Key on Aim, Pace to Lower Your Score

By Kevin Rhoads | October 12, 2007 | 6:55 PM | 0 Comments

Let's face it. Golf is hard. Really hard. Although some may debate whether or not golf is a sport, not one who has played will debate its difficulty or skill it takes to play consistently well. Part of what makes the game so difficult is that it requires many different skills to score well. It is said that you "drive for show and putt for dough," but I find both are integral parts of the game. Each player is responsible for so many areas, and there are no teammates that will help you specialize in one area while you specialize in a different area. You need to do them all. Every skill-area must be developed, but if you are looking to better your scores immediately, most people should take a look at their short game. Short game refers to any shots where you are within 50 yards of the hole. Broken down, I would put putting, chipping, pitching, bunker play, intermediate wedges, and specialty shots (such as skull-putting) in this category.

The number of shots that are possible inside 50 yards are infinite, and by extension, so is the possible number of different techniques that could be used to negotiate those shots. Therefore, over the next couple of weeks, I propose to narrow things down by simplifying each area to the most functional pieces responsible for success. I will cover the areas mentioned above in that order, as each area serves as a foundation for the others as you move farther away from the hole. So let's begin with a few ideas for putting this week.

There are two main components for putting: distance control and directional accuracy. One of the great things about putting is that it doesn't require as much skill to get correct contact, so we don't have to worry as much about that. What it does require is the ability to start the ball on the line you require as well as hit the ball with the proper pace.

To start the ball on line, I believe that most important factor is a dead-accurate setup. Not that the stroke isn't important, but as a whole, people are too general when it comes to their setups, to the detriment of their shot outcomes. So come up with a routine that allows you to consistently aim where you'd like. The biggest obstacle for aiming correctly is that our eyes are not built for golf. Because our eyes are on the front of our heads and not the sides, we are not good at looking down at the ball and then accurately aiming our clubface perpendicular to our field of vision. Our only recourse is to come from behind the target line in our pre-shot routine. Your eyes will more accurately see the line, and aiming accurately will be easier. Coming from behind the target line can either be done just prior to hitting the putt, or after, using a technique such as aiming the logo of the golf ball at the target. Either way, make sure to come from behind the target line when you aim, and you'll be consistently better at starting your putts on the desired line.  There is a reason the pros do this, even on some of their shortest putts!

To have proper distance control, our most effective technique is to try and create a pendulum-like motion. The defining characteristic of a pendulum is that the swinging end travels equal distance back and through and swings with equal pace back and through. It is extremely reliable to execute this motion because the putterhead swings with neutral acceleration. We all know a de-accelerating clubhead makes proper ball performance difficult, but a clubhead that has too much acceleration also makes controlling distance difficult. A pendulum swing, which I'll call neutral acceleration, is provided by gravity, so create neutral acceleration by equating your stroke to whatever size pendulum is necessary to make the ball travel the necessary distance.

However, making the putterhead swing with neutral acceleration is not as easy as it seems. If you putt with a belly-putter or a long-putter, it is much easier, because you have a fulcrum. Then you can let the putterhead swing like a true pendulum. If you putt with a traditional-style and traditional-length putter, it is more difficult because we are not one-lever machines. We have extra joints and muscles and brains, which can complicate things. If you employ the traditional style, the shoulders, arms, and clubhead need to maintain their relationships to one another as you swing back and through.

The tricky part is that to maintain those relationships, each of those components have to travel different distances in the same amount of time. Therefore, they have to travel at slightly different speeds to maintain the look of a pendulum. The image that I will use to support this idea is runners on a track going around the curved portion. If the runners heading into a turn were even, runners in the middle and outer lanes would need to run progressively faster to keep up with those on the inside lane. For instance, the runner in the inner lane is your shoulders, the runner in the middle lane is your arms and hands, and the runner in the outer lane is the putter head. Stay aware of how each component relates to the other two, and you'll have the ability to swing a more proper pendulum.

Two things are required to get more consistent with putting. First, make sure that you have a routine which helps you consistently aim at your target. Second, make sure that your in-stroke focus is on creating the proper-sized pendulum. Even if you don't make all of your putts, you'll find yourself closer to the hole more often, and therefore your number of putts taken will go down.

With questions or comments please email Kevin at Kevin@RhoadsGolf.com