Happy putting

During the summer months, I have been working hard on my own game in preparation for a number of events in Bahrain this season. In addition, I have recently completed a number of qualifications and am now delighted to be able to promote myself as a certified putting instructor.

Everyone is probably sick of hearing the old adage, ‘drive for show and putt for dough’ but according to the experts, 45 per cent of our strokes are taken with our putter and roughly 40 per cent of our playing time is spent on the green. Therefore, it stands to reason that in order to improve, we should invest a significant amount of time practicing. Unfortunately, in my experience, that is generally not the case!

Naturally, there are a number of different factors that can influence your ability to get the ball into the hole. Whilst alignment, swing path, distance control and green reading are a few of the obvious ones, having a putter correctly fitted to you is often overlooked. 

If your putter has not been fitted to you and is the wrong size, it is very difficult to set-up to the ball in the correct way. Therefore, the compensations that you have to make in your set-up can translate into your technique.

For example, let’s take it as a given that you’re in the correct putter set-up, it is advisable to have your arms fully extended (not locked out) and your eyes directly over the ball. Now, imagine a person is 5’6” tall and has bought a standard length putter from a retail outlet that is approximately 35” long. I fully accept that 35” could coincidently be their optimal putter length. However, it is likely that 35” is far too long for a person 5’6” tall (I am 6ft tall and my correctly fitted putter is 33” long).

If this person were to hold the putter correctly with their arms straight, they would not be able to get their eyes over the ball as their spine would be too upright. Equally, if they were to start off by getting their eyes over the ball, they would not be able to hold the club correctly as they would have to bend their arms. Either way, they now have to make compensations in their set-up, which will cause inconsistency.

Whilst I am not suggesting that you need to go out and buy a new putter to improve your game, I am suggesting that getting your putter fitted correctly will facilitate a better set-up which will lead to greater consistency.

For more information on Awali Golf Club’s putter fitting services, please feel free to contact me on 39761873. Happy golfing!!