Putting Epiphany: Aim Small

[hoselpalooza]

note: i know i'm not the first person to try this (e.g. i remember seeing stewart cink do this on a GC show) but it's been very helpful for me and seemed worth a share.

 

recently i've had difficulty with shorter putts. basically, i developed some grip and setup issues that yielded inconsistent results. it took a while for me to get to the root and i think practicing with smaller targets (e.g. a dime or tee) helped identify the issues faster. for example, a slight miss hit or poorly aligned putt might still hit the hole from 3'-5', but the chances of rolling over a dime are slim.

 

in other words, it was easier to identify imperfect strokes which helped uncover the underlying causes. my process was to make one change, roll a bunch of balls (doing pre-shot routine ~~before each roll~~ to avoid getting into a groove, etc.), and assess whether accuracy/consistency improved. after a few practice sessions i was able to identify some minor tweaks that, for lack of a better explanation, produced a better/more consistent roll.

 

a few things i like about this drill in particular:

1. increases focus by shrinking the target.

2. the challenge -- gotta groove a repeatable stroke to consistently hit a dime at 3'-5'.

3. confidence builder -- doing this at 3'-5' feels like making 5'-10' putts with a regular hole imo.

 

edit: turns out this isn't always the case: "roll a bunch of balls (doing pre-shot routine before each roll to avoid getting into a groove, etc.)"

i would first roll a bunch of consecutive putts with (e.g.) the same grip or grip pressure to get a feel for the adjustment, and if i thought it worked well _then_ i'd incorporate a pre-shot routine to reset between rolls to test consistency.