Improving your performance on the greens can be a great way to save strokes on the golf course, and focusing on your putting is a good place to start. Heather Angell, the director of instruction at Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla., has a simple drill to help you establish stroke consistency. This drill focuses on using checkpoints on the course, rather than relying on gadgets that you can’t bring with you during a round.
One useful guide for this drill is the placement of your feet. By positioning your putter head in the middle of your stance and the ball just in front of the clubhead, you can ensure that the club contacts the ball at the right point in your swing arc. Your feet then act as reference points for your stroke, helping you maintain consistency. By practicing a back-and-through stroke that goes from your back foot to your front foot, you can establish a comfortable and repeatable motion for your putting stroke.
Once you’ve established your stock tempo and distance, you can start to familiarize yourself with how the ball travels when you swing the putter back to one foot and through to the other. This will help you adjust the length of your stroke to match the length of the putt you’re facing. By practicing from both shorter and longer distances, you can fine-tune your stroke length to achieve different distance lengths. The key is to find a back-and-through motion that feels natural to you and adjust the length as needed.
One useful training aid that can help with putting alignment is the Alignment Ball, which features close to 20 feet of retractable cable. This tool can assist you in working on your start line quickly and easily on the putting green, whether you’re practicing straight putts or breaking putts. The Alignment Ball comes with built-in spokes for easy setup and a carrying case for convenience.
Jessica Marksbury, a member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, emphasizes the importance of finding a comfortable and repeatable putting stroke. By focusing on checkpoints on the course and establishing a consistent motion, you can improve your distance control and overall performance on the greens. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced golfer, implementing drills like the one suggested by Heather Angell can help you save strokes and become a more confident putter. Practice regularly and focus on developing a reliable stroke to see improvement in your game.
