Putting: Two important but different skills

Putting is 40% of the game at virtually every handicap level.  The higher the scoring level, the more putts are needed, but the ratio of # Putts/Score holds steady.  That is, up until the 20+ handicaps when the pickup holes, with no putts recorded, slightly lower the percentage.

So what are the two skills?

1.  Short putts:  Line and accuracy are crucial inside 10 feet.  Practicing a solid setup and alignment routine will help insure consistent accuracy.

2.  Distance control:  In longer, lag putts, the most important skill to develop is feel because distance is more important than line.

How much to practice each skill

A study of putting distances faced by the average golfer (15-19 handicap) reveals that practice time should be split 80% short putts / 20% distance control.  That's because 83% of total putts during an average round occur inside 10 feet (this is all putts:  1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd …).  When looking at just first-putt opportunities outside 10 feet, 88% fall between 11 and 40 feet; only 12% at 41+ feet.  

  

To practice your distance control, I recommend spending time gaining confidence in your 30 foot lag.  You can then make all other lag putts a function of that stroke.  It is very important when playing away from home to set up 30 foot tees and putt back and forth (I use two balls) until that distance becomes almost automatic.  When you hit the first green, you will be ready to stroke the first putt with confidence.

Work with your instructor on the specific practice drills for each skill, but your goals should be:

Short putts:  Increase your 50% Make distance – the distance from which you hole 50% of your putts.  See where you are on the graph below.

Distance control:  Work to expand your 2.00 Putt distance – the distance from which you two-Putt the vast majority, but one and three-putt with the same frequency on the rest.  Again, see where you fit on the graph below and work to extend your 2.00 distance.

You will need a way of accurately recording and analyzing your putting distances.  I recommend ShotByShot.com.  Self-serving?  Perhaps, but it's the only place I know where you can easily and accurately get the information you need to determine your exact strengths and weaknesses, and why. 

Determining your putting distances? I recommend that you build this into your pre-shot putting routine.  When you reach the green, you need to mark your ball and walk to the flag.  Simply count your steps.  For the longer putts, get to the midpoint - check the break - and count your steps back to your ball.  Then double the number.  Finally, know the distance of your average stride – heel to heel.  I am 6’ 1” and my average, walking stride is 28 inches.  I have to stride out a bit to average 3 feet, something that I actually practiced in my living room until it became automatic.

Pre-shot routine revisited

I last wrote about this when Lucas Glover won the US Open [16 Seconds to Victory] but Ian Baker-Finch smartly brought it up in his 2nd round commentary of the John Deere Classic when he remarked about the consistency of Steve Stricker's routine.  Some years ago I had the great pleasure of spending a few days at the Kohler resort (Whistling Straits +) in the excellent company of Ian - I guess I once did get invited somewhere...  At dinner one night we got Ian talking about his British Open win and I specifically asked how he handled the tremendous pressure of playing the back 9 with a slim lead.  He acknowledged the intense pressure and said that he dealt with it by relying totally on his routine.  I remember vividly how he went into a mini-trance recalling exactly what he did as he approached every shot, right down to the "...Ok set, one waggle and GO!" almost knocking over a glass of wine.  We should all learn from this and practice our routines whenever we practice - it's that important.

I put Steve Stricker on the clock this week and he consistently took 15 seconds to strike the ball from the time he stepped forward from his position behind the ball.  When I put Tiger on the clock in the 2007 PGA, his routine was a speedy 10 seconds.  The difference, Steve includes a practice swing EVERY TIME, Tiger did not.   Let me be clear about exactly what I count as the pre-shot routine.  All the decisions have been made, the club and shot selected and visualized.  What I time is when the player stands behind the ball facing the target.  I start the watch when he moves forward from that position to begin his setup and I stop the watch when the shot is struck.  In other words, it is not the thinking or decision making part, it is strictly the execution of the planned shot.

I see so many amateurs that take two and three practice swings before every shot.  There should be a legal limit of ONE.  But bottom line consistency is the key to a winning routine - at every level of play.  Coaches and instructors should be helping their students develop an effective and efficient pre-shot routine.  It should serve to get them set up for a successful shot and occupy their conscious minds with positive, process oriented keys.  Finally, it should be quick - no need for more than 15 seconds but 10 is even better.  Don't hesitate to put your students on the clock.       

