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For many of us, this time of year is an opportunity. To work on our putting. Indoors.
Now, you don't know what golf is if you have never seen one of those indoor putting machines. They come in all shapes and sizes, and they still sell the one we got my father for Father's Day when I was a kid.
Be honest. How many of you out there:
a) know that putting is everything when it comes to score, and -
b) rarely practice your putting?
I see a lot of hands. Virtually, of course. Winter truly is an opportunity to work on your putting, and winter putting practice will help your game even if you never step on another practice putting green all summer long.
There are two keys to putting and they are:
- gauging distance, and
- a repetitive stroke.
At the risk of being obvious, the repetitive stroke will help a lot towards gauging distance. Think about it: if you are constantly changing your stroke, constantly changing your stance, constantly changing your grip, constantly changing your putter, how will you ever gain a consistent strke from which you can say "I'll hit this one about six feet; I'll hit this one about twelve feet; I'll hit this one about 20 feet"?
Take this opportunity to go down to your basement, or into your living room (into your office for those who do not have a window exposing them to their boss) and practice stroking golf balls a variety of distances. This is where the indoor putting gizmo re-enters the conversation. Don't use one. Most I've ever seen (including some very expensive indoor putting greens) make the mistake of having the hole/cup/gizmo be the "terminal". I'll explain better. Take for example the very common green indoor putting cup that you plug in (the one I gave Dad). You putt to the gizmo, and when you hit it it shoots the ball back to you. What's wrong with this? The backboard.
You will know when your putt is short, but you will be patting yourself on the back every time you slam a putt into the gizmo and it spits the ball back to you, without knowing if in reality that putt would have gone ten feet by. It's the same with the little plastic (or metal) putting dish, with all those fingers pointing toward the centre (reminds me of those metal teeth at parking lots that will puncture your tires if you drive out (or back up) the wrong way. But I digress. They are designed to trap the ball if the ball goes in, theoretically replicating a hole but with the significant difference again, of a backboard of sorts. Again you have no idea if the ball would really have gone in, or hit the cup and continued on another five feet. It's exactly the same problem if you are putting to a glass.
The best gizmos in golf are free. Here's what I suggest. If you are putting on carpet, and that carpet has a design on it, aim for one of the designs on the carpet. Don't choose a design that is two feet from the wall. Make sure, provided you have the room, that your target has at least ten feet of "miss" beyond it. Stand in one spot, and stroke a ball, or two, or three, toward your target. Know that ones that gently roll over your target were probably pretty darned good putts. Know that putts that finish about 18 inches beyond your target were probably excellent putts (read: probably would have gone in). Know that any putt that finished within three feet of your target (in any direction) leaves you with a gimme for the next one.
There's a part two to this regimen, which indoor putting gizmos tend to distract you from: finishing. Don't just go and get the balls and start again; putt each one out (even if you think it would have gone in on a real hole). Most people don't play "bad" golf becase of the first-putts they missed, but rather because of the missed second-putts (or, egad, the third-putts). You know, the putts they never practice.
Finally, what if you don't have a design on your carpet? What if you don't even have a carpet? If you don't have a design on your carpet, simply make an X with some masking tape at the spot you want to putt to. Or you could even create a cup-shaped circle out of masking tape, and stick that to the carpet. Or the floor. Don't hesitate to putt on a smooth floor. A smooth floor is the "flooring" equivalent of fast greens. You will truly learn to stroke (as opposed to hit) the ball when putting on a floor.
All of this will make real greens, and real holes, seem comparatively easy when you are on them. Won't that be a nice feeling? So take advantage of this opportunity to work on your putting, rather than foaming at the mouth while staring out the window at the snow-covered grass. And I will leave you with this. Mike Weir has recently re-built his golf swing from the ground up. The year he won The Masters and two other tournaments, he had spent the previous winter, in Utah, in his basement, working on his putting. Ahem.
To see the video tip "Line vs Speed in Putting" visit http://www.hitdowndammit.com/video.htm
Clive Scarff is a Teaching Professional and author of Hit Down Dammit! For more information on his teachings, his book, and his DVD series, visit his website at http://www.hitdowndammit.com