Darren Steels PGA Professional - Top 5 Putting Drills

 

Top 5 Putting Drills

String It Out Lag Putting Drill

1. Cut multiple pieces of string, each about three feet long.

2. Lay the string out on a putting green, evenly spaced, each string about three feet apart, across your chosen putting line.

3. Start about 10 feet behind the first string. Now putt a ball and try to roll it just over the first string. Putt a second ball and try to roll it just over the second string, and so on. When you reach the last string, start working your way back to the first string.

4. Once you become good at stopping balls in-between the string, start varying the distances - put to the first string, then the fifth, then the third, then the last, and so on, varying your distances.

This drill takes your mind off the line (and also off a target) and allows you to focus on speed and feel.

 

Fringe Benefits Drill

1. Get five balls and drop them 10 feet from the edge of the green.

2. Putt toward the fringe (don't worry about putting at a hole, just focus on speed and feel). Try to get each ball to roll about one foot onto the fringe without leaving any short and without running any beyond the fringe into the rough.

3. Back up to 20 feet and repeat, and repeat again at 30 and 40 feet.

 

5-Ball Mix-Up Drill

This distance putting drill is similar to the string drill above, except that in this one we are putting at a hole.

1. Drop balls at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 feet from a cup.

2. Start from 10 feet and putt to the hole. Make sure that if you don't sink the putt, you leave the ball no more than three feet from the hole.

3. Now go back to 50 feet and do the same. Then continue from each distance, but don't go in order - mix up the distances, from 10 to 50 to 30 to 40 to 20 to 40 to 10 to 30 and so on, in random order.

The goal is to leave yourself no more than three feet on your misses. Great distance control equals great lag putting, which means no 3-putts.

 

Close Your Eyes to Improve Feel

 

1. Place three balls each at distances of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 feet from your target (putt toward a hole, a tee in the ground, the fringe, a dropped headcover, anything).

2. At each station, putt the first ball as you normally would. But for the second and third balls at each station, set up with your eyes open, but then close your eyes just before making the stroke.

This drill will help hone your feel on the greens.

 

2-Putt Distance Drill

When golfers talk about lag putting, we mean that while we hope to make every putt we also want to make sure that if we miss we are left with a short, easy putt. Good lag putting means never 3-putting. This drill forces you to control your speed in order to guarantee a 2-putt.

 

1. Set up 30 feet from the hole.

2. Putt five balls at a time. Then walk to the cup and knock the balls in.

3. Make 50 consecutive 2-putts. If you 3-putt, start over.

This drill not only teaches lag putting, it also gets you into pressure situations. Imagine making 48 2-putts in a row. Putts 49 and 50 are really going to test your nerves.

If you have too much trouble making 50 2-putts in a row from 30 feet, then start from a shorter distance. Try 20 feet, and move out to 30 once 2-putting from 20 is comfortable.

Darren Steels PGA Professional - The Lob Shot

Concept: The whole idea of the "flop" shot is to control the distance the ball rolls after it lands by creating a very high shot. In other words, you are controlling distance by using trajectory rather than using back spin. Just so you know...many tour players feel trajectory is more reliable than spin to control distance so they opt for the flop versus the spinning shot when possible.

1

 

Use your highest lofted club (60 degree wedge is ideal). Pre-shot preparations: The ball position for this shot is forward in your stance. You'll need to experiment but play it as far forward as you can. Open the clubface and open your stance. Light grip pressure is best.

 

2

 

Execution: The length of your swing will be in proportion to the distance you need to hit the shot, but in general, this stroke needs to feel long and smooth (as opposed to sudden or quick). The swing doesn't need to be extremely upright.

 

The pace of your swing should be constant. Feel as though your through-swing is moving at the same pace or tempo as your back-swing.

 

Keep the clubface open throughout the swing. Make sure the clubface is pointing toward the sky after impact. Monitor the back of your left hand (if you are right-handed) and make sure it points to the sky after impact.

 

Swing left (if you are a right-hander). Do not try to swing at the target. Your stance is open so your body-lines are all aiming well left of the target. Swing in relation to your body lines, not toward the target.

