Lower your Golf Score – Guaranteed – Master the Mundane

ryan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:59:27 +0000

Master the Mundane. Say What?!! I’ll probably lose most of you at this point because the “big secret” is so boring that it couldn’t possibly take you from an 88 to a 75 golfer. Run for cover if you must, because after you read this article, the truth of it will dog you every time you are walking to the next tee box for the rest of your golf life (or until you accept it and act on it). I am assuming of course that you have at least a little “game” already. If you are just starting out in golf, most of this won’t make much sense to you until you get good enough to have a “bad day” on the course. If you want to reach the next level of scoring, read on — You have been warned!Mastering the mundane is fundamental to success in any sport. In basketball, it’s the layup, baseball the bunt, football block, tackle and catch. In golf, it is the dreaded “Three Foot Putt”. You know the one. When you bury it to take a high dollar double press, it was a “5-footer”, but when you miss it, you would have won if it hadn’t been for that “16-incher” you missed on 18. Don’t panic! This is not a “How to make short putts” article. The focus of this piece is on the benefits of making the 3-footer every time. This one skill is so critical to your game that nothing else seems to matter until this piece is in place. I am the “A” player on our foursome and we are the reigning Base Champions (and there is some pretty stiff competition). I only mention this to make this point — I’m not very good. Our “C” and “D” players are both better golfers than I am. So why do I play “A”? Because I make 3-footers…always. During the latter stages of the playoffs (when the pressure mounts), we get to watch players with games that far out-class mine, fall to pieces because they have zero confidence in their short putting.

What I am talking about is developing a habit of making short putts. When you go to a Major Golf Tournament, what do you see Tiger and Phil etal. do when they first come out? They practice short putts. Why? Because they are easy, it calms the nerves, and putts are what is going to win the tournament when all is said and done. There are myriad techniques for making 3-footers. Some of the best are:1. Pick a spot 8 – 10 inches in front of the ball and putt over it (hear it go in – never look up!).

2. Visualize putting to a dime instead of the hole. Say you have a right-to-left breaker; imagine a dime sitting on the front right edge of the hole and try to hit it.

3. (My personal favorite) Visualize an eight inch tube in front of your ball that you need to accelerate the ball through on its way to the bottom of the cup.

It really doesn’t matter what your technique is. What matters is your mindset when you stand over the putt. You must develop the ability to eliminate all else from your mind except negotiating the golf ball those few feet to the bottom of the cup. It is a prerequisite that you have the ability to make these putts with regularity. Devote the (BORING) time on the putting green knocking down 3-footers until you can make 30, 40, or 50 in a row. You need to have this muscle memory in place for the rest of the strategy to work. Once this is accomplished, the real magic can begin.

Keep a putter in your office and/or at home. It doesn’t have to be your “Billie Barue”. Any old cheapie will do, because what you are attempting to achieve is 100% mental. Don’t stand there and bang away at it for hours. That won’t do you any good. Your goal is to be able to stop what you are doing, and achieve 100% intense focus on your putting routine; under any circumstances, under any conditions, and at any given time. When things are hectic at work, pick up the putter, take a deep breath, and sink a 3-footer. If the kids are making you nuts or the telemarketers ruining your evening, pick up the putter, take a deep breath, and sink a 3-footer. YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE. NO DO OVERS! If you miss it, take a second to consider why. Chances are you didn’t clear your mind and focus on the task at hand. It is the act of stopping to figure out why you lost focus and missed the putt that will revolutionize your short game.

Pretty soon you will develop a habit of “immediate focus”. (I’m sure somebody else said that already but I like to tell myself I made it up). The putter and the entire process of relaxing, focusing, and draining that putt will become like a security blanket to you. What strikes fear into the hearts of your opponent on the course, will become your safety valve (your “happy place” according to Chubbs). No matter how badly things are going with your swing or short irons, that 3-footer will be like coming home to relax after a hard days work. Imagine never having to be “iced” by your opponent sinking a 12-footer (when you need to make a short one to tie). How many golfers do you know breath a huge sigh of relief when their chip shot leaves them a 3-footer for par? Trust me… it makes your opponent nuts.

The advantages of having ultimate confidence in your short putting game are too numerous to list but here are just a few:1. You won’t have to spend time kicking yourself on the drive home for those 4 or 5 strokes you “wasted”.

