by Jeff Goble on July 9, 2010
A well-struck putt heading confidently to the cup begs just one question – “Why can’t I do that every time!?” Improve your odds for a great putt by starting the ball on line to the cup, getting it going in the right direction. Establish a process of reading a green and lining up a putt, use the process every time, and improvement will follow. Trust the process!
READING A GREEN
- It starts before you get there.
You’ve made your chip, which is really a putt for position. Now survey the situation as you walk to the green. Notice the overall contour of the land, predominant slope, drains, nearby water, etc. Is it breezy? Now is a good time to quickly walk around the green and collect info.
- See the big picture
Greens typically go with the tilt of the terrain. Are you on a hill?
- Know your territory
Old greens are typically low in front, high in the back. In Florida, greens tend to tilt to the water. Newer greens are more complicated. Look for the drain.
- Get your eyes low.
Greens are constructed to drain off in two or three places. Stand in the low point of the green and get even lower by kneeling. This vantage point is not always located behind your ball.
- Pay attention to others
Watch the way the ball behaves when your partners chip and putt. Pay special attention to the area right around the cup.
- Read with your feet.
Is the green soft or firm, wet or dry? Your feet can even tell you about the tilt you’re standing on.
- Make a note.
If you keep a golf journal, record information about specific greens. Draw a green diagram with little arrows for little breaks and big arrows for big breaks.
ALIGNING THE BALL
You’ve determined where you want to putt the ball. Now get it going exactly there.
- Mark it … before you start playing.
Draw a semi-circle with a Sharpie pen on your ball, nice and tidy with an inexpensive aid designed for the task. Many pro golfers mark their balls for putting alignment (and tee shots).
- Mark it … on the green.
Use a ball marker so you can move and reset your ball.
- Aim for alignment
Get low again, placing the ball with one hand out in front of you. Aim the mark you’ve made on the ball exactly down the path you’ve determined to start your putt. Getting low behind the ball gives a truer read than what you get when you are in your putting stance.
- An intermediate target is a fine idea.
Pick out a small distinguishing feature on your target path - a blade of grass, a brown spot. Try aiming for it instead of for the hole if there is break.
- Match it up.
Take your stance, matching the little guide on the top of your putter with the line on your ball. Trust it. Hit it.
- Side note.
Take your practice strokes while you look at the hole or target. This will help you find the right speed. Green reading is also essential for speed. We must know if we are up hill or down hill.
- Persevere!
Establish a process for your putting and stick to it. You’ll see results over time.
by Sandell Bennett on July 9, 2010
Rule 17 in the Rules of Golf is devoted to the flagstick. It’s essential reading. Remember: no ball that begins on the green may touch the flag stick, whether it’s in the hole, lying on the green, or being held by another player.
Sometimes it’s difficult for a player to see the hole on a green. A player may ask another – often the person whose ball is closest to the cup – to attend the flag stick while she’s putting.
Knowing the rules, possible penalties and basic etiquette is important. Here’s how to attend a flagstick.
- Lift flagstick from the hole to be sure it isn’t jammed and then return it.
- Stand at a distance so your arm is outstretched and grasp the stick firmly.
- Pay attention to where you’re standing. Avoid casting a shadow and also be aware of the putting lines of other players.
- Once the ball is in motion, remove the flagstick straight up (that’s delicate territory around the cup) and walk away.
- Lay the flagstick on the green out of the line of all players.
A few last notes of niceness:
- Closest to the flagstick
Did your shot land closest to the pin? Head over to it and be ready to tend it if asked. You may ask the putter if she would like you to tend the flag. If she declines, take it out and lay it out of play.
- First to putt out
If you are first to putt out, mosey over to where the flagstick is lying and be ready to pick it up and put it back in the hole. Efficiency in all things.
- Did you leave your wedge back at the last hole?
The smart golfer places extra clubs she’s brought to the green next to where the flagstick is lying. Hard to forget them there.
by Sandy Wagner on June 14, 2010
Sandy’s Suggestions for Lag Putting
There are two things to concentrate on when putting - distance and direction. While most players can putt in the direction of the hole, they often end up 10 feet short or 10 feet past it. A 2-putt becomes a 3-putt and the score grows. Controlling distance - lag putting - is essential for success on the green.
