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GET FOCUSED FOR SPEED CONTROL

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Announcement: We are changing our name and our look next month. Our name is changing to "WRIGHT BALANCE." Golf is a game of both mental and physical balance. Our biomechanics lab has taken us to a new level of understanding and instruction of golf fundamentals, all related to physical balance. I will maintain the integration of both physical and mental skills training in the golf schools, these tips and future products.

This month's tip is a drill for speed practice on the putting green. It is a drill where your targets are spots on the green, not holes and you compete against yourself. I am setting up the drill in the following picture. Walk 10 feet from the fringe of a green. Drop a ball at that 10 foot point. (Remember, in this tip and all others, if you click on the picture it will enlarge.)

From that point I walk another 10 feet (20 feet from the fringe) and drop another ball as shown in the next picture.

You should be standing at the second ball, 20 feet from the fringe. This is where you set up to putt. Your goal is to get as many balls between the first ball (10 feet from the fringe) and the fringe. Please read on. There is more to this drill.

Let's assume your first putt passes the first ball and rolls to 4 feet from the fringe as in the following photo.

Your next ball must be past the first ball you putted and short of the fringe as in the next photo.

If you are short of the first ball or if you reach the fringe, the game is over. Ideally, your first putt is just past your target ball, the ball that is 10 feet from the fringe as shown in the next photo.

Again, your goal is to get as many balls between the first ball and the fringe, always passing your last putt. The closer you group the balls with each putt, the more opportunity you have to get several balls within the 10 foot range as in the following 2 pictures.

The most balls I have ever seen any player get in the 10 foot space between the ball and the fringe the first time they do the drill is 7. That includes my tour players. One of my juniors holds the record. This drill will help you maintain your focus during putting practice as you work on speed control. You will find your personal best record and compete with yourself. As you get close to breaking your record, notice the intrusion of thought. Work on your breathing and redirect your focus to a precise target.

No matter what the cause, as soon as you lose your focus, your speed control will falter and the game will be over. Pick targets and trust your images. Take a deep breath as you look out at your target. Begin your exhalation and return your eyes to the ball. Hold the image of your target as you "stare through" the ball. Begin your stroke soon after your eyes return to the ball. Hold the image during and after you stroke the ball. Your only goal is to hold the image for as long as possible, well after the ball leaves your putter face.

If you stare at your ball too long before you stroke the putt, your image of your target will fade and your speed will be compromised as the clarity of your image diminishes. If you are a spot putter, pick a precise spot and hold that image as you stroke the putt. Similarly if you are a line putter, hold an image of the end of your line or the last few inches of your ball rolling and stopping.

You can do this drill for a level putt, an uphill putt and a downhill putt. You will find all of these putts on a practice green. Very few people putt toward the fringe of the green. You should have that area all to yourself.

This is a great drill to hold your focus as you compete against your personal best. Your performance can always get better and will with focused practice.

This newsletter will have a new look next month. The masthead will say WRIGHT BALANCE. We also have a new logo. Join me for another tip on the green for a pre-round warm-up drill.

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