Every Month I Will Be Giving you New shots and tips to try out





This is where it all happens, the putting green. The old adage of "You drive for show and putt for dough" is so very true. We all fall victim to the three-putt sometimes, and heaven forbid the four-bagger every once in awhile. There is nothing that will add to your score faster,



and turn that 87 into a 90, than the three putt. It happens, even touring pros do it every now and then, but here's a way to prevent it.
There are many factors involved when putting the ball, speed, line, estimating the break, putter head acceleration, deceleration, and even the direction in which the grass is growing. Since three putting occurs mostly on putts of distance greater than 30', we'll start with three common things that can lead to a three putt; Misjudging the speed, the distance, and the line of a putt. These are just three things that can open the door for a three-putt opportunity. Inevitably, we either run the ball right on by the hole, leave it way short, or just plain misread the putt. Most putts are not perfectly flat, and are either uphill, downhill, or at side angle.
One thing that most teaching pros agree on is that while practicing these long putts, it's a great idea to visualize a 3-foot circle around the cup and try only to stay within that perimeter. The idea here is that keeping the ball within this 3-foot circle of the cup will give the player an easier second putt, and greatly reduce the chances of three-putting the hole. Spend time putting the ball to this imaginary circle from 30', 40', even 60 foot distances to familiarize yourself with the stroke and distance control needed to get the ball close.
Practicing this visualization method is easy. Most Golf courses and driving ranges have practice greens set aside exclusively for putting and chipping, so utilize them when you can. Once you are proficient at the art of putting the ball within three feet each time, you'll find that your scores will drop significantly, and three-putts are much less frequent.