- The key to lag putting is the size of your stroke. Think about making your backswing the same size as your follow-through swing. If you swing the putter back 10″, try to follow through the same distance. Think of a pendulum.
- Putt with a consistent pace, one that you are comfortable with. With a constant pace, a steady tempo in back swing and follow-through, you simply control the distance by the length of your swing.
- Don’t try to control distance by the force of your putting stroke, ie. “how hard or softly you hit the ball.” Many players mistakenly try to hit a putt really slowly on short putts and really hard if they have a 30 footer.
- Take the little muscles out of the equation. Don’t use your wrists. It’s an arm-shoulder-trunk muscle movement you’re after.
- A consistent method of putting with solid contact makes it easier to adjust to variables such as moisture, grass conditions and, yes, wind.
- Practice, practice, practice. Putts are a good 1/3 of your game. They deserve 20 minutes of your one-hour practice!
A good lag putt positions the golfer for a simple and easily makeable follow-up putt. Kiss those 3-putts goodbye.
by Sandell Bennett on June 14, 2010
You have played a pretty good shot to the green, and the ball has come to rest on the fringe or collar. A fellow-competitor then blasts out of a greenside bunker depositing sand all over and around your ball. Doesn’t seem fair, does it? The USGA agrees with you, and has adopted many Decisions they call Equity Decisions to take care of situations such as this. There is a principle in the Rules of Golf that says that a player is entitled to the lie his shot gave him. That principle comes into play here, and in the instance described above, the player is allowed to remove all the sand around his ball, even the sand on the fringe, and he can lift and clean his ball even though he is not on the green.
The same is true, in some circumstances, if another player’s pitch-mark through the green interferes with your lie or line of play. Normally, you may not improve your line of play by eliminating “irregularities of surface” or “pressing down cut turf”. Therefore, if the pitch-mark is there when your ball comes to rest near it, you will not get relief. But, if the pitch-mark is created after your ball came to rest, in equity, you will be allowed to repair it.
Your ball lies in a bunker. You take a practice swing outside the bunker, and by mistake, tear out a large divot which lands behind your ball in the bunker. That divot is a loose impediment, and you are not allowed to remove it without penalty. However, if another player does the same thing to you, you are allowed to remove the divot under the principle that “the player is entitled to the lie his stroke gave him.” The same would be true if your ball lies in a water hazard.
Suppose a branch falls from a tree and comes to rest on your ball lying in a bunker. You might assume that under this generous principle you are entitled to remove it. Not so. The principle applies only in cases in which the lie of the ball has been altered as a result of an act by another player, caddie, spectator or other animate outside agency. In this case, the lie was altered by natural causes and you are not entitled to relief.
The principle may also be applied when a player’s area of intended stance is affected by another player’s stroke. For example, if another player removes a huge divot when playing his ball, and that divot hole now affects your stance, in equity, you may restore that area as nearly as possible without penalty. The equity ruling even goes so far as to say that if the area of the stance can’t be restored, you may place your ball, without penalty, on the nearest spot within one club-length of the original lie that provides the most similar lie and stance to the original. This new spot may not be nearer the hole or in a bunker.
This equity principle also applies if your lie or line of play gets improved instead of damaged. For example, your ball lies in a bunker, and before you can reach the bunker, a greenkeeping staff member rakes the bunker improving your lie or line of play. As long as you have not sanctioned the raking, you are absolved of penalty.
The general rule of thumb is that if another person creates the situation, you are absolved of blame and can get relief. However, if you create the situation yourself, or it happens through natural causes, you are just out of luck!
Jeanne Myers, Assistant Director-Rules & Competitions
Golf Association of Michigan
by Sandy Wagner on May 15, 2010
The next time you have a shot inside 30 yards of the green, ask yourself if you need loft or not. The rule of thumb is “when you don’t need loft, don’t use loft”. The chip shot, also called the bump and run, goes low and rolls a lot – it’s an easy and essential way to lower your score. Let’s take a look at the thinking and the mechanics of the chip shot.
Opt For The Chip Whenever You Can
Rolling a ball is easier and the consequences of a less-than-perfect roll are less dire than a high wedge shot gone wrong.
A Chip is a Cousin to the Putt
They both roll, but the in the chip shot the club has a little bit of loft on the face of the club. The putter has essentially no loft. That really is the only difference.
