impact.
“You want to have a little more weight and pressure biased toward that left side,” says Faxon, “If you go too far forward, you can get hit. If you go too far back, you can hit.”
As for ball position, Faxon says to play the ball slightly inside the heel of the bullet.
3. Getting the forearms squared to the target line
A setup key that Faxon mentions is getting your body square to the target. You can practice setting the square by placing an extension rod parallel to the target line. This will allow you to check that your knees, hips, hips and shoulders are square.
Don’t stress if you’re not quite square. Faxon says to get as close as you can, but there is one area where you should focus more.
“It would be nice if your knees, hips, hips and shoulders are square,” says Faxon, “But what I like to see the most is the square of the forearms to the target.”
“To me, it gives the shooter the opportunity to be more repeatable,” Faxon says.
4. Correct distance from the ball and eye position
The last thing Faxon says all great players do is stay the right distance from the ball and have the right eye position – which you can use a setting mirror to calibrate.
To check distance and eye position, Faxon says to place a mirror down, square to your target line. Now, put a ball on the mirror and place it on it.
Faxon explains that your eye position should never move off the ball. Ideally, your eyes will fall just inside the ball and parallel to the target line, or, on top of the ball and even to the target line. Play around with different eye positions to see what feels best for you.
Master the 60-40 technique
A big misconception that golfers have about putting is that they need to accelerate during their swing. This thinking often stems from the fear of slowing down the putt and usually leads to the player taking a short to long shot.
But research (below) by Joe Hallet and Joe Plecker, two TOP 100 GOLF TEACHERSproves that acceleration through stroke, or the short-to-long method, is actually working against you.
You can watch Hallet and Plecker give an in-depth explanation of their findings herebut their research found that hitting short to long actually led to wobbly acceleration, which reduced face speed and control—and even caused players to develop yps.
Instead, Hallet and Plecker say the 60-40 technique, or a longer back and shorter back during the kick, is the way to go. Their research showed that when players switched from long to short, they had less swing acceleration, minimizing face rotation through impact and increasing speed control.
To test it, place two spikes on the ground to mark the length of your shot. One should represent the length of your backstroke, which should be two-thirds the length of your backstroke. For example, if your back is six inches, your front kick should be about three inches. It can be helpful to mark your ball position to determine the distances for each.
Now, place a ball down just parallel to the hitting station you set up. Take the pole back, stopping your backstroke at the corresponding tip. From here, let your shooter “fall” on the ball and stop your shot on the forehand.
After hitting a few putts using this method, you should start to notice that your shots come to rest a few inches apart. And, over time, you should hit more consistent, center-of-the-face shots that lead to better distance control and improved feel on the greens.
Learn to read greens
Proper setup and a solid putt will take you a long way, but if you want to be a truly great putter, you need to learn to read the greens. And this super easy access by Carly Schneider can help.
To use Schneider’s method, simply ask yourself two questions:
Is it uphill or downhill?
Does it move left or right?
You can answer these questions by glancing at your putter from the side, from the opposite side of the hole or even with a handy green reading book – just remember to check if they are allowed at any events where you can play .
When you understand the contours of the greens and how they will affect your putt, you’ll land your shots closer to the hole and cut down on those pesky three-putts.
Practice, practice, practice
Now, I know I said there were only three keys, but to become a great shooter, you have to put them all into practice. There are many useful exercises that will help you call in your remote control, nail short paws and even feel more confident about them complex slider.
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