Seve Ballestero’s Great Tip for Hitting Shots with Perfect Velocity

Golf instruction is always evolving, but the best tips stand the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Lifetime Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice that teachers and players have shared in the pages of GOLF Magazine. This week, we review a smart tip from Seve Ballesteros from our September 1986 issue.

If you look at top level players in green teams, you will be surprised by their touch. They may not make every free throw they line up, but most of the time they will have more or less the right speed. This not only cuts down on three shots, but also expands the effective size of the hole and helps them sink more shots.

Recreational players are quite the opposite. Hitting a putt at the right speed – and in their target line – is the exception rather than the rule.

Things only get more difficult when a putt breaks a lot. These shots require perfect line balance AND speed to put the ball in the hole. Most amateurs have trouble getting one of these variables right, so expecting them to get both right is extremely unlikely.

However, there is a trick that can help you find the right formula for these kisses, and it comes courtesy of the five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros.

Seve’s advice on line and speed matching

One of the club golfer’s biggest problems on the green is being too bold and hitting the putts on every break.

Because sharp left-right and right-left shots are so dependent on pace, they require an expert touch to get the ball rolling down the right line at the right speed—slow enough to get the slant, but fast enough to reach the hole. Hitting the ball correctly is a difficult task, especially when a match is on the line.

I understand this problem well, which is why I have developed a strategic – and slightly unorthodox – method of placement that requires little pressure to hit the goal with perfect speed. And if you’re not breaking a sweat, I guarantee you’ll be making more switches.

The key is swinging on an outside-in route, which means I catch the ball on the pitcher’s toe at the shot. Because the bottom of the toe is lighter than the center, it effectively dissipates the impact, allowing for a more aggressive strike. Obviously, the combination of cutting the ball and catching it on the toe will cause the ball to move a hair to the right. Using this right spin, I can hit the ball on an “inside line” to the crest of the break and let it roll back and down into the hole.

Exactly how you hit the putt “inside the line” depends on the direction of the shot.

Faced with a right-to-left tee shot, many golfers make one of two mistakes: 1) Fearing they won’t hit the top of the break, they hit the ball too hard and run right through it; or 2) Trying to be too subtle, they never reach the crest so the ball falls out of line on the low side of the hole.

I take precautions against both mistakes by setting the blade square to a point within the highest breaking point and then making a strong stroke. I take an open stance, which encourages the outside kick and a toe kick. Now when the ball reaches the peak of the rest, it moves fast enough to not fall off course, but slow enough to take the rest.

Again, to hit the shot from left to right, I opened it up and aimed the blade inside the break crest. This way the ball will return to normal rest and towards the cup.

I have been using this method for several years with success, especially on lightning fast greens. Despite its unorthodoxy, I consider this percentage certain, because even if I hit the ball a little easier or harder than I should, the ball still has a chance to roll into one of the side doors; that’s a luxury the die-hard player never had. He has to be right on the money or the ball will go through the hole or go out because it is moving with too much steam.

If you fall into the category of extra bold shooters, pay a visit to the practice green and try my method. I’m sure it will give you the inside line to cut results.