Building your speed on the greens is the key to eliminating three shots.
GOLF.com
Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.
One of the key ingredients in good placement is the right speed. If you can spin a putt at the right speed, it makes the effective hole size larger and gives you a better chance of making putts.
The right rhythm is not only useful for doing shot, though. When you have your speed dial, it reduces three shots and helps keep big numbers off the card.
When you watch a great player on the greens, you will notice that their speed is usually LOT good. They don’t have to grind on their second paw because they leave their first roll inside the gimme area. This should be something that all golfers aspire to.
For more on how to dial in our speed on the greens, we turn to the elite mid-morning golfer and Cup of Bridges participant Taylor Wood.
How to count your speed on the greens
Getting your speed on the greens right is essential, but it’s not always an easy feat. With different courses having different green speeds, you have to adapt every time you hit it somewhere new. And if you want your game to travel, you need to get your speed on the greens wherever you play.
Taylor Wood knows this fact well. As an elite mid-morning golfer, he plays in tournaments all over the country—and whenever he makes it somewhere new, he makes it a point to get a feel for the speed of the greens.
How does he do this? It all starts with laying a foundation.
“I keep it simple and think about my home (course) speed,” Wood says.
Whenever Wood arrives at a new course, he starts by putting like home. Often times, the speed of the new greens is not like the speed of his home course, but with this baseline in mind, he can make the necessary adjustments.
One of the drills he likes to repeat to get a feel for speed is placing an item from his bag — like a glove — in a random spot on the green. Then he spins a few shots towards him in order to stop the balls as close as possible.
“I’ll hit some putts where I’m not focused on making a putt,” he says. “I’m really taking my feel from home, bringing it here and hitting some shots to figure out how to recalibrate.”
If you’re playing a new course, it might be wise to take a page out of Wood’s book. Before you tee off, head to the practice green and roll your shots to get a feel for the speed. If you can do this, you will reduce the three shots at the beginning of the round and get off to a faster start.
