If you look at your bag, you will quickly realize your putter is the most important club. In a single round, the putter weighs more strokes than any other club. In sharing the following thoughts, I feel it is easiest to progress in point form, as the ideas are quite diverse.

 

1. My long game is average! For example, ask my regular partners, and they will probably tell you I miss more fairways in some rounds than some very good players do in a year. My meter always has been and remains, moody, and prone to jumps. The Stat percentage of 82+ is mainly a result of playing St. Andys, in which the fairways are comparable to football fields. At one point, before I made St. Andys and RSG home, my driving accuracy was less than 70%.

 

2. Putting is no different. My meter is once again prone to Internet lag jumps. The hardest putts for me are dead straight putts. The most common green with this scenario is St. Andys Hole 9. To give you an idea of the extent of the "lag" jump, on that green I normally aim left of the hole (even though the green is dead flat), and play for a slight push with the putter. I have scored many 26s (-10) at St. Andys on the Front 9.

 

3. My putting is entirely built around MINOR pulls and MINOR pushes. When you blend in these strokes with the slope of the green, the effect is such that it is as good as a ding, furthermore it is very consistent. Let me explain. Visualize the green sloping right to left. Setup the putt as if you want to ding. Excellent. Now, if you click early, or pull the putt, in theory and based on a correct read, you will miss, as the pull becomes greatly exaggerated by the slope. Let's take the same putt again. Read and setup. This time, play for a MINOR push. You will observe that the slope swallows the push, and the putt is as effective as a ding. Furthermore, the process of MINOR pulls and pushes serves as insurance in the act of putting.

 

4. It is very rare for me to miss a putt under 5ft. In most instances, and based on the typical low to moderate break at that range, I leave the putt center (or move it very slightly) and hit it firm on the correct side of the ding. The correct side of the ding is opposite to the slope. Meaning right to left slope equals push, and left to right slope equals pull. Do NOT build your putting around pulls and pushes. Reading the slope is the primary act and still essential. The act of MINOR pulls and pushes is to serve as an insurance policy. If you hit the ding every time and make a lot of putts, then this advice is inappropriate. Keeping in mind the earlier discussed "lag" jump I have detailed.

 

5. Having discussed the meter, let me explain the impact of putting on my game. In summary, it is my predominant strength. On WGT, I live by the philosophy of, "two bad shots and one good one still make birdie". If you scroll down to the 24 at RSG, it may interest you to know I had one putt of more than 30ft, and two putts more than 20ft. For me, that is a typical round. Alright, beyond the meter, how do we read greens and putt?

 

6. Unless it's a monster putt, do NOT leave putts short! For putts under 30ft, I would estimate I leave about 1 / 50 short. I don't mind missing after a solid try, however the greatest sin in MY books is leaving a make able putt short. Unless it is a very long or challenging putt, STOP trying to get the dead weight. If you consistently endeavor to get the dead weight, you will more than likely find yourself leaving many putts short. Simply put, it is too hard. The perfect weight for a missed putt under 30ft in my books is 1ft past. If I'm playing Alt. Shot and my partner shoots it 4ft past, that is preferred to leaving it 5 inches short. I will make the putt coming back. Give the putt a try. Don't be scared to hit it. Putt with confidence that you will hole the stroke.

 

7. Reading greens is by far my favorite part of playing on WGT. I love it! Some basics:

    a). Take your time! If it's a flat 5ft putt, I can understand one taking 15 seconds, otherwise, have a good think about the stroke. I always take my time putting for putts outside the gimmie range. To illustrate the extent of the time taken, on a 20ft putt while playing solo stroke rounds, I can think and debate the putt for 5 minutes.

 

    b). Before you make the stroke, set the parameters clearly in your mind. Agree on the exact weight or strength of the putt, and determine your ambition as to a pull, ding or push. Don't debate what you are going to do during the backswing of the putt. Be confident and clear about your judgment in advance.

 

    c). Visualize the ball going in the hole! Now that we are clear about the parameters, we need to visualize the putt. Given the agreed strength, do you see the ball going in? My trick!? I draw a line with the mouse pointer as to the exact path I believe the putt should stroll through. Most athletes swear by visualization. It works! See it before you do it!

 

   d). Finally, if you have done the above, be confident you will make the putt. I generally tell myself that the hole is the size of a bucket, and surprisingly this is often the case.

 

8. Advanced Putting. Have you ever looked at a putt and thought, "***! What is it doing!?" Around Kiawah and RSG I often feel this is the case. Try this: switch to the chipping view. The chipping view outlines some slopes which are otherwise extremely difficult to determine through putting. The chipping view is just as effective as the putting view in determining the slope of the green. It is extremely effective when a putt has multiple directions, when a putt sits in the middle of two slopes, or when there is various speeds in the slope of a putt. Try it.

 

9. Heads Up! Last, yet certainly not the least important, is heads up! Putting is the hardest aspect of golf for most, and WGT is no different. If you have a 51.33 Average and cannot afford a par during the round, I can understand your disappointment (LOL). However, in the reality of the game, you're going to miss putts, some more than others. Don't let it disappoint you. On several occasions I have missed a birdie putt and made par, only to be blessed with an eagle on the next hole. That's golf! It requires a very short-term memory of the bad strokes, and a strong long-term memory of the good strokes. When someone tells you "nice try", believe it. If you like math, consider the following: Let's say you have a 61 Average. Based on this Average, on a par 70 course, you are going to make 9 birdies and 9 pars (approx.). While the 9 pars may involve some scrambling, you're bound to have a few two putts. Walter Hagen is famous for noting: If I start a round off with 3 bogeys, it doesn't bother me. I just say I've used up my quota for the round and move on. The same applies for putting. If you miss a putt, tell yourself that statistically your bound to make birdie putts over the coming holes.