Be Careful

 

• When you open your stance it is easy to inadvertently move the ball position back in your stance. Don't let this happen. Make sure that AFTER you have opened your stance, your ball position is nearly off your left foot.

Darren Steels Golf Professional - The bump and run shot

The bump and run shot

Definition: The "bump and run" - also called a "chip and run" - is an approach shot to the green typically played from close to the green's edge. The golfer has the option to pitch the ball or chip the ball from such a location. A pitch shot, however, is struck with a high-lofted club such as a pitching wedge, producing a high trajectory and a ball that typically hits the green and quickly stops.

A bump and run, on the other hand, is played with a lower-lofted club relative to a wedge (an 8-, 7- or 6-iron, for example), and with very little airtime for the ball. With a bump and run shot, the ball is typically played from the middle or back of the stance, producing a very shallow trajectory, with the ball mostly scooting along the ground and running up to the flag.

 

The bump and run is played more along the ground; the pitch shot is played in the air.

 

Why would a golfer prefer a bump and run to a pitch? The front of the green might be open, with a hard fairway and hard green, making an approach that lands on the green tough to stop. Or the wind might be howling, with the bump and run making it possible to keep the ball from getting up into - and blown around by - that wind. A bump in run, in other words, is often a more controllable shot than a pitch shot.

 

Step 1 Bring your feet close together for a narrow stance and position the ball in the middle. Keep most of your weight on your left foot--you should feel like you are leaning toward the target.

Step 2 Slide your grip down on the club so you can stand closer to the ball. Press your hands forward to take some loft off the club. This will help promote a downward strike and a lower shot.

Step 3 Make a short backswing with no wrist action. The shorter the backswing, the better. Think of this as the same length as your  putting stroke.

Step 4 Keep your wrists firm through impact. Strike down and through the ball. The ball will come out low and run to the hole. This shot should fly a short distance and roll the rest of the way.

Step 5 Abbreviate your follow-through. Backswing and follow-through should match each other in length.

Correct set up and grip by Darren Steels PGA Professional

Correct set up and grip by Darren Steels PGA Professional

Lesson 2 – Mel Oates (Handicap 19)

Today’s session was to check the correct set up with a mid-iron and to discuss the use of recording stats.

After discussing Mel’s shot pattern and ball flight I watched Mel hit a number of shots. From this feedback I noted the following things (please note Mel is a left hander);

 

1, The left hand grip position was too strong (the v formed between trigger finger and thumb was pointing outside of the left shoulder)

2, The body alignment was closed (aiming left of the target for a left hand golfer)

With a strong grip the swing was affected by the club face rotating inwards (closing too much) this in turn gave a reduced back swing length and ultimately a shortened flat ball flight.

The shot pattern was a push (Straight left and a draw).

Corrections

1, I asked Mel to grip the club more in his fingers with his left hand, this allowed the wrist to hinge easier on the back swing giving a square club face position seen here at the half way position.

The ball flight became higher with more carry.

2,We used alignment sticks to find the parallel set up position (a common fault is that a lot of people try to aim their body at the target instead of the club face) the line of the body (feet, knees, hips  and shoulders) should all be slightly right of the target line. Looking down a railway line is a good way of picturing this (left hand track is the club to target line and the right hand track is the line of the body – left hand golfer remember).

This is the correct alignment position for a right hand golfer

 

 

                                                                                                                                                             

Recording stats during or after your game

We also discussed today the recording of stats and how this information can be of use to golfers of all abilities.

 

Mel is going to record the following stats over the next few weeks.

 

Fairways hit

Greens hit in regulation

Short game saves (Pitching & chipping)

Sand saves

Total number of putts

 

We are going to use this information to find patterns during play and to highlight strengths and weaknesses to work on. I will go into more detail next time when we have Mel’s stats.

 

Congratulations Mel on reaching the winter league final with your partner Paul a great achievement from the 60 pairs that started the competition!

Darren Steels
PGA Professional