Select Your Club
You can use any club in your bag and yes that includes your hybrid! Try it – it could be your favorite short game shot. To select a club, look at your lie, the distance to the pin, and any obstacles between you and the green. You want a low trajectory that gets the ball to the predictable surface of green as quickly as possible.
Practice Makes Perfect - Or Nearly So
You will want to practice with your clubs to see what each of them will do for you from the different distances but it will be time well spent. Having confidence in your chip will shave points from your score.
Chip Shot Mechanics
From my Instructional Cheat Sheet For Golfers
- Position the ball near your right foot if you have a less lofted club and want more roll or in the middle of your stance if you have a more lofted club and want less roll.
- Your body weight is more on your left leg and leaning towards the target to create a slightly lower ball flight and more roll.
- Your left arm and shaft of club will form a straight line on our backswing and follow thru.
- AT IMPACT (the moment of truth) – your left arm and shaft of club HAS TO FORM A STRAIGHT LINE!!!
- You have to hit the bottom of the ball to make it go in the air. You can’t hit the middle or top of the ball and have it go in the air!
- The swing length is the same on both sides of your swing and no more than waist high on both sides. Hold your finish on follow thru to see if your left arm and shaft are straight. Be your own instructor and learn to evaluate your finish.
by Jeanne Myers on May 15, 2010
Marking a golf ball seems to be a simple thing, but most of us haven’t spent much time reading the Rules dealing with marking. For example, most golfers believe that they have to mark the ball on a cart path before they lift it to take relief, but that is not the case. Rule 20-1 says you only need to mark a ball before lifting it if you are going to have to put it back (replace it). That would be the case on the putting green, or if someone asks you to lift your ball because it interferes with his shot. But when you are taking relief from a cart part, you are not going to have to replace the ball on the path – you are going to drop it somewhere else. Therefore, you do not have to mark it. You can, but it is not necessary. This is also true if you are taking relief from any other immovable obstruction, or abnormal ground conditions such as casual water, ground under repair, or a hole made by a burrowing animal
A ball may be lifted by the player, his partner, or another person authorized by the player (such as the player’s caddie.) Just as a side note here, it may be replaced by the player, his partner, or the person who lifted it. So you can see that if a caddie lifts the ball, the player may replace it. But if the player lifts the ball, the caddie may not replace it. In stroke play, if your ball is lifted by a fellow-competitor without your authority, there is still no penalty, and the ball gets replaced. However, in match play, if your opponent lifts your ball without your authority, he gets a one stroke penalty.
When marking a ball on the green, the marker may be placed behind, to the side of or in front of the ball as long as nothing is done (i.e. pressing down a tuft of grass) to influence the movement of the ball when played. There are a lot of ways to mark a ball, many of them not recommended, but they are permissible. You may place the toe of a club at the side of or behind a ball. You may use a tee or a handy loose impediment (make sure it won’t blow away). You may not just point out a blemish near your ball and use that as a mark – you must physically mark the position of the ball.
Is there a “correct” way to move a ball-marker to the side because it interferes with someone else’s putt? You may measure from the side of the ball or from the ball-marker, as long as you reverse the exact same process to get the ball back on the spot from which it was lifted.
What happens if the ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved in this marking/lifting process? There is no penalty provided the movement of the ball or marker is directly attributable to the specific act of marking/lifting. That means if you nudge the ball forward as you are marking, you do not have a problem. But, if you are walking up to mark your ball and drop your putter on the ball, that will be a penalty of one stroke, and the ball must be replaced.
One point to remember: once you mark and lift your ball from the putting green it is no longer the “ball in play” – it has become part of your equipment. Once you replace it on the spot from which you lifted it, it is again the ball in play – even if you leave your marker in place. Therefore, if the wind blows it somewhere else, you must play it from its new location!
Jeanne Myers, Assistant Director-Rules & Competitions
Golf Association of Michigan
by Sandy Wagner on April 21, 2010
Take a good look at your last round of golf. Maybe you struggled a bit with the driver or approaches. Tally up the strokes though, and it’s obvious – it’s the short game that matters most. The biggest part of the game is played inside 100 yards.
If you are looking to lower your score - and who isn’t? — practice your pitch, chip and putt. You’ll build confidence and consistency, and melt strokes off your score this summer. Over the next few weeks we’ll look at the three short game shots.
