Have your ever wondered how golf pros manage to lag long putts close to the hole? I am talking putts that cover significant elevation changes. Putts that are required to negotiate severe side hill breaks. Sometimes these putts are double breakers, that is to say that they cover a left hand break and a right hand break on the same putt.
How do the pros manage to lag these putts within a foot or two of the cup on a consistent basis?
How do they manage to lag putts of 50, 60, even 100 feet close to the hole?
There is a little known technique that they use which definitely helps their chances.
Imagine you are looking at a putt of say 60 feet that breaks left to right and is slightly downhill. How do you go about measuring distance, breaks, and other factors?
If you are like 95% of other amateur golfers you may squat behind your ball and try to figure out the line and weight of your putts. You may even try to plumb bob with your putter to try to work out the line.
Here is a a tip. Do not try to figure out break and distance from where your golf ball lies. Start at the hole and work back to your ball.
Step 1 Let us say that the last 10 feet of the putt is slightly downhill with no break.
Pick out a tuft of grass or a discoloration on the green 10 feet above the cup. Now imagine a small white saucer or other familiar object directly on top of your spot.
Step 2 Pick out a spot about 20 feet away from the first spot. Try to work out how the putt is going to roll from the second spot to the first. Look again for an identifying spot on the green. Imagine a second small white saucer on the spot. Try a couple of practice strokes to try to get a feel for the distance.
Step 3 Pick out a 3rd spot on the green between spot 2 and your golf ball. In the case of a 60 foot putt the spot should be about 45 feet away from the hole and 15 feet away from your golf ball. Again, imagine a small white saucer on the spot. Try a couple of practice strokes from the spot to get a feel for the increased distance.
Step 4 Stand behind your golf ball and draw an imaginary line between your ball, your 3 spots and the cup. Connect the dots if you will. Execute a couple of practice strokes to get the feel of the total distance.
Now putt your ball to the hole, trying to make the ball roll over your three spots en route to the cup.
With a little practice I am sure you will be amazed at the results. This technique should not take any more time than usual if you line up your putt when the rest of your group is lining up their putts. Enjoy!
