Good January afternoon from Classic Swing Golf School in Myrtle Beach! I'm afraid the mild weather we have had recently is coming to a close. Hello Winter! Since I've been on a roll with posts about putting, here's a tip from Ted; perhaps something to do on those cold days.
Enjoy!
Indoor Putting Drills
It may come as a surprise to you that the best place to work on your putting mechanics is indoors when making putts is not the top priority. When you remove the target from your focus, then you can increase your awareness on the motor skill. In putting, the target is obviously the cup and the motor skill is the stroke, so when you remove the cup you can focus on the stroke. There are several indoor putting drills that focus on path, acceleration, and distance control that are guaranteed to help your stroke and putting statistics.
First and foremost, focus on your path. This drill will help you make those all important putts inside six feet where distance control is not the main objective. For putts inside six feet, it is essential to get the golf ball started on your intended line. Therefore, the path the clubhead is traveling back and through is key. You will need four coins and four tees for the path drill. Place a tee on top of a coin that is set up just outside the heel of your putter, as well as one off the toe of your putter at the address position. Then, place one coin with a tee on it four inches back on the putter heel line and the final coin with a tee four inches forward on the putter toe line. (See Picture # 1 for the path drill set up). While doing this drill, work on developing a stroke that does not disturb any of the four tees. Putts inside of six feet do not require much curvature to your stroke so this drill will simplify the motion.
Next, if you are one of those putters who rarely gets the ball to the hole and you constantly hear "Never up, never in Alice" from your buddies, then the acceleration drill is for you! Hang on to the four coins and four tees. You will use the same address position set up as in the path drill with two tees on two coins just outside the heel and toe of the putter. For this drill, place the third coin with a tee five inches back on your target line. Your goal is to not hit the tee in the backswing. The fourth coin and tee is placed ten inches forward of the address position tees. You can place this tee on the heel or toe line of the putter and your follow through must get to this tee (See Picture # 2 for the acceleration drill set up). For indoor training, and specifically for those who leave putts short, focus on the follow through being twice as long as the backswing! Golfers who leave putts short fight with deceleration and this drill addresses acceleration.
The final drill is all about distance control so for this practice technique you will need a yard stick and some pocket change. The goal in this drill is to learn to develop a stroke that evens out both sides of the putting arc. No matter what length backswing you take, your follow through should be the same length. All three of these indoor drills can be done with or without a ball, but this drill is most effective when done without a ball at first. On day one of all of our schools, we begin with putting. Our formula is a 10 foot putt equals a 10 inch stroke, 5 inches back and 5 inches through. Therefore a 40 foot putt requires a 40 inch stroke, 20 inches back and 20 inches through. Be creative here and use your coins to represent backswing and follow through intervals (See Picture # 3 for the distance control drill set up).
My instructional DVD, From Putt to Drive, goes into great detail regarding green reading and distance control drills. This one hour video is another great tool for honing your skills during the winter.
Classic Swing Golf School has earned many accolades on which to hang its hat. Classic Swing Golf School is honorably distinguished as one of the "Top 25 Golf Schools in America" by Golf Magazine and was also voted "The Best Golf School in Myrtle Beach" in 2008.
Classic Swing Golf School guarantees a maximum 3:1 student to teacher ratio in all golf schools and offers private golf lessons for those golfers that prefer one-on-one golf instruction. Classic Swing also offers custom golf club fitting. The staff of Classic Swing Golf School abides by their motto, "We Love What We Do and We GUARANTEE Improvement." We invite you to preview the Classic Swing Golf School experience today! www.classicswing.com. Be sure to check out our videos on YOUTUBE!