2. You can make smarter choices on chips and sand shots knowing you can make a little longer par putt.

3. “I just need to get up and down for par” is no longer just a euphemism. It actually means something.

4. You will make more birdies because you don’t have to lag it for fear of the 3-foot “come-backer”.

5. Amazing thing…those 5 and 7 footers start looking much shorter than they did before?

7. You become immune to pressure. You’ve trained your mind to go on “autopilot” for short putts.

The list could go on and on. The point is that if you start thinking this way and practice “immediate focus”, you WILL reap the benefits in your golf game. You don’t even have to “believe” for it to work. Golf season is just around the corner and if you try it, about midway through this Summer, you will realize that you are a “putting machine”. Mark my words. Your golfing buds will resort to heckling you out of frustration, but that will just amp up your focus! Remember, the goal is to achieve 100% focus any time, any where, under any conditions. Give it a shot. What have you got to lose…besides 7 or 8 strokes?

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Lower your Golf Score – Guaranteed – Master the Mundane is a post from: Putting Tips Pro

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The Secret Art of Putting

ryan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:43:45 +0000

You super long ball hitters can smash balls at the driving range all day long, but putting is without a doubt the most important aspect to playing good golf. Let’s face it though, putting is also a difficult and frustrating part of the game to master. That is why I consider putting an art form.
You can hit the ball once 220 yards to a green and then take three putts to go eighteen feet. The best putters like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Loren Roberts all understand the art of putting better than anyone else.
When you watch them putt it looks like an art compared to the strokes of your high handicap buddies. If you watch most people on the putting green at your local golf club you will see the two main flaws most people make when they are putting:
* Their putter looks like it is being “yanked” back and through
* They lift their head to watch the golf ball as soon as or even before they make contact with the ball
What makes Tiger, Ben, and Loren such good putters is that they each have a very smooth, consistent, and concise putting stroke. The putter looks like it is going the same speed throughout the stroke, their takeaway and follow through are the same length, and most importantly their head stays down while they listen for the ball to go in the hole. On long putts they might lift their head to watch, but only after their stroke is completely finished.
How are these four and other professionals able to conquer the art of putting? By practicing above all else and learning to make their mind quiet while they put, they do this through practicing meditation and breathing techniques.
They also learn to become masters at reading greens, and they do that through their own observation while playing. Great putters will watch other players putts to help determine the roll and speed of the greens that day.
I do realize that not everyone can putt as well as Tiger, no matter how hard they practiced. Regardless, by working on what he does you can improve your putting and shave strokes off of your score.
Putting Drills To Learn The Art Of Putting
Here are a couple of drills you can work on to get your putting on the right track. The first drill to learn the art of putting is to place two clubs down on the practice green, about six feet from the cup, parallel to each other, online with the hole creating a “hallway” for your putter as you stroke through the ball. This drill has multiple benefits to teaching you the art of putting.
Try to putt the ball without hitting the shafts of the clubs as you stroke back and through. You can also measure the length of your backswing and follow through during this drill. Also, since you can set the clubs up and move them if necessary to be perfectly on line for the putt, you can work on your alignment by lining up your hips and shoulders with the shaft of the club closest to you.
Using a putting corridor is also great for confidence because once you putt a few you should begin to make most, if not all of them. This is great for improving the mental side of the art form because you will be visualizing the positive result of the ball going into the hole over and over again.
The second drill is to place an empty 160z water bottle underneath your right armpit.(your left if you putt left handed) Make sure that the water bottle stays resting there with the same amount of pressure as you putt the ball back and through.
This drill will make your hands, shoulders, arms, and chest work together creating a very fluid stroke. This technique will also teach you how to take the putter back properly on line without taking it too far inside or outside as the bottle will fall out if not done incorrectly.
If you practice the drills above you should be able to improve your putting and get a glimpse into the art of putting. However, if you really want to learn this art form inside and out, you need to practice the mental side of the equation by learning far eastern breathing techniques like Tiger. Good luck.

David Nevogt needs no introduction. His distinguished ability to help golfers of all abilities and ages to play great golf and get more fun out of the game is legendary all over the world. Rather than hit your head against a wall after each round, let David take you by the hand and introduce you to www.DropYourHandicap.com” rel=”nofollow”>a simple golf swing that is guaranteed to work. Visit: www.DropYourHandicap.com to learn more.
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Lower your Golf Score – Guaranteed – Master the Mundane

The Secret Art of Putting