THE PITCH SHOT
Let’s start with high-flyer, the pitch shot.
When to Pitch
The pitch has high trajectory and little roll. It takes you over obstacles like bunkers and creeks and is usually in the 45 – 65 yard range. A pitch lands softly on the green and stays there – a thing of beauty.
The Clubs – Wedges
Most players carry 2-3 wedges, a PW (pitching wedge) and a SW (sand wedge). The third club is a GW, the gap wedge. If PW has 48 degrees of loft on its face and SW has 56, the GW has 52. It fills the distance gap between the PW and SW. At a full swing, PW might go 80 yards, GW 70 yards, and SW 60 yards. In a pitch shot, the distance might be: PW: 40-50, GW: 30-40, SW 20-30. If you carry 3 wedges, you’ll have your distances covered inside 100 yards.
A Word about the Sand Wedge
Just because it says “Sand Wedge” doesn’t mean it’s only for sand! Not at all. The SW is your highest lofted club – so use it! When you don’t have much green to work with, a high, soft shot with SW will save the day.
Pitching Motto
The key to hitting a pitch is to hinge your wrist on the backswing. “Hinge for Height” is my motto!
Pitch Mechanics
- Position ball in middle of stance. This produces a higher ball flight.
- Use your higher lofted clubs - PW, GW, SW
- Hinge your wrists (HINGE FOR HEIGHT) on backswing to form an “L” between club and your left arm.
- AT IMPACT (the moment of truth) - your left arm and shaft of club SHOULD FORM A STRAIGHT LINE!!!!!
- You must hit the bottom of the ball to make it go in the air. Hitting the middle or top won’t work!
- To generate more distance, rotate the clubface as the club gets near the ball. This gives the club head more energy/speed and makes the ball go farther.
- On Follow Through - your right arm and shaft will form an “L” and our right arm will be roughly parallel to the ground.
- Make sure your right palm faces the ground on your follow through to ensure that you rotated the club face as stated above.
- Use your legs to help hit the shot! This is the strongest muscle group you have! Your belt buckle will face target on follow through - meaning as you start your downswing, your weight will shift towards the target.
- Hold your finish on follow through! Be your own instructor and learn to evaluate your finish!
The above 10 steps to pitching comes from my “Instructional Cheat Sheet for Golfers” that’s posted on the web. Take a look!
by Sandy Wagner on March 18, 2010
Breaking records is great, but most snow in February? Give me a warm March day anytime! For a golfer, possibilities and promise are in the air, and it’s the perfect time to set achievable goals for the season. A goal is just a dream with a date attached - and who doesn’t love to dream after a long winter?
Whether it’s whittling your handicap 2 or 3 strokes, building assurance in your short game or confidence in competition, or just plain having more fun with golf, setting goals is an effective way to approach your game. Here’s my golf goals game plan:
- Start with the end in sight. What’s your dream? What’s your definition of a great golf season? Solve a slice, become a better putter, move up a flight in your league, make more time for golf. Pick one goal… or pick ten.
- Do a reality check.. We’d all like to be scratch golfers. Is it within the realm of possibility this season? Achievable goals make for big rewards. Golf is hard enough without overlaying it with outsized expectations.
- Make it challenging. Commit some energy and discipline to the cause.
- Define the how-to’s, the concrete steps to attain a goal. Want to have more fun with golf? Make a list of ideal partners and courses for the season, promise to stop editorializing after every bad hit, and toss in a feel-good charity event. You’d like to kiss your slice good bye? Why not start the season with 2 lessons, a commitment to a weekly practice and an honest assessment of your 10-year-old clubs?
- Write it down. Make it yours. Check out my earlier post on keeping a golf journal.
- Pin a date on it. Let’s say, the end of the season, by Labor Day, or before the snow flies. Cancel that last one. We are so done with thinking about snow!!!
by Jeanne Myers on March 10, 2010
Jeanne Myers is Assistant Tournament Director, Golf Association of Michigan.
In order to apply the Rules of Golf, or even to find the answer to a Rules problem in the Rules of Golf, you have to know the definitions. There are only fifty-one of them, but there is a huge amount of information in them.
