We all need putting practice
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This year I'm determined to shave shots off my handicap through better putting.
I've long realised that I'm not going to get closer to the hole with my driving as I'm no longer as flexible as today's 20 and 30-somethings. And without real hours of dedication to practice irons will continue to lack consistency.
However, I can do something about my short game and while my chipping and sand escapes are adequate, the putting merely requires purposeful practice and a little more thought and consideration.
Like many of you I watched the TV coverage of the Dubai Desert Classic at the weekend and marvelled at the quality of the putting on greens that seemed faster than perspex.
David Howell hit one 15 footer that seemed to roll so slowly and for ever before dropping in the cup, while left-hander Richard Green consistently struck putts that never seemed to deviate.
In my opinion only the cruelty of a desert lie and the subsequent stymied shot from behind a palm tree, robbed him of a second title he richly deserved.
But give Tiger Woods credit, too. He holed putts when he needed to and from four or five feet on slippery surfaces he was magical.
Here's what I learned and will be trying to translate into my own golf this year. Maybe you might, too:
1 Grip pressure
Pro players lay their hands on the grip lighter than you wood if trapping a butterfly. The fingers weave themselves together with no tell tale signs of tension.
2 Posture
There's no crouching with these guys. They stand up to the putt, bending slightly from the waist, the knees only buckling fractionally to relieve any tension in the legs. Arms hang down naturally, no enforced elbow movement.
3 Smooth swing
The hands, arms, shoulders swing as one. The putts head goes back ever so slightly on the inside with blade and heel-toe-weighted putters and invariably straight back and through with the two-ball models, where the weight sits back and deep in the putter head.
4 Green reading
Pros have the advantage of previous rounds and the second opinion of the caddie - even using digital green reading devices in practice rounds - to help them read putts and very rarely to they misread a putt on such pure greens. Usually it's only pace that robs them.
5 Pre-shot routine
It never changes. They look behind the putt, having taken a peak from the opposite side of the hole while their playing partner is putting or when they first walk on to the green. Then it's a look down the line, step up to the putt, feel the pace, see the ball roll into the hole then replicate it.
6 Not thinking about technique
Once you've learned the mechanics of putting - the ability to strike the ball out of the sweet spot consistently - you should be able to do it automatically. Standing over a putt, a pro isn't thinking where his fingers are, if the back of his left hand is facing down the target line, whether the putter head is coming slightly from the inside. Technique is a given - rolling the ball on the right line is all that matters.
7 Now just do it
To borrow a phrase from Dave Pelz, you have to 'see it, feel it, do it, hold it!' but more than that you have to practice it. This year I will spend at least five minutes before every round on the practice green. It's here where I can manage my game and I'm determined to succeed - once I've found the right putter, of course!
