How to Improve your Putting

So, let’s talk about some of the key attributes regarding putting and why you might struggle on the green. 

(Before we begin, please note that we will have 4 putting clinics in the month of June on the 7^th, 10^th, 14^th, and 17^th.  Visit the Mad River Website to register.)

How to Improve Your Putting
In its simplest form, putting involves three things:

1. Green Reading
2. Starting the ball on your intended line
3. Managing your Speed

Within each of those components, there are various other factors that will be addressed in the pages to follow.

1. Green Reading:

Green reading is all about acquiring accurate and proper feedback in preparation for the putt through visualization.  The better the preparation, the better the execution.  You are essentially just preparing your brain by creating an internal mental image.  Methods such as Aimpoint or Vector Putting are great systems if you play a lot of golf, but for the average golfer, your visual system is your guide.  Here is a sample routine to try next time you’re out. 

GET A SENSE OF THE SLOPES ON YOUR WAY UP TO THE GREEN
On your way up to the green, pay attention to the lay of the land.  Is it sloped from back to front, left to right?  Think about the 5^th hole that does both of those things. 

START AT THE LOW POINT
To best see the break, start by assessing the break from the lowest point on the slope that can potentially influence the roll of the ball.  When in doubt, assume the putt will break towards the low point.  Think of the front right flag position on #5 and your ball went long.  A great place to read that putt would be from just over the grass bunker, behind and below the hole to see the slope.

READ FROM BEHIND THE HOLE
Next, read the break from behind the hole.  This typically allows a player to see the second half of the putt better.  The second half of the putt will typically influence the break of the putt more than the first half, due to the ball traveling at lower speed as it dies towards the hole.

READ FROM BEHIND THE BALL
Now read from behind the ball to see the first half of the putt.  Depending on the speed of your putt, this may or may not influence the break.  Long putts that start off at high speeds will typically have little break at the start versus the end.

PICK YOUR SPOT
Lastly, take all the previous information and pick your spot or your aim point.  On the practice green, place a tee where you think the break might be.  Roll a few at the tee and see if your spot was correct or not.

2. Start Line:

Starting the ball on your intended line is also an important aspect of putting.  This is referred to as Ball Direction and is dictated by:

• Putter Face Angle – the open or closed angle of the putter at address and impact
• Putter Path Direction – the amount of in-to-out-to-in rotation of your stroke
• Impact Spot – centredness of contact
• External Influences – natural elements

Putter Face Angle:


Look at the image above collected from a recent report in the SAM Puttlab and consider this.  If you have a 13-foot putt and you strike the ball with a putter that is less than or equal to 0.77 degrees open or closed (all else being equal), you should make that putt.  If your putter face is 0.80 degrees open or closed, you will burn the edge.  The numbers along the left show the face angle at the impact position for this player.  How many would have gone in the hole?

Putter Path Direction:

  Forward Stroke |  Back Stroke                      Forward Stroke |  Back Stroke

How you take the club back and through is also a key contributor to getting a ball online.  Look at these two opposite players’ patterns above recorded within SAM Puttlab.  To the right of the small squares would be their backswings and to the left of the small squares is the forward swing after impact.  The impact point is the small square of each stroke.  The player on the left pulls the club into the left as it goes through the impact spot whereas the player on the right pushes the club through to the right.  One misses everything to the left, the other to the right.

Impact Spot:


Here we see the pattern of another player in relation to where each putt hit on the putter’s face.  If you are someone who tends to come up short on most of your putts, this might be one of the reasons!  A miss of 1cm towards the toe or the heel will result in a putt that comes up 4cm short.  These patterns are usually correlated with the path that the putter is taking and would be less influential than the face angle, but it is still relevant.

External Influences:
Wind!  Mad River is no stranger to strong winds, so be aware that a wind gust of 20mph will blow your putt offline by about two inches, so you can officially blame Mother Nature for some of those missed putts!

Grass!  Unless you’re first out in the morning, chances are there was a foot-dragger or ball-mark avoider out there at some point before your tee time.  Pay close attention to your line and tap down any unsightly obstructions in your way.  (On that note, find an extra ball mark or two and repair them for anyone behind you as well.)
We could go on for hours on external forces, but let’s not.  I don’t even want to get started on dew and rain.

1. Managing Your Speed

Ben Crenshaw once said, “Most three putts aren’t caused by bad green reading but by bad judgment of speed.”  A player needs to be able to control their speed and it is unequivocally the most important aspect in putting.  Here is some advice on how to control your speed.

SPEED AND TEMPO
Speed is controlled by the length of the stroke, the tempo, and the impact point on the putter.  Better putters have the same stroke tempo for every putt, regardless of the length of the putt.  The length of the stroke may vary but the actual time it takes is very similar.  If you download a metronome app on your phone, you can set it to a 2:1 ratio (backstroke to forward stroke) and learn the tempo used by the greatest putters on earth. You can also do so by saying the number 1001 to yourself.  1000 being the backstroke and One being the forward.  It works remarkably well.
Once you have developed the proper tempo, it is now time to try it with varying lengths of backswing, abiding by the same 2:1 or “1001” tempo.  Using a Putting Ruler is also a great way to learn and if you are interested in learning more about them, please contact me and I can help you find one.
Finally, speed is important for a couple of reasons:

1. It helps you maintain the proper line.
2. It increases the size of the hole.

If you have any questions about the latter, please come find me and we can chat because this article has gone on long enough!
In that regard, if you have made it this far, you must truly care about your putting and clearly want to improve that aspect of your game.  Message me with the code word PUTTING and you will receive 20% off on your next putting lesson with me on the SAM Puttlab in appreciation of you reading this article.  I will also use your lesson as an opportunity to help one of our newer pros on how to properly use the system so that we can put it to better use here at Mad River and get everyone putting better and playing happier golf!
 
Thank you kindly for reading,


 
Ryan Rinneard
Director of Instruction/Head Teaching Professional
Mad River Golf Club
e: [email protected]
c: 705-607-4653
*For lessons please click here.