An Attempt to Hit the White Ball Straight
When putting on most greens it is important to remember that the rough side of the hole or cup is where the ball will break. Here is a quick way to think about it. The rough side of the cup is the catcher’s mitt. This is where the ball is going to go. The way in which the grain is growing will greatly determine the speed of your putts. Here is a picture to illustrate just that:
Putting on bentgrass greens has become second nature to me. In fact, I am hitting more and more birdie putts between six and 12 feet every single round. Two putting is common and a three putt is very rare. One of the ways in which I have improved my putting skills on bentgrass greens is to feel the putt with my feet. Rather than looking at the line to the hole, the first thing I do is stand over the putt and determine if the putt is above my feet or below my feet. Here is the putter I use which has helped me win my club championship and many tournaments. This is very important and here’s why.
I consistently play three courses in the NC Triangle – Hasentree, Chapel Ridge and Heritage. Both Hasentree and Chapel Ridge have bentgrass greens and I absolutely love them. When they are soft you can spin the ball back to the hole and the putts take every single break you see. The opposite is true of Heritage. Last summer (2014), Heritage went to championship bermudagrass and that course has never been the same. The greens are rock hard and the putts don’t break at all.
Now this is talent:
I am not sure how good of a golfer Aaron Rodgers is but this was a bad putt. With his athleticism and money I would imagine he is close to a scratch golfer but he may need to work on those tap ins. I have no room to talk as I am certain I have missed a handful of short putts such as that one.
It is well known that Jordan Spieth looks at the hole when putting short putts. This is something he has done for quite some time and he is quite good at it. He does not do it on putts of more than five or six feet but anything that amateurs would call “inside the leather” or a “tap in” Jordan putts without looking down at the ball. This is something one of my good friends has done for a long time and he isn’t that bad at it.
While listening to Ian Baker Finch there is a good chance you will hear the phrase redan style fairway or green when he describes a hole. This is a hole in which the fairway slopes down and away often towards the pin location. If you are approaching a redan green you will see that the green slopes down and to the back, likely toward the pin location. If the golf course decides to place the pin on the front of a redan green you should go in and ask for your greens fees back.
This past weekend my home course, Hasentree Country Club, had its annual Club Championship. I had every intention of playing until other plans came up. I had the opportunity to visit Congressional Country Club just outside of Washington, DC but more on that later. During the Club Championship one of my friends sent me a text telling me the greens were rolling at 14.5 on the stimpmeter. Upon returning to Wake Forest to play Hasentree last week I asked one of the tour pros what it was rolling. They said it got as fast as 14.6 in the morning. That is just crazy! If you are looking to improve your putting stroke check out the Odyssey putter which is what I use.
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