Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.
If you’re anything like me, you’d much prefer a right-to-left putt to one that breaks in the opposite direction. I feel much more confident when I have a putt that I lift rather than cut.
When recreational golfers approach these players from left to right (assuming the golfer is right), there’s a good chance you can predict how they’ll miss the putt, and that’s low and over the hole. According to instructor Kelan McDonagh, this low, long miss is more common among the students he teaches.
“In general,” says McDonagh. “We read the shots a little bit and hit them.”
This foul pattern will not only ensure that you don’t make too many left-to-right shots, but it will also lead to tons of three-pointers. When the ball drops below the break line (ie starts to miss on the low side of the cup), the ball will continue to drift further and further from the hole.
Ideally, you want the ball to pick up closer to the hole after losing speed. And the best way to do that is by keeping the ball on the high side of the cup for as long as possible.
“In general, what we’re trying to do with the recreational player is get them to see more rest,” McDonagh says, “because as the ball slows down, gravity will pull it downslope.”
Armed with this information, you can make two key adjustments to become more successful when facing left-to-right shots.
1. Play more time off than you might first think. And 2. Don’t hit the shooting target so hard.
When you do this, you’ll keep the ball above the drop line longer, which means that as the ball loses speed, it will get closer and closer to the hole. Do it and you will three-shot less often and maybe even make some from a distance.
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