Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer

by Steve Page

Overview

In Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer, Steve Page provides incredibly simple but effective techniques that are explained throughout by vivid illustrations.

First, let's clear up two things. Putting is, without question, one of the hardest parts of the game. It is also the most important. If you take a golf pro hitting right on par for 18, on average he'll take two putts per hole, which adds up to 36 putts per round. Given a par of 72, that's exactly fifty percent of the strokes taken right on the greens. Putting is preeminent to having a good round.

So what does the Weekend Golfer, those of us who usually shoot more than 90 for a round, need? Answer: a book written by and for one of your own. This is what we have here, a tip-packed book that offers a solid plan for attacking your putting game. Read a few pages and you will improve your putting score immediately. Read the entire book and you will be quickly on your way to becoming a superb putter, equal only to the touring golf pro. Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer is tailor-made for you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466878525
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/19/2014
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Steve Page is currently a Weekend Golfer; when he played daily, he was a scratch golfer. Now a writer by profession, he lives with his family in Ohio and is the author of Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer.
Steve Page is currently a Weekend Golfer; when he played daily, he was a scratch golfer. Now a writer by profession, he lives with his family in Ohio and is the author of Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer.

Read an Excerpt

Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer

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By Steve Page, Mary Bridges, Patricia Shea

St. Martin's Press

Copyright © 1997 Steve Page
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4668-7852-5

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CHAPTER 1

Planning, Visualizing, and Playing Realistically

A TYPICAL DAY OF GOLF

On the day you plan to play golf, you'll wake up eager to get to the course. Assuming you have a start time, you'll plan to arrive at the course about one hour before tee-off time. Upon arrival, you may recheck the tee-off time with the starter. You'll probably sit and have something to eat or drink, chat with some friends, or browse in the golf shop. Eventually, you may get a bucket of balls and go out to the driving range, if there is one. You'll use up your balls hitting woods and irons one after another, as far and as straight as possible toward the range targets. Time permitting, you may practice for a while on the putting green. You're now ready to play.

When called to check in, you report to the starter, pay the golf fees, rent either a pull cart or a powered golf cart (you rarely walk and carry your own clubs), pick up a score card and pencil, and go to the first tee to join the rest of your assigned group. Typically, the first hole on an 18-hole golf course is a par 4 or. par 5. When it's your turn, you usually select your driver and try to hit the ball as far as possible. You walk or drive to your ball. You figure out how far you are from the green, select another club, and again hit the ball as far as possible. But if your ball lies 180 to 250 yards from the green, you will wait for the golfers ahead to finish their play and leave the green. You then hit your ball toward the green. Usually, however, you'll be way short or off to the left or right of the green. Rarely does the ball land on the green.

You continue to play your ball until it reaches the green. You then pick up your putter, walk up to your ball, wait your turn, step up to the ball, take quick aim, and hit the ball toward the hole. After finally sinking one of your putts, you'll pick up your ball, wait for the others in your group to hole out, walk off the green, put away your putter, and take out the score card. You mentally recount the number of strokes and write that total for the first hole. You continue to play the remaining holes in a similar manner. You finish with an average round. You may score above average once in a while, but, most of the time, your score is average or worse.

WHY DIDN'T YOU SCORE WELL?

Because — you failed to plan your day. You didn't allow sufficient practice time before starting your round and you probably didn't practice correctly either. You just hit balls randomly on the driving range. You didn't plan any of your shots. You tried to hit every shot long and straight like a pro. When on the green, you didn't stick to a particular putting style or game plan. You didn't think creatively or analyze your shots. Not knowing any better, you just accepted everything that happened.

PLANNING YOUR DAY TO MAKE THINGS GO RIGHT

If your day lacks strategy, then typically so does your game. If you plan your day before arriving at the golf course and before starting your round of play, it will greatly influence your overall game. If you determine how much practice time you need on the driving range, on the putting green, and how much time you'll need for any other activities before tee-off, you can estimate the best time to arrive at the course.

