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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Improve Your Putting Stroke
Greater Louisville, KY
By: Betty Baird Kregor
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Photo(s) By: TWC
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If you watched this year’s US Open, you can clearly see how important putting is in winning championships. Putting is 50 percent of the game of golf, yet most of us don’t practice putting as often as, say, our iron game.
For beginners, the quickest way to improve and keep up with experienced golfers is learning a good putting stroke. Here are three of my favorite putting drills that are sure to improve your score.
#1 – Track Drill
This is one of the easiest things to do and you can even practice this at home on your carpet. Lay down two boards or golf clubs parallel to one another, with the distance apart just a little more than the length of your putter head. Remember that the putting stroke is on a track. Take your putter straight back and straight through and roll the ball down the center of the track.
Your shoulders are square. You are taking the club head back through impact square and down the line. The head of the putter does not change position in the track throughout the stroke.
#2 – Three-Ball Drill
It looks very simple but you’re working on a a lot of different elements of the putting game in this easy drill. First of all, find a hole that is straight in and straight out, without a lot of break to it. Then line up three balls about a foot apart, with the first one about a foot from the hole.
Go up to the first ball, and putt straight back and straight through. Then go to the second ball and find that same line of straight back and straight through. Then third.
One thing you’re realizing is that to hit the ball further each time in one-foot increments, you’re bringing the club head back just about an inch more on the backstroke. So on a one-foot putt you’re going to have a one-inch backstroke and long follow-through. A two-foot putt has a two-inch backstroke and long follow-through. Three-foot putt, three-inch backstroke and long follow through. Keep the rhythm constant and the line constant and increase only the backstroke to get the ball to go the further distance.
#3 Quarter Drill
Put a quarter on the back of the putter. This is a wonderful drill for people who tend to grip the club too tightly and have trouble finding a good rhythm to their stroke. By placing a quarter on the putter, your rhythm has to be absolutely perfect to make the ball go into the hole from two or three feet away. You’ll notice if you grip the club too tightly, the quarter will fall off. If you take the club back too quickly on the backswing, the quarter will fall off. If you don’t follow through properly, the quarter will fall off. This drill helps to instill the rhythm to develop a great flowing stroke.
Drills demonstrated by Kyle Blackston, a senior at John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown. In April, Kyle placed first in the University of Florida Junior Classic Tournament on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour.
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