W L
GOLF
LONG PUTTS , READING AND FEELING THEM
BY TOM ATKINSON , PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL
You can watch as much golf as you want but at the end of the day it ' s what happens with the flat stick that has the biggest influence on your score . The European Tour ' s Flagship event was played last month at the Wentworth Club . I ' m sure as I did , many of you watched America ' s Billy Horschel lift the trophy , he is as good a long putter as I ' ve ever seen in my lifetime , and then to the Ryder Cup , yes the Americans were fantastic throughout but we lost it on the greens . So what makes Billy and the winning US team so good ? the way , one to start it over , one at the apex point of the break and one where I want the ball to enter the hole , this is depicting the invisible line that I draw when trying to make a putt . If I ’ ve asked 1000 people to read this putt , 925 of them have grossly underestimated the break .
There are 3 main characteristics needed for consistent putting : Start Line , Speed and Read - and you will need to be good at them all !
Start with this interesting fact , you cannot read the exact break on a putt , reason being that you don ' t know exactly how hard you are going to hit it ! This is true , however you can get it pretty close . In respect of aim point , trust your instinct , Billy Foster ( Caddy to Seve , Westwood and many more ) said once when he was at Heswall Golf Club that your initial choice is always the right one .
Make sure that you pick a start line that is close to the ball , say 6 " in front . See this photo below where my start line is represented by a little spot of lighter grass , my intermediate aim point .
This is a holeable putt ...." Is it ?" I hear you ask , well for me if you ' re not trying to hole it then you ' re trying to miss it ! Surely not . Don ' t dwell over it too long , the best putters once over the ball hit it pretty quickly , this way it ' s less likely that doubts will be creeping in . Feel your length by looking at and judging it and by practicing , you ’ ve thrown a ball to someone haven ’ t you ! I doubt you ’ ve ever thrown it half way , or three times too far , this is because through visualisation and feel , your brain will calculate the correct speed , as long as you let it !
I ' ve got a putt of around 25 ' on our 18th green and three circles along
It ' s important for me to finish by saying that you are going to miss putts , and plenty at that , there ' s too many things that have to align for you to make them all . This is a fact , the best putters miss putts , the difference is that they don ' t believe that they are going to miss them and they certainly have a process in place for each and every one . Good luck and happy putting !
58 wirrallife . com