Dave Pelz said that the "make percentage" of PGA Tour players averages just over twenty-nine putts per round compared with twenty to thirty handicappers who average a staggering thirty-five and more putts per round! Knowing this one simple stat makes you really want to work on your short game.
Golfers know that it is extremely important NOT to choke on those easy three-footers, but it is crucial to learn the art of lag putting to get the average player into the "circle of trust".
Move that little white ball safely into the hole in the least number of strokes and your score will drop.
In his recent Golf Digest article, "4 Shots You Need to Win at Augusta (and Anywhere)", Brooks Koepka notes that a "tricky lag" was needed during The Masters in order to compensate for the speed and swing on the greens although the short putts were equally as treacherous.
"Nowhere else do you see four-footers that break three cups. You have to hit the short ones with authority, but to even get those, your lag putting needs to be dialed in," noted Koepka.This week, Golf for Beginners has put together a few easy golf tips and drills to avoid posting those nasty three-putts to your scorecard. If, as Pelz states, "PGA Tour pros three-putt an average of 2.4 times—per event," you can imagine how many strokes the average player is throwing away!
- If you are the type of golfer who always seems to lag the ball short of the hole, Dave Pelz suggests putting with a chipping stroke. "Add a little wrist hinge both back and through. Again, this will help you avoid hitting the ball too softly and coming up short."
- Bradenton Country Club’s Head Pro, Brian Lake, says that "feel" is overrated. "You’ll learn distance control faster, applying science."
"If you play just by feel, it takes you three times longer to finally teach your brain what those distances are,” Lake states. The science behind the tip is, for every one inch you swing your putter behind and forward of the ball, the ball is going to roll approximately one foot. If you swing your putter two inches back then two inches forward, the ball should travel approximately two feet, and so on.
Golf for Beginners certainly doesn't want to overwhelm players so, since these two tips are easy to remember, try them the next time you practice your putting and let us know how these putting drills worked for you in our golf blog comments section below or on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.
