During this difficult time where there is no golf being played, I thought it would be good to look at how we can help improve our game with out leaving our homes. There is no substitute for being out on the course or even the golf range but there are many drills we can work on without needing to smash driver 300 yards. For most club golfers the simplest and easiest way to lower scores is to hole more putts. In order to be considered a good putter you need to able to read the slope on the greens, control the speed the ball rolls and hit the ball on you intended start line. Well unless you have a putting green at home green reading will need to be a discussion for another time so first let’s look at your ability to start the ball on where you are aiming. The start line will be dictated by the direction of the swing and the clubface alignment at impact with the clubface being the most influential of these factors. In order to control the clubface in putting and for all our golf shots we must first hit the middle of the club or at least the same part of the face each time. If we hit random parts of the face the putter will twist creating random start lines, while also potentially changing the loft of the putter so the ball launches at different heights and at different speeds so creating distance control issues.

So, first on the carpet at home let’s just hit some random distance putts feeling the strike from the face to see if you can tell a difference. From here lets deliberately hit a putt from the toe of the putter then the heel of the putter to create an awareness of the desired feel. Now we have to built up this feel in our hands and our so brain we learn how to promote the desired centre strike. Get your putter and some elastic bands and wrap then around the face with a small gap in the middle to challenge you to strike some putts between these bands. (see picture 1) Start with a good gap between so you can achieve the centre strike then as you build confidence make the gap smaller to challenge your self to achieve this same strike. If you have the space make the swing bigger to see if you can achieve the strike with the more speed and movement going on. As you progress can you set up with your eyes open then close your eyes to see if you can strike the centre of the putter being aware of body movements from the feet then working up through your body. Understand we as human will always have variable movements from shot to shot as every moment is different but if we can reduce these variables, we increase the chances of hitting the centre of the putter.

Give this a try and get back to me with your thoughts and feedback.

Cheers

Dougie Bell