Hole those three foot putts

If you would rather hit a six-foot putt than a three-footer, an important part of the game has become too difficult for you. An easy shot has become a hard one. But there is hope. If you practice short putts the right way, you'll get so good it might be next year before you miss another one.

There's something you know about putting, subconsciously, that makes the short ones difficult, yet you've never put it into words. That is, when you putt, you're trying to hit something that isn't there. Your target is a hole in the ground. It's a place where there was once something, now there's nothing, and that nothing is what you're trying to hit.

Does trying to hit something that isn't there make much sense to you? Probably not, and that's why you're finding it hard to do. Let's change that. Let's make putting the art of hitting something that is there.

The next time you go to the practice green, take with you the water bottle you have in your golf bag. Put the bottle in the hole, and putt at the bottle. I'll bet you hit it the first time you try. And the second time. And the third. Actually, you could do this all day and never miss. Why? Because now there is something positive to aim at, something real to hit, and that gives you great confidence.

Try this exercise with the bottle in the hole. It's a real chestnut. Put four balls around the hole, one foot away. Putt each one and hit the bottle. Now put the balls around the hole two feet away and putt each one. Then putt from three feet. Then from four. The catch is, if you miss, you start over.

Most people find this exercise challenging if they only play to three feet. But with the bottle, you'll find working your way out to four feet as easy as pie and you might want to try five. Having a real target makes that much of a difference.

What about taking this to the course? You can't put a bottle in the hole when you play because you could never hole out. So putt to the empty hole. If you practice this drill enough, though, there will be a bottle in your mind.

You will have conditioned yourself to see, not an empty hole, but a solid bottle sticking out of the hole. Then you just do what you trained your mind to do - hit the bottle. And since when you practice with the bottle you never see the ball roll by an empty hole, the possibility that it could happen never enters your mind. That takes off all the pressure.

You work hard to get the ball close to the hole. Teach yourself to sink that short putt you have left to make the good score you deserve.

Bob Jones is dedicated to showing recreational golfers the little things, that anyone can install in their swing and game, that make a big difference in how they play. See more at http://www.therecreationalgolfer.com.