SLOW PLAY is alive and its poster boy is J.B. Holmes

After some research, I determined that JB’s glacier-like pace in the quarterfinals of the Accenture Match Play Championship was not simply a failed attempt at gamesmanship.  As I looked for material on the Tour’s Slow Play rules online, I found more than a few articles or blogs that singled out JB Holmes as a culprit.  It was mentioned in the telecast that he is know for his “deliberate” pace but I think that he single-handedly forced the change in the format from the usual 36 holes to an 18-hole final.  Bad weather was the stated reason but I believe the decision was made when JB was 5-up on Bubba Watson after 10 holes and the Tour realized that, should he make the finals, 18 holes would require the normal time allotted for 36. 

If you did not see it, JB Holmes could do nothing wrong and was killing Bubba Watson – 5 up after 10 holes.  Match over right?  Not so fast – Ha Ha.  JB hit an errant drive on the 10^th hole and slowed down dramatically.  Peter Jacobson quipped:  “He’s gone into a 4 corner stall.”  In spite of it, JB won the 10^th and it only got worse.

As I watched, thankfully on DVR, I thought that he was purposely stalling in an attempt to alter Bubba’s tempo and charge.  I know I have run into more than my share of opponents that have this strategy in their competitive arsenal – I loath it AND them and have learned how important it is to ignore it and rise above it.  Thankfully, Bubba was undaunted and I believe spurred on by it to win.  Further,  JB’s unusual slow play, and the apparent lack of confidence and focus, had to play a large part in his undoing.

How slow was he?

For perspective, the PGA Tour allows 40 seconds per shot and the LPGA Tour has recently stepped that up to 30 seconds per shot.  It is a bit more complicated than that but those numbers set the standard for how long it should take from the time it is determined to be a player’s turn for him/her to hit the shot.  Obviously, it behooves players to have their “homework” done and be ready to play before it actually becomes their turn.  If so, 40 seconds is more than enough time, or is it?

JB’s abuse of EVERYONE’s time was so much the story that I put a stopwatch on him and Bubba.  Thanks to my DVR, I was able to time eight of JB’s normal shots.  To be fair, I selected only those that were not “trouble” shots but were either tee shots, shots from the fairway following good drives and one approach shot from the rough in a JB-described “good lie.”  I also needed to be able to capture the start time when it was clearly JB’s turn to play, which further limited the number.  For these eight, JB averaged an abysmal 70 seconds including the quickest at 58 and worst 154 seconds.  Remember, these were not the really demanding ones.  I’m not counting the 8:13 it took to take two drops on the 18^th hole or the 8:42 to drop on the play-off 10^th.  Incidentally, the time to execute his shot following both of these drops exceeded 60 seconds.   

  

On the other hand, Bubba Watson is anything but a dawdler.  A typical tee shot took 20 seconds from the time he pulled the club from his bag.   One of his slowest times involved a trouble shot through a bush on the play off hole that took 29 seconds from when it was determined to be his turn.

Finally, to my amazement, on the 19^th tee and after Bubba had hit a drive into trouble, JB altered his routine and let fly in only 36 seconds?  Unfortunately, the result was terrible and cost him an unplayable penalty and the match.  JB, please get your routine under control and in much less time!  You, the game and those of us that enjoy it will be better for it.

 

Glover's 16 Seconds to US Open Victory: The Importance of a Pre-Shot Routine in Golf

Lucas Glover's win at BethPage was an excellent example of the importance of a solid pre-shot routine, and the pay-off for golfers who have a consistent regimen. He had a few stumbles early in round 4, but hung on and played well on the final holes under extreme pressure. I paid close attention to his pre-shot routine, noted how well he stuck with it down the stretch, and believe that it was the difference at the end.

A well constructed pre-shot routine accomplishes two important purposes. The first is physical. It creates the platform for a successful shot - proper setup and alignment. The second is mental in that the routine occupies the conscious mind with a rehearsed set of positive thoughts that lead to a trigger. This is the part that helps ward off the negative effects of pressure. It creates a mental suit of armour against the doubts that can creep in and derail the shot-making process. Lucas took a consistent 16 seconds from the time he stepped forward from behind the ball until he struck each shot - full swings and putts.