More than one golfer has given himself a stroke penalty for causing his ball to oscillate. The Rules savvy golfer, however, knows that oscillating, according to the USGA, is not moving. For a ball to have “moved” it has to leave its position and come to rest in another spot. So, even if you accidentally nudge a ball forward, as long as it returns to its original position, you are safe from penalty – because it hasn’t come to rest in another spot.
Under the definition of “equipment” you will find that when you are sharing a golf cart, when your ball is involved, that cart and everything in it belongs to you – unless the cart is being driven by the other person. And, that “everything in it” includes the other person when the cart is stationary. Therefore, assume another player in your group who is sharing a cart with you, drives the cart and parks it near the green and stays in the cart. You then proceed to play, and your shot hits the person sitting in the stationary cart. You have hit your equipment and will get a one stroke penalty. Hopefully, he will only get a sore arm.
A “stroke” is the forward movement of the club with the intention of hitting the ball. So, if you check your downswing voluntarily or alter your swing path so that you intentionally miss the ball, you have not made a stroke. But, don’t use this to try to disguise a “whiff.” We all know what a “whiff” looks like.
“Through the green” is the whole area of the golf course except the teeing ground and putting green of the hole you are playing and all hazards. Therefore, through the green includes fairways and rough. When you look up relief options, you will need to know that term.
A “rub of the green” is not bad luck. It is when your ball in motion is accidentally stopped or deflected by any outside agency. Therefore, it is a rub of the green if your shot is deflected out of bounds by a piece of mowing equipment, but it is also a rub of the green if it is deflected into the hole by that equipment.
There are no sand traps or pins on golf courses, so you’ll have trouble looking up a Rule involving either. Instead, there are “bunkers” and “flagsticks,” and you will have no problem finding the proper entries in the Index to the Rules of Golf to find the answer you need using those terms.
An “obstruction” is anything artificial except 1) objects defining out of bounds, such as walls, fences and stakes, 2) immovable artificial objects located out of bounds, and 3) integral parts of the course. If you know this definition, you will know that if retaining walls in a water hazard have been declared to be integral parts of the course, you will not get free relief from them even if your ball lies outside the hazard.
A “provisional ball” is one played for an original ball that may be out of bounds or may be lost outside of a water hazard.
The rest of those definitions are up to you!
by Sandy Wagner on January 16, 2010
There’s a fabulous golf improvement device, sure to improve your game, and it only costs a couple of dollars. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest office supply store and pick up a notebook and pencil. It’s one of the greatest golf aids around — your own golf journal.
Golf is an endless LEARNING experience, so take notes! Capture a lesson, log a practice, note a particular success on the course.
LESSONS LEARNED - AND RETAINED
Ever take a lesson, return to practice the following week and realize you’ve forgotten a lot? Take time at the end of every lesson to review important points with your instructor. Write them down - and write down your “homework” too. You’re paying good money for this info - so keep it!
To start with, make two sections in your notebook:
- “Before I Hit the Ball” - Use this area to collect notes on grip, stance, posture, aim, ball position.
- “When I Hit the Ball” - Collect info on the swing itself, things like club path, club face, weight transfer, etc.
With your instructor’s help, note your tendencies in both areas and specific drills to improve these tendencies. Use drawings, squiggles, stick people. Get creative. With this basic framework you will have a working system to capture - and remember - golf information that is personal to you. This will be very helpful when you go out to practice.
SPEAKING OF PRACTICE
Log your practice sessions: what you’re working on, what’s successful, what’s not, ball trajectory, questions that arise. All this info will be very useful, giving continuity to your practices and info you can share with your instructor next time you meet.
MORE IDEAS FOR YOUR GOLF JOURNAL
Expand your notebook and make it yours. Use it to keep all kinds of info, memories and reminders. Some thought-starters:
- Current Calendar of Practice Club sessions!
- Specific topics, like ”Chipping - What To Remember” or “Putting - Ideas that Work”
- Equipment Wish List - clubs, balls, etc
- People & Places - List of fun folks and great courses to play this summer!
- Golf books to read, Golf blogs to look at
- On-course journal - logging games played, where, with whom, highlights, etc.
The sky’s the limit with the information you put in your journal - and with the benefit you get out of it. People who keep notebooks refer to them when they feel their swing getting off. They can start to solve their own flaws - and be their own instructor!
