The Artful Golfer: A Future of Artful Putting

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

A Future of Artful Putting

There is only one part of my game that hasn't improved, putting. I'm striking the ball and chipping and pitching better than ever, but my average number of putts per round hasn't gone down one bit in two years.

The final putt by Kevin Day at flickr.com

Over the past half-dozen rounds, I've tallied more than 20 putts for 9 holes twice. I've had more 3-putts than I care to admit. I even had another 4-putt yesterday. And what's frustrating me most is the number of 2-3 footers that I continue to miss - up to 4 a round. Although the course I regularly play has the most difficult greens I've faced, I've played them enough that there's no excuse for such poor performance.

My growing frustration and lack of confidence putting has reached a point where I have to take action. Yesterday, I shot a 78 with 21 putts on the front nine! Over the weekend, I shot a 73 with 4 missed putts within 3 feet. During a few rounds lately, my poor performance putting crept in to the rest of my game and I shot rounds of 84 and 87, among my worst in 6 months.

My first inclination is too seek help from a pro. However, I'm confident I can fix this the same way I've fixed problems with my swing - by looking inward and increasing awareness. I'll determine why I invite fear and doubt into the moment when I putt.

Fred Shoemaker asks us in Extraordinary Putting, “where do expectations, embarrassment, frustration, and doubt come from? The past? The present? The future? Obviously, they are historically based, from the past. At the moment you miss a shot, your mind goes into the past and recalls similar past events and projects those memories, in that moment, into a future (it will happen again). These past memories, now misplaced into the future (and believed to be the real future), create an upset. And the upset will last until we put something in the future that gives us new possibilities, ones other than endless repetition of an upsetting past. We put the past back in the past (where it belongs) and create a new future where anything is possible. We have the power to choose."

I've integrated this logic into the rest of my game and have learned to leave a bad shot behind me, in the past, and create a new future, but I've apparently chosen to project my past failures putting into the future.

Yes, I'm aware that there are some issues with my putting technique as well, such as the need to keep my head still, but the deeper problem lies with my subconscious belief at the moment I'm putting, that I'll miss.

I now choose a new future, of creative and artful putting. Stay tuned ;)

Labels: Choice, Disciplines, Extraordinary Putting, Fred Shoemaker

7 Comments:

Greg said...

When I head out for a round, I sometimes state a specific area of focus. This does two things. First it keeps my mind on the specific area of my game, and second, it keeps my mind off other areas of my game.

My putting has been pretty good lately because my focus when putting has been to concentrate on putting above the break. What I mean is, if I miss the putt, I want to miss on the high side. Now, even if I miss a putt, I've met a goal and I come away confident.

The best part is that I'm dropping more putts than ever before.

Also, when I practice putts, I practice mainly 4 to 6 footers. The idea here is to develop confidence in these critical putts.

When I started golf I was told that not everyone can become a great ball striker; however, everyone can become a great putter.

Best of luck to you,
-Greg

Nolan Matthias said...

Three things.

1. Practice hitting putts from three feet away, try to make 20 in a row, then 30, then 50.

2. Put down a chalk line and practice eight footers. The line will help you get a feel for proper alignment and will help you build confidence.

3. One swing thought. Tem - Po. Make sure its always the same for every putt.

Nolan M

The Artful Golfer said...

Who needs lessons when I get such good suggestions from you two? I like your recommendations for building confidence.

I agree, Greg, that everyone can be a great putter too. I'll try out both of your suggestions and see if I can join those ranks.

Funny, I was practicing this morning in my living room and made up a similar swing though as Nolan's - Slow-Still - to help slow down my tempo and keep my head still ;)

Thanks guys!

The Artful Golfer said...

I was just putting again in my living room and decided to try a putting stroke that is more like my snap shot in hockey. Take it back less and follow through more. I think this is preventing me from decelerating on short putts, which might be one of the problems I was having.

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Alexis G said...

Hi there,

I have improved my putting with one putting lesson from my pro.

The content was: make sure your backswing is shorter than the follow-through. You should tell the ball where to go, by hitting it, instead of letting the putter head "fall" on the ball.

Choose the length of your backswing during your rehearsal swing, and once you visualize the ball going into the hole, stick to this length. Most common cause of missed short putt is when the subconscious kicks in during the forward swing: "oh my god, am overshooting, slow down".

My short putts improved dramatically.

This helped me, hope this helps you too :-)

Cheers

Alexis

The Artful Golfer said...

Thanks Alexis, that's exactly what I found myself when I was practicing in the living room. I tried it out today on the course and made many more 2-6 foot putts! Only one 3-putt today, and that was due to poor judgement of speed on a tricky lag putt. I felt much more confident when accelerating through my putts. Good advice!