“A good player who is a great putter is a match for any golfer. A hitter who cannot putt is a match for no one.” – Ben Sayers
Putting is often forgotten about. Part of the draw of golf is stepping up with your driver and swinging as hard as you can. I get it. But when you actually start playing… you realize how big of a difference it makes if you make 1-2 putts on a hole than if you make 3-4. My friends and I have a running joke that we need to “go practice our four-putts” before our rounds, but tragically we do all four-putt… ALL. THE. TIME. The truth is, one little tap on a green is worth the same amount of strokes as every shot it takes you to get onto it. Now imagine you made 10 four-putts into 10 three-putts – that’s ten strokes off your game. Which, any golfer will admit, is a shocking difference.
So… time to pay attention to my putting because I’m tired of shooting 98-102 every round, and I’m ready to finally crack 95.
Using the putting mat, I warmed up by trying to get 1, then 3, then 5 putts in a row while moving further away each time, from 2 to 4 to 6 to 8 feet. I then did 20 putts at each distance and kept track of how many I made.
2ft = 19/20 = 95%
4ft = 16/20 = 80%
6ft = 13/20 = 65%
8ft = 10/20 = 50%
I finished by timing how long it would take me to make 50 putts from 4 feet. It took me 8 minutes and 56 seconds, which is 536 seconds, meaning I made a putt on average every 10.7 seconds.
Whenever I have a long putt, my partner reminds me to focus on trying to get as close to the hole as possible, rather than trying to drain it. Part of playing golf well is playing golf smart. I’m still learning both, but putting practice is probably one of the best ways to get there.
“I never pray to God to make a putt.I pray to God to help me react good if I miss a putt.” – Chi Chi Rodriguez