For example, if you have a starting time of 10:00 A.M. and think you need about 20 minutes on the driving range, about 10 minutes on the putting green, and 40 minutes of relaxation before your tee-off time, you should arrive at the golf course at least 70 minutes prior to tee-off, or around 8:50 A.M. This kind of planning will give you a relaxed, unrushed start that can only help your mental attitude toward your game.

By the time you check in, you should already be thinking about your round of golf. When driving up to the course, you should note its condition and layout as well as green size, pin placement, fairway width, and location of water hazards and sand bunkers. Once at the course, you should ask the starter if there are yardage markers on the course. He can tell you how to identify the markers (palm trees, concrete slabs, etc.). He may offer to sell you a yardage map. Buy one — it can be very helpful.

STRATEGY ON THE COURSE

When you're ready to hit from the first tee box, mentally plan each shot from tee to green before lifting a club. This planning is important to your entire game. If you hit a shot without thought as to where it may land, the next shot could be even more difficult than the first. Randomly hitting shot after shot will almost always result in trouble with each and every stroke. You must look carefully at what confronts you and select a target. You must plan each shot all the way to the green and have several shots in mind when you're ready to approach the green. "You have to stroke and analyze, stroke and analyze" — a quote from Arnold Palmer's Complete Book of Putting. You must visualize each shot, play realistically, and play the percentage shot whenever possible.

1. VISUALIZE EACH SHOT. Consider fairway width and length, trees, out-of-bounds stakes, hazards, distance, and lie before selecting and using a club. Evaluate the risks of each potential landing position. Visualize the ball's trajectory and its landing somewhere in your target zone. Ray Floyd, in From 60 Yards In, emphasizes this thinking and says, "The player can induce a preview, a visualization, of a shot. The mind does control the body, and if you work hard at controlling your mind, using it in the right way, you can produce the proper response from your muscles. If you concentrate, you can see the putt rolling into the hole, see the pitch shot floating high over the bunker, and setting close to the hole."

This thought process applies to both fairway and approach shots. The strategy is not only helpful for staying out of trouble but will be important to all shots from tee box to green. Plan carefully and completely. Keep your eyes and mind open while constantly looking for opportunities to save strokes. Positive planning will help you to maintain a winning mental attitude that will help to give you a feeling of assurance when preparing to hit a ball.

2. BE REALISTIC. The golf pro will consistently hit the green in regulation (par), but you're an average golfer and don't have his control or power. You can't expect to hit like a pro. You can play golf for years without coming to this realization. But once you do, your game will improve immediately. So play your own game. With realistic goals, what may be only an average shot for the pro may be a good one for you.

When you're lying 180 to 250 yards from the green, don't expect to hit the ball that full distance. In the majority of cases, you can't execute a perfect, long, and straight shot to the green. You may feel confident that you can reach the green, but you're not playing to your handicap and you're holding up play for those behind you. Take that club you're comfortable with, lay the ball up short, and be ready to make it to the green on the next shot.

If you normally shoot one over par on each hole (18-handicap), play that way. Always trying to reach the green in regulation will result in inconsistent golf. If you use the shots you're best at and reach the green in three shots instead of two on a par-4 hole, you're more likely to bogey the hole than to make par. Going for two perfectly executed shots on a hole to reach a green in regulation can only lead to trouble and frustration. You might get behind a tree, land in a fairway bunker or water hazard, or even go out-of-bounds if you're constantly trying to make one brilliant shot after another. This effort will cause more shots, not fewer, to be taken. You must be realistic and only play those shots you're good at. As Gary Player from Golf Begins at 50 puts it, "Learn to play your shot, not someone else's. If you know you should lay up short of a water hazard, ignore the fact that others are trying to carry it. Stick to your guns and lay up. Often, you'll have the last laugh."

