In today’s edition of Play Smart, Top 100 GOLF Teacher Jonathan Yarwood demonstrates a putting drill that makes the hole feel bigger.
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Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.
When looking for workouts to try, it might be a good idea to check out what the pros are doing—especially when it comes to the greens. While you may not be able to replicate the swing they do, you can (with a little practice) roll the ball from the bottom onto the greens. as they do.
GOLF Top 100 Teachers Jonathan Yarwood has taught quite a few tournament level players. And when we came out to visit him at Alpine Country Club last fall, he shared with us one of the drills he uses to help his students with their putting.
Coaching for proven tournament placement
A golf hole is only 4.25 inches in diameter, and when you don’t putt well it can look even smaller. However, with the golf ball measuring just 1.68 inches in diameter, there is plenty of room to roll it into the hole. This exercise helps us remember that.
“It’s a psychological exercise to make you feel like the hole is bigger than it really is,” says Yarwood.
To start the drill, set up about 4 feet from a hole with a few golf balls. Then all you have to do is start trying to make some shots – but with a catch. On each putt you want the ball to go to a different part of the hole.
When you roll a ball into the hole, it can go into the cup in five different ways: in the center at perfect speed, in the center at last speed, in the center hitting the back of the cup, on the right edge and on the edge the left. Your goal in this drill will be to make a putt in all five different ways.
“Basically it’s simulating five different shots you’re going to hit,” Yarwood says. “It also psychologically allows you to understand that the ball goes many ways.”
Working on the ball those five different ways not only helps you count your speed and line on these shots, but it also helps you remember that the ball has plenty of space to enter the hole.
“If you do this over a period of time, the hole will feel bigger and bigger and you’ll be more and more confident,” says Yarwood. “This is definitely a tournament-proven workout.”
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