4 tips to making more 5 footers

We face these putts many times during a round, the dreaded short putt for par, birdie, bogey (hopefully not much more than that) and too many times I see players get nervous over these shots. One of the biggest problems is that they get out of their normal pr-shot routine. I think with these five tips you will be able to confidently get up to any putt with confidence and know it will have a chance to go in.

1. The tee drill
          This first tip is a great drill I have been using over the years and many touring pros use as well. When you are on the practice green find a spot on the green about five feet from the hole, (you can choose whatever distance you want but make it relatively close to the hole). Take a few practice putts and see how much the putt breaks, it would be ideal to find a pretty straight putt when first doing this drill. Next place about two feet in front of you, where the line of the putt is, two tees that are slightly larger in width than the ball.  Next place a ball down and set your putter up to the ball and place two more tees just outside of your width of the putter. These two guides will act as indicators of how the ball is rolling and where the club face is at impact. If at anytime the ball or club face strikes a tee then you know that you did not have it on the correct path or line.

2. Draw a line on your ball
         I see a lot of people placing the ball down on the green without any indication of where the ball is lined up and coincidentally not knowing the line of the putt. Some teachers will tell you to just pick a spot on the green and putt over that to indicate how much break you should be playing. I think this is a fine tip, but there is more you can and should do. I am a visual player, I need more in my head than just a made up spot on the green, take a sharpie out and draw a line across your ball. Every golf store sells ball markers that make it easier to draw lines. When you are now reading and placing your ball down on the green, you can have a visual line on the ball and in your head. This will apply to all lengths of putts and will help improve your makes.

3. Find a practice routine that works, and REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT
         I am not a fan of slow golf, but I do think you should take your time on reading the greens and finding a correct line. This becomes more important as you get closer and closer to the hole. It is key that you find a rhythm and stick to that routine no matter the distance (minus a tap in, no one likes THAT guy). Even when you are on the practice green, I want you to still read every putt, put the line down and go through your normal routine like you were having a putt to win the tournament.

4.  Use one hand to putt when you are practicing
        This drill is something that confuses a lot of people at first, but I think it has significance. If you are right handed, you will be using your right hand, left handers use your left hand. If you are putting cross handed then just use whatever hand is on the bottom. The bottom hand when putting acts as the engine that drives the putter through the putt. A lot of putts missed happen because the stroke "broke down" well what does this mean? I see a lot of short putts missed simply because the player did not follow through on the stroke and left it outside of his target line or "pushed it". By practicing putts with your bottom hand only, not only will this help you drive through the putt and make solid contact, but it will build your confidence up. If you can make putts with one hand then two hands should be easy!  
       


                 

Wind, control your shots and improve accuracy

I just returned from a golf tournament in northern Florida. If you are not familiar with the weather down there at this time of the year, the wind can blow pretty hard. I was standing on the par 3 sixth hole on the final round when the wind was picking up slightly into us. The best way I like to examine the wind is not by throwing grass in the air, if you think about it, the ball will get much higher in the air then how high you can throw that grass up. Look at the tips of the trees (if you are on a tree lined course, a wide open course the grass throw will work). The tops of the leaves on the trees are a great indicator of which way the wind is truly blowing, especially if the wind feels like it is swirling near you. We had 165 yards to this pin on 6, the first guy took out an 8 iron not feeling much wind into his face, he came up well short into the green-side bunker. Before even seeing what he had hit I was already equipped with a 7 iron in my hand and flighted the ball lower to keep the wind from hitting it. The key was looking at the tips of the trees and seeing a steady wind blowing it towards me. Now there are a couple theories out there offering suggestions on how to hit into the wind. Tom Watson was a big fan of just clubbing up until he felt like he had enough club. I am not a big fan of this, it takes to much feel and not relying on your golf swing, by swinging just as hard it also gives you a greater risk of spinning the ball into the air and coming up short. Whenever there is a windy day, and you have a luxury of hitting into the wind on the range, go out and do it! I want you to focus on not swinging the club any faster than you normally would, this is actually a bad thing. By trying to compress the ball harder with a faster swing speed, you may actually cause the ball to spin harder and in turn have the wind throw it up in the air quicker. Take half shots with all of your irons and practice on your follow throw only going half way up. This will make the ball go a little straighter and keep it from spinning left or right. The next thing is ball positioning, make sure that ball is close to your back foot and this is where your alignment rods will come in handy. This allows the club to be de-lofted and in turn lowering ball flight. I think practicing these shots also help your tempo more and make the down wind shots, or no wind shots a lot easier, practice into the wind on the range every chance you get, it is a big game improver. The last thing I want to say is embrace a windy day, if you have a good mentality about it, then you already have an advantage over the guy who is complaining about how strong the wind is.