My last 2 tournament rounds golfing in Thailand I counted 6 missed easy short putts. This was very frustrating indeed considering my golf club does not allow tournament gimmies and the rest of my golf game was spot on.
Who hasn’t experienced the same thing now and then? I have found golfing when in Thailand that it is easy to get a “lazy putter” causing more than your share of short missed putts. This putter laziness comes because either you have had a late night on the town before an early morning golf round or you’re decelerating the putter head before impact, causing you to hit the ball offline.
Well I can not do anything for the former, but if the cause is the later then read on.
Acceleration is the increasing speed at which the club head moves through the ball. It’s important for all shots, even putts. The key to accelerating and curing putting laziness is keeping your hands ahead of the ball, which prevents excessive wrist motion on the forward swing.
One technique for encouraging acceleration is the left-hand low grip. It forces you to accelerate through the stroke. This has worked so well for me I sometimes use my shortened putter with extra long grip, allowing me to keep both hands fully on the grip, even when gripping low. The grip prevents the hands from releasing too much and helps keep the putter head square to the target line, even after contact.
Give it a try, get out one of your old putters and bring it to your local golf club maker. Have him cut the shaft 1-2 inches and put on one of those extra long grips made for belly or broomstick putters. Then practice low grip putting at home on your mat. You will be amazed how simple it is to sink putt after putt after putt! Then take your new confidence to the golf course in Thailand and see those missed shot putts become a thing of the past.
Anyway for those if you are in the Midwest or Northeast USA and stuck in 1-2 feet of snow what else do you have to do? You will be amazed at the benefits and you will be able to start your golf season without having to worry about losing stokes due to putter laziness.
If anyone has any good putting stores, tips, or advise, please feel free to post a comment here or if you prefer drop me a line at my Thailand golf vacation company and I will take care of the posting duties.
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