While I do not pretend to know what he was thinking, here is what it looked like to me:

Shot selection - First, Lucas and his caddie would go through the decision making process and agree on the exact shot called for.

Visualization - Then from behind the ball, looking down the line at the target he would visualize the exact flight of the ball as planned.

Start - Next, he moved forward to address the ball - tick tock, tick tock.

Alignment - (to the target and proper ball position) 1) He'd place the club behind the ball aimed directly at the intermediate target. 2) Then he set up to the club and the ball.

Posture - Check posture and balance: spine straight, head high, arms relaxed and hanging.

Trigger - One quick waggle to loosen the hands and forearms & GO!

Coincidently, a close friend with whom I play a lot of golf recently asked if I would help him develop a routine in preparation his club championship. We spent two separate sessions at the range working on just this. Together, we developed a pattern of well-choreographed moves to insure that he is properly lined up to the target; standing tall to give him plenty of room to swing freely and release the club; and a waggle-trigger to start his backswing with his torso. While I did not subject him to a stop watch, I did tap my foot and count the seconds so that he could become comfortable with the tempo and timing of his new routine.

So far, he has qualified and won 3 matches and has the 36-hole finals this weekend. Two of the three matches were against better players, at least according to the USGA, and Tom credits the confidence in his routine for helping him prevail. I will be able to observe our work closely while I caddie for him in the finals. Good luck Tommy and stick to your routine!

Pre-Shot Routine

There is a lot to be learned by observing great golfers. Who better to watch and emulate than the World’s Most Recognized Athlete? I have been studying Tiger Woods since he reached the top shelf of golf in 2000. A statistical “stalker” of sorts, I recorded every televised event and then used the replay to record Tiger’s SHOT BY SHOT data. I’ve moved beyond the VCR, but I still record every event, and learn something new at every viewing.

Call me a stat-obsessed geek, but during the final round of the 2007 PGA Championship I decided to put a stop watch to Tiger’s pre-shot routine. I had done this with Phil Mickelson during his march to victory in the final round of the 2004 Masters. I found the results and comparisons interesting.

What do I mean by Pre-Shot Routine?
There are two important processes we should go through before we hit the ball. First, we plan the shot. This involves visualizing the shot and selecting the right club to make it happen. It can involve discussion with a caddie and/or a playing partner. As much of this part of the process as possible should take place before it is officially your turn.
Then once the shot decision has been made, we step forward, move into address position, and execute the shot. At this point the cameras are rolling. I think of that step forward into the address position as moving into an Isolation Bubble. Once in the bubble, no second thoughts or doubts should be allowed to permeate.
The part of the Pre-Shot Routine that I timed for Tiger and Phil was this “bubble” segment – the time from the moment each player stepped forward from behind the ball until contact with the ball was made.

What did I learn?
I timed a representative sample of tee shots, approach shots, short game shots and putts for both players. Tiger and Phil have decidedly different routines for different types of shots. Their full swing routines are quicker than their routines for putting and the short game.
Full Swing
Tiger’s full swing routine is between 9 and 11 seconds every time. Step forward, setup, two short waggles and WOOSH! For the same full shots, Phil’s routine is slightly longer - between 14 and 17 seconds.
Putting & Short Game
Interestingly, both champions had slightly longer pre-shot routines on and around the greens, but both averaged 20 seconds. Tiger’s longest putting routine – 24 seconds – came on a breaking 12 foot putt for birdie. (And 24 seconds is still quite quick in comparison to how long Jack Nicklaus would loom over a must-make putt.) My guess is that the slightly longer routines here are dictated by the addition of the distance or “touch” variable to the process.

How can you use this?

• Develop your own pre-shot routine and divide it into the two segments discussed: Planning & Execution.
• Have a friend time you in the “bubble” – from the moment you step forward and begin to address the ball until your club makes contact with the ball. If you're in it longer than 20 seconds you are not only wasting time, you are leaving too much of an opening for doubt and confusion to seep into your bubble.
• Practice your pre-shot routine whenever you practice. Make it an automatic part of each shot and the same every time, whether you are on the course or in the practice area. Relying on a solid routine is the best defense against the pressure of competition.
  

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