Putting practice

Today we are looking at putting with Jennifer Hide.

Jennifer has reduced her handicap substantially this year but she feels she is leaving a few shots out there on the greens.

Three-putting or worse is a major cause of lost shots and it’s a common problem for most people because their distance control rather than accuracy is poor.

In putting we are looking for a pendulum action with the backward and through swings being of a similar length and speed.

To practice this I have suggested to Jennifer that she uses a flagstick to help measure her strokes.

By placing the ball on the joint of the red and white stripes (see Fig. 1) and making a backswing to the next joint and the same on the follow through, see Figs. 2 and 3 it helps measure the swing.

Figure 1	Figure 2	Figure 3

To hit the ball further we increase the length of both back and through swings rather than hit the ball harder or decelerate into the ball.

The biggest cause of poor distance putting is the right hand tending to dominate the stroke causing the left wrist to hinge. If the left wrist can be kept firm your distance control will improve.

You can eliminate your three putts through better distance control as you very rarely hit the ball more than two to three feet wide even on the most severely sloping greens.
In putting, the fewer moving parts there are, the simpler and more consistent your method will probably be.

To that end, I encourage you to work on building a stroke that is controlled by the shoulders.

Focus on the triangle that is formed between your hands, arms and shoulders, and then, keeping your head and lower body perfectly still, rock your shoulders so that you move the triangle smoothly back and through.

Create an under-and-up pendulum motion with your shoulders, where your chest stays square to the target line, as opposed to opening your body to the hole.

Practice practice practice ..

Today we are looking at two practice drills to improve our putting distance control which we discussed last week.

Three putting generally happens due to poor distance control rather than wide hitting.
Jennifer (Fig. 1) and Rachel (Fig. 2) are demonstrating two practice drills.

Jennifer has balls spaced out every two to three feet and is practising to lay putt – trying to lay the ball up to the edge of the hole rather than trying to hole every putt.

I would suggest you start with the ball nearest the hole. Putt the first ball from two feet then the next ball two feet further back, the next one two feet beyond that and so on.

Should you fail then start again.

Figure 1	Figure 2

Rachel’s putting practice involves a similar theory (figure 2). She is trying to putt to the hole side by using tees to mark a large semi-circle. We are trying to encourage Rachel to get the ball close but beyond the hole. Remember the saying ‘never up, never in’.
Remember to encourage good pace control, we are encouraging a putting stroke, not a hit, with the back and through swings being of similar pace and length.
Using these two drills will definitely improve your putting.

- Dr Potter says: To help protect yourself against any unwanted hingeing in the left wrist, hold the putter so that the shaft runs high across the plam of your left hand, resting against the fleshy pad below the thumb. Then close your hand, draping your left index finger over the fingers of your right hand. Doing this forms what is known as the reverse overlap grip – the left hand is now effectively locked in place on the club.
Remember, in a solid pendulum stroke, the shoulders control the motion from start to finish while the hands are passive.

How to play a difficult decision..

With well maintained golf courses and clearly defined aprons and greens the ball can often rest up against the collar as illustrated (see image left).

The difficult decision to make is which club to use and how to play it, see Fig. 2.

Academy pupil Jennifer Hide is seen here faced with exactly that dilemma. There are various options to choose from when determining club selection: should we use (a) a putter, (b) a sand wedge or (c) a 3 wood?

Figure 2	Figure 3

I would suggest that the putter is the worst option to take as it is likely to get snagged up in the longer grass. I would go with either the sand wedge or the 3 wood.
The action to be used is a putting-type motion. You are trying to hit half way up the ball so the club you are using brushes across the longer grass.
Jennifer has used her sand wedge playing what we a call a belly shot – the larger sole of the club will allow for more bounce and makes it easier to brush across the longer grass and avoid getting caught up.

Whatever club you choose to use make sure that you get a feel for the shot and do make some practice shots. On this occasion Jennifer holed her first shot from around 20 feet using a sand wedge. Jennifer, whose handicap has tumbled this year, didn’t do too badly either with the 3 wood on her second attempt leaving the ball only a couple of feet away from the hole.

The putter was never really an option as the blade of the putter would have been caught up in the grass and it would have taken a much greater effort to get the ball moving, which means there’s a greater chance the shot would have missed its intended target.

- Log on to www.en24.co.uk/golf to see how not to get hot on the collar.

Playing down the hill

Your approach shot has landed on a down slope of a bunker by the green, a situation we would like to chip and putt from.

Assuming the correct posture in this situation is absolutely critical. You will see that the ball is positioned slightly right of centre and the stance is open aimed left.

The left leg is flexed and normally the weight would be positioned 60 to 70 per cent on the left side for a pitch shot. (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1

Because of the severity of the slope we must keep good balance. You can see my right leg is very flexed with the weight on the inside of my right foot.

As you play down the hill the club will de-loft causing the ball to run on more on landing. Therefore, a more lofted club should be used to counteract this.

A stiff-wristed arm action should be used with your back and through swings being approximatley the same length and pace.

Make sure you keep the club low to the ground on the follow through otherwise the ball will be thinned or topped. In any case this shot will run on a lot.

Maintaining balance is the key to this shot. By shortening your grip to the base of the grip as illustrated will give you some more much-needed control. A little practice will pay dividends.

Chris focuses on bunker shots with Jennifer

This week we have a look at bunker technique and the problems players of all ages face when having difficulty extracting themselves from a bunker.

Young players like Jennifer Hide, though, have managed to develop a sound technique early on in their game and can approach the shot with very little apprehension. The majority of club players dread landing in a bunker and straight away, when confronted with the problem, talk themselves into dropping shots.

Here’s where a more junior player can come into their own. Jennifer, has learned the basics and can apply them, therefore, has no mental block where this shot is concerned.

There are several key points to playing a bunker shot:
- Assuming you have a good lie, always use your sand wedge in greenside bunkers. With its heavily flanged sole, your objective through impact is for the club to ‘bounce’ through the sand, and not dig uncontrollably.

- It is important to keep the clubface open throughout the swing (See Figs 1 and 2). And to do that the way you form your grip is vital. Remember always open the clubface a few degrees and then take your grip. Gripping normally and simply turning the clubface into an open position just does not work.

- With that in mind get in the practice bunker and follow these rules: Set your body approximately 30 degrees open in relation to the target line (weight evenly distributed), and position the ball forward in your stance. Now flex your knees and shuffle your feet into the sand for a firm footing.

Focus on a spot two or three inches behind the ball – that’s where you want the back edge of the club to enter the sand.

Swing the club back smoothly along the line of your toes, and let your wrists hinge naturally in response to the weight of the clubhead.

As you start your downswing, re-route the club along the target line (See Fig. 2), so that you encourage a shallow angle of attack. Your swing should feel like there is a slight loop in it.

Accelerate the clubhead through the sand – don’t quit on it!