3. PLAY THE PERCENTAGE SHOT. The main difference between you and the golf pro is that he knows and uses his strengths while avoiding his weaknesses. He plays the shot that gives him the best chance of success. He plays the percentage shot. You, too, can play the percentage shot. Taking a percentage shot means selecting and using a club that you're comfortable with — one with which you are fairly certain you can hit a ball a specific distance and in a particular direction every time.

For example, if you rarely hit the 4-iron 165 yards but consistently hit your 5-iron 145 yards relatively straight and you are lying 160 yards from the green, the percentage shot is to use the 5-iron and play a second shot onto the green from 15 yards out. If you select the 4-iron, you'll be playing against the odds and praying that this will be the time that you hit it the full 160 yards straight at the green.

Playing the percentage shot can reduce high scores. You can't expect to play your best golf if you hit unrealistic, low-percentage shots. There will be times when you'll be playing competitively and the low-percentage shot will be necessary to take the lead. Be cautious. Prepare yourself for that shot and be ready to accept the consequences both in terms of your score and emotions. As you become proficient with your putter, you'll even start using the putter as a percentage shot from off the green.

If you continually try to hit one brilliant shot after another, rather than the percentage shot, you'll hit a few good shots, but for the most part you'll be erratic and inconsistent. This can only lead to frustration and a loss of self-control.

Blowups from a bad temper probably have ruined as many golf games as mishit shots. The problem of dealing with a bad temper on the golf course can be the subject of an entire book. So if you hit a bad shot, step back and count to ten. Accept the bad shot as gracefully as possible, which is easier said than done, and rearrange your plans to make up for it. Keep in mind what Jack Nicklaus said in his book Jack Nicklaus' Playing Lessons, "You have to whip yourself before you can whip the course." Which means, you must control your temper before you can start scoring well. An even temper can help instill confidence in your game, an attitude that can only help your total score.

CHAPTER 2

Finding the Correct Line of Putt

PLANNING STARTS YOU OFF RIGHT

Determining the line of putt starts well before you reach the green. Think about possible putting situations when planning your approach shot. Where you land that shot makes the crucial difference in the number of strokes taken around or on the green. The size, shape, and even the texture of the green can determine where you want your ball to land. The closer you can place your approach shot to the flag stick, the fewer putts you'll need to take.

Finding the correct line of putt is one of the first steps in developing a putting style. You'll learn what it takes to establish an accurate line of putt. Slope, grain, grass height and type, dampness of green, and ground conditions of the green are the key variables that the average Weekend Golfer should consider when calculating a line of putt. As you'll quickly learn, if you only consider slope in your calculations, your putting will improve immediately. It's when you start using the other variables to your advantage that you'll be on the road to becoming a superb putter.

LINE OF PUTT DEFINED

The line of putt is an invisible line from ball to hole — the line along which the ball must travel to reach and fall into the hole. According the USGA's Rules of Golf, "This is the line that the player wishes his ball to take after a stroke on the putting green. It includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line but the line doesn't extend beyond the hole."

The position of the ball on the green becomes the beginning of the line; the hole is the end of the line.

In reality, of course, this invisible line is not a line — it's more like a channel with boundaries within which the ball must travel. Look at the definition again. It says that "... it includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line. ..."

With the hole being 4.25 inches in diameter and the regulation ball having a diameter of 1.68 inches, the ball doesn't have to follow a fine line to reach the hole, nor does it have to hit the dead center of the hole to go in. Normally, if just half the ball hits the hole, it will fall in. This adds another 0.84 inches of "drop" area to each side of the hole, making the hole appear about 3½ times as wide as the ball.

All of a sudden, the hole becomes a much larger target. With this seemingly larger hole at the end of the line of putt, the ball can waver a little off line (staying within the channel) and still have a chance of dropping into the hole should at least half of the ball touch the edge of the hole.

The other factors play a lesser role but still should be understood and applied when calculating this line. If slope is not considered, putting becomes a matter of luck. According to Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary, slope is defined as an "upward or downward slant or inclination." In golfing terms, it means the slant of the green. Slope is important because it's the critical factor that determines if your line of putt is right-to-left or left-to-right breaking, or has no break at all.

