Today, I will explain couple basics about how to putt like a pro.  Trust me, I have read more books about putting than most people will ever in their life and I have spent $2000 on a lesson with Stan Utley, one of the best putters on Tour.

So here’s how to putt like a pro:

1. You need to learn to sink a lot of short putts within 3-10 feet range.  To do this, think of the short putts as the “short game” of putting.  That’s right, these short putts are the most important and count as much as a 350 yard drive.  If you can’t sink ‘em, go home.  If you can, you might become a pro.

2. Soft hands, hands like noodles, gentle grip, or whatever you want to call it but make sure you are holding the putter very very lightly while you putt.

3. Learn to lag putt real good from 20, 50, 100 feet.  Lag putts are great for absorbing the speed of the greens.  The more you can lag, the better putter you will be overall.

4. Putt for money.  Next time you are with a buddy, play an 18-hole putting match, one dollar per hole.  Without putting pressure on your putting, you never know how it’s going to be in a real tournament situation.

Heck, most of the time I play with my buddies, we are betting like $20 per putt or hole.  Pressure games make you better.

5. Develop a consistent putting stroke that rolls the ball true.  Whether you are putting a 20 footer or a 100 footer, your ball should roll very true from the start to finish.  If your ball bumps up in the beginning or at the end, you might want to work on your putting stroke so you putts roll true.

When your putts roll true, you will notice that your putts roll a lot smoother and also get less effected by any breaks in the putt.  Probably the biggest difference between an average golfer and the pro golfer is how true the pro golfer “rolls” the golf ball while the average golfer doesn’t even understand that putting can be so complicated.

Well, that’s it for today, I might need to go hit some balls. 

As Ben Hogan said, “Everyday you don’t practice is another day longer it will take you to become a good golfer”.

Practice, practice, and practice while playing pressure games in your head.  That’s right, you should be putting for the U.S. Open win on every practice putt.  (Damn, I let anther worst kept secret out…)

balls, Ben Hogan, buddies, footer, games, gentle grip, golf-ball, greens, heck, money, noodles, pro golfer, putters, short game, short putts, soft hands, stan utley, stroke balls, Ben Hogan, buddies, footer, games, gentle grip, golf-ball, greens, heck, money, noodles, pro golfer, putters, short game, short putts, soft hands, stan utley, stroke If you like this post, please subscribe to the ProGolferDigest via RSS or via E-Mail to receive updates.

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Here’s a swing analysis of Matt Kuchar, winner of the 1997 US Amateur.

Continue reading ‘Matt Kuchar Swing Analysis’

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Well, while analyzing swings of the great pro golfers, I got the desire today to go out to the range for the first time in weeks.

I hit the ball great and here’s why.

As you can see in the address, the shoulders  are parallel to my target line and my clubface is about 8 degrees open to hit a power fade. (My video camera is a little off…)

My stance is closed, which is a natural habit I get into but I should really open up more.

At 1/2 way point, My club is in perfect plane from the ball through the middle of my right shoulder socket. This is the the plane Tiger Woods follow and me three.

At top of my swing, the butt end of my club shows that I am still in plane. I also have a very good triangle going, which is good. The only bad part about this backswing is that I just finished working out before hitting balls so my muscles are too tight. Tightness is not good for golf but oh well…

On the downswing, I dip my head a little, which is my bad habit and I am also slightly inside of the plane. (probably because of my slightly closed stance)

At impact, I hit the 3 wood perfect. It makes thing really big “ping” sound.

My shoulders are about parallel to my target line.

My clubface is actually open and I am trying to hit a power fade here.

My followthrough is slightly flat. Meaning I came over the ball a little. This is partly due to my slightly closed stance.

I might block the ball 1 out of 10 balls or pull it because of the closed stance.

If I opened my stance, most of my problems would probably be solved.

Oh well, next time I get to go hit balls, I will probably have “other” problems but yes alignment is probably the most important. You have wrong alignment at the beginning of your swing and you can have all kinds of problems.

Overall, I hit the ball great today. I feel like I can try out for the PGA Tour the way I hit the balls today.

Well, even with the closed stance and my bad swing habits, I hit a lot of good shots at my target. Well, good scores are about good short game mostly anyways.

What is my long term goal?

Well, it has always been to play pro golf. Now, I make money online to feed my family and make a living. Once I can get that going faster, I might have more time to practice and eventually start playing in some mini-tour events again.

Will it happen?

Of course, my dreams never die. That’s probably why I made this blog. Once I can build up my blogging business to about $20K per month, I should be able to spend more time golfing and of course, blogging more often on here too.

Here’s a video of the 3 wood power fade I hit just perfectly about 270 yards:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Don’t blame me if my swing sucks right now, I go to the range about once a month.

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Well, one of our readers asked about her 15 year daughter coming down with a serious Golf Flu and asked me how to practice and what kind of program she should follow.

As a person who went through all that, here are my answers:

Lessons, how often and from whom?

For lessons, you need to first find a good teacher.  Try to sought out a local pro who has “experience” in pro tournament play.  It doesn’t have to be the PGA Tour, but the pro you take lessons should at least be able to break par every now and then.  Try to find a pro who gives you a “personalized” lesson, not a “do it this way or you die” type of a pro.

Every golfer has their own perfect swing.  A great teacher will help him/her find that.   There’s no textbook “set way” on how to swing the club.  Pros who condone that are the ones to stay away from.

There are lots of self-claimed “pros” that have no tournament experience and will not get your kid to play well under pressure nor teach well.  DO NOT take lessons from pros who sit on a chair all day.  Try to find someone who is also willing to take your kid out on the course for course strategy lessons.

Are the golf academies worth it?

Golf academies are worthless.  Most golf academies put you with several teachers that will only confuse your junior golfer.  Try to stick with “private” one-on-one lessons and get personalized lessons.  But golf camps are fun for the junior golfers.

How much and how often should you practice?

Your junior golfer should play more often than practice until she can break par.  My recommendation is to practice about 1 hour on the range (a bucket of balls), 1 hour on chipping/putting, and the rest of time on the course.  Always practice your short game as much as your full shots, that’s the key to breaking par.

Is the range a good place to focus before going to the course?

Yes, most pros actually spend about 15-20 minutes warming up on the range before they hit the course.  You definitely need to warm up before playing, otherwise it’s like working out from a cold start.

Equipment?

You don’t need great equipment to start out.  A lot of new golfers buy new golf clubs and never play golf at all.

You can go to Play It Again Sports or buy some used clubs at your local golf shop to begin with.

After your kid breaks 80, you can go buy her/him a “custom-tailored” set matching her height and angles.  But you don’t need this in the beginning unless you have money to throw away.   Besides, nothing can be “custom-tailored” right until your kid breaks at least 80, which is a good sign she has a consistent swing.

Where should a teenager be with the game after a certain period of time?

Well, it depends.  It took me about 4 years before I broke 90. (I was 13…)  Golf is not easy but if your daughter is 15 years old, she will need to break 80 in the next year or two to be competitive.

In all, try to enjoy the game.  Having the goal to have fun will improve her game more than anything.  Trying to be too competitive will only kill her efforts.  Short game is really the key again because short game requires more “feel” and practice than any lessons can give you.  My advice is to practice the short game more than anything on the extra time allotted.

Also, do not burn out your child, let your kid be a normal kid and enjoy life.  There’s no need to practice/play golf all day long.  You need to keep your kid’s desire in check and fresh.  No food taste the same after eating it 100 days in a row, just use your common sense.

I hope that helps and let me know if my advice helped your daughter!

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