If you hit a ball toward a hole without considering slope, you'll get close only if there is a little break and if you've hit it hard enough to reach the vicinity of the hole. If the ball is not hit hard enough or does not go in the right direction, it will fall short or break away from the hole and may end up farther away than when you started.

SLOPE DETERMINATION

When calculating slope, you must first survey your line of putt from all angles. This will give you a quick visual as to whether the ground between the ball and the hole is uphill, downhill, or flat. Next, you must determine whether the ground between your ball and the hole slants to the left or to the right, or is flat. To accomplish this you must first find the baseline — the line that you'll use to measure the height of your break, or break point. Put another way, the break point is the highest point along a line of putt. It's the point where the ball will start to break into the hole. You'll learn in the next few sections how to find the break point.

Once you have identified the baseline and break point, you'll be able to determine a fairly accurate line of putt which starts from the position of your ball, rises up to the break point (if there is one), and curves down to the hole. Given the proper ball speed, you'll be able to roll the ball along your line of putt, over this break point wherever it may be, and down into the hole.

Finding the baseline is easy. Start by standing behind your ball. Look at the hole and visualize an imaginary line extending straight from the center of the hole back to your ball. This is the baseline; the line on which all your putts are based.

PLUMB-BOBBING: THE METHOD FOR FINDING THE BREAK POINT ON A LINE OF PUTT

The break point is determined by using an aiming method called plumb-bobbing. With this method, aiming becomes relatively easy. Your ball will get much closer to the hole and you'll be pleased with the results. Scientifically, plumb-bobbing is a very accurate system of determining the slant of the green. It'll show you which side of the baseline your ball will break. You'll then be able to determine if the putt breaks right-to-left, left-to-right, or has no break at all. It'll also show you approximately how much of a break the ball will need to reach and drop into the hole. In the case of a right-to-left breaking putt, the break point will be to the right of the baseline. In the case of a left-to-right breaking putt, the break point will be to the left of the baseline. You'll learn later how to determine placement of an imaginary "X" (spot putting) to ensure your ball travels on its intended line.

While plumb-bobbing is used by many golf pros, it's rarely used by the average golfer. I'm not sure why but I can only guess that it's a lack of understanding its use. Perhaps the average golfers tried it a few times, were unsuccessful, and didn't try again — or maybe they regarded it as just another gimmick.

Plumb-bobbing is relatively easy to learn but difficult to put into writing. It's rather like telling a visitor from another planet how to tie a shoelace. With some study, practice, and success, you'll get the idea.

When plumb-bobbing, you'll actually be able to see the slant of the green and you'll be able to visualize the break point. The first step to learning the art of plumb-bobbing is to figure out which eye is the dominant one. If you use the wrong eye, plumb-bobbing will never work. The Golf Magazine's Handbook of Golf Strategy has an excellent method for determining which eye is dominant. Try it. It works. Remember you must know which eye is dominant for this aiming method to work.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Putting Secrets for the Weekend Golfer by Steve Page, Mary Bridges, Patricia Shea. Copyright © 1997 Steve Page. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Title Page,
Copyright Notice,
Dedication,
Acknowledgments,
Foreword,
Preface,
Notes,
List of Illustrations,
INTRODUCTION,
CHAPTER 1. PLANNING, VISUALIZING, AND PLAYING REALISTICALLY,
CHAPTER 2. FINDING THE CORRECT LINE OF PUTT,
CHAPTER 3. SETTING UP TO PUTT,
CHAPTER 4. STROKING THE BALL,
CHAPTER 5. PUTTING FROM OFF THE GREEN,
CHAPTER 6. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
CHAPTER 7. PUTTING ETIQUETTE AND RULES YOU OUGHT TO KNOW,
CHAPTER 8. GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER,
BIBLIOGRAPHY,
About the Author,
Copyright,