Your Guide to Putting
Introduction

By Bobby Eldridge
Head Professional, PurePoint Golf
Reprinted with permission

Golf Putting Introduction - Putter Length and Fitting

I am also sure I have tried out or bought at least 250 of them. Let's agree on one way to improve your putting temporarily - buy a new putter. It never fails, improves your putting - temporarily. Now while we are at it, let's agree on one other thing. If you are looking for a long term fix to your putting woes, you can not buy it.

What to Look for in a New Putter

Allow me to take a few minutes to walk you through the five most important things that you have to consider before you buy a putter. If you are happy with the putter you are using you can skip this part and move on to the next section.

Putter Length

Let's start with the length of the putter. Most putters come in lengths that range from 33-36 inches. The most important thing to keep in mind when you are trying out a new putter is the sole of the club head must rest on the ground. If the putter is too long you will have to stand too far from the golf ball and the toe of the putter might sit off of the ground. If the putter is too short you will have to stand too close to the golf ball and the heel of the putter might sit off of the ground.

What you have to keep in mind is that you should not try and to adjust your stance and posture to match the putter you are using. You should find the putter that matches your stance and posture. You will not believe how the slightest adjustment can throw off your stroke. ADJUST THE PUTTER TO YOU. -DO NOT ADJUST YOURSELF TO THE PUTTER.

Putter Weight

Putters come in all different weights. The manufacturing companies do not stamp the weight on the putters. There is not a standard weight for putters in the industry. Some putters are heavier than others. Some putters are "head" heavy, there is more weight in the head, and some putters have the weight evenly distributed throughout the entire putter.

As far as the weight is concerned, two things are important. If you play on really fast greens you might be better off using a lighter putter than a heavy one. Secondly no one can tell you what feels good to you. You might like a putter that is much lighter than mine or you might like a really heavy putter. The weight of the putter is all up to the individual.

Putter Lie

The lie of the putter plays a much larger role than people pay attention to. The reason is simple; golfers buy putters and then adjust to them instead of buying a putter that fits your setup. Remember if the putter is too long you will stand too far from the ball and the toe will sit up in the air. Furthermore if the toe is in the air, the heel of the putter will get stuck in the putting surface in the downswing and the toe will pass the heel during impact. Of course if the putter is too short and the heel is in the air the toe will get stuck in the putting surface during the downswing and the heel will pass the toe during impact.

The lie is very important. Make sure you find the putter that fits you.

Putter Grip

The grip of the putter is not the most important part of the putter. As soon as I say those words you are going to tell me how your grip has to have three wraps of silk and one wrap of orange foam. Believe me I know what you are talking about. I have used the exact same type of grip for 25 years and I have to put the grip on all of my putters because I put the grip on sideways.

However for the masses there are two or three types of popular grips that manufactures use and you get what you get. Most grips have a flat pad on the top of the grip and we will discuss later what the pad is for.

Putter Look

Let's move on to what I consider the single most important part of a putter is. The four S's. The shape, size, style and the "sweep you off your feet look".

What I am about to tell you is the one thing that is the deciding factor to buying the correct putter for YOU. If the putter does not sweep you off your feet, do not buy it. There is a putter out there with your name on it; you just have not found it.

You can get fitted for the highest tech equipment available and you can buy the hottest $300 putter and if it does not wow you, it isn't the one for you. For the past 25 years I putted with the exact same putter.

I feel lucky that I found one I loved. Four years ago I was standing 20 yards away from the putting green at TPC Scottsdale the week of the FBR Open and I saw a Tour Rep walk onto the green with a putter and from 20 yards away I knew I had to have that putter. I had to wait three months to get one but the second I put in it into my hands it was exactly what I suspected. It felt great. I have used that putter now for four years. Get wowed or don't buy. Keep this final thought in mind. I have bought most of my favorite putters at garage sales or the $10 barrel of used clubs. New and expensive does not equal one putts.

Golf Putting Introduction - Putting Greens

She was tired of listening to me so she went for a walk and then came back to the room to tell me that the 83 I shot put me in 20th place. What wasn't fair was they let most of the other boys go down the street and use the other golf courses putting greens to putt on.

Of course they didn't but 15 other boys shot 78 or better so the putting greens couldn't have been that bad.

As though it was yesterday, she and I played a little game for the next few years when I played in junior golf tournaments. Whenever we arrived at a tournament we would count how many kids we heard complain about the greens. Every time we heard a complaint we would look at each other and say looks like I am going to beat him this week. We even wrote their names down.

Love Every Putting Green You Play

Before long I stopped the whining and starting falling in love with every green I walked on. Slow, bumpy, grainy, fast, no grass, too much grass etc. I have not met a putting green I did not like.

To this day, it was a life long lesson that I find can be passed on to anyone. If you play most of your golf on one or two golf courses and you struggle with the greens, find the club champ or the pro and see if they can give you some insider information that could change everything.

Don't misunderstand me. I have come across some very difficult greens in my day. But I have never missed a putt before I stroke it. I want to give myself a chance every time I hit a putt.

I liken it to a former Tour Player Dan Sikes. He comes to mind because he had an incredible career and incredible record at Westchester CC in Rye, New York. He must have loved the golf course.

Make it a habit and fall in love with every one of them.

Golf Putting Introduction - Putting Green Reading

There are a number of differences of the two types of putting surfaces. Bermuda greens are found in the southern part of the US where the weather is warmer, bent greens are found in the northern part of the US where the temperatures are cooler.

Some golf facilities in the south have attempted to use bent grass on their putting surfaces, some have been successful and others have failed. The bent grass in the south is very expensive to maintain. The Bermuda is a heartier grass that likes the warmth.

The main characteristic of bent grass is the ability to mow the greens really short. The shorter you mowed the greens the faster they become. Fast greens are more difficult to pitch, chip and putt on. When you are playing on fast greens there is a huge emphasis on the short game. When you play bent greens most of the time the greens are much truer. What this refers to is the putt usually does what it looks like it will do.

On the contrary Bermuda grass is a thicker blade and it can not be mowed as short. Even if you mow it short because the blades are courser the greens are not nearly as fast. The main difference is the grain that you will potentially find in Bermuda greens.

What is grain, I can hear it now? For those of you that play on bent greens just be thankful. Bent grass grows up and down most of the time. Bermuda grass grows along the ground. You have to spend a lot of money and time to try and keep the grain from dominating the greens. The blades of grass in Bermuda greens tend to grow towards the setting sun, a body of water or the main draining area of the green.

The more time and money that is spent on Bermuda greens, the less grain. It takes a talented superintendent to keep the grain out of greens. What is important for you to know is if a green is grainy and how to read your putts when you deal with grain.

I am going to give you a simple lesson on reading grain, and it works. If you play a golf course for the first time, check in the golf shop to see if the greens have grain. The second question is does the grain run in one direction. The next question is where does the sun set. See if you can find a landmark to keep an eye on during the round so you don't get turned around.

When you arrive at the first green, you have to ask yourself three questions. The first and most important is where does the sun set? In relation to the putt you are faced with, this will give you a great indication how the ball is going to break. The second question and this one is not easy is where is the shiny part of the green? The grain grows away from the shiny part. If you are looking into the dull part of the green you are looking into the grain. Lastly you can go and look into the cup.

The hole is cut in the morning and when it is cut the edges are fresh. As the day goes along, the edge of the cup that is worn is the direction the grain is growing.

What do you have? If two of the three are going in the same direction then there is a chance the putt is going to break in that direction.

Keep this in mind, if the grain is growing into you, the putt will be slow. If the grain is growing away from you, the putt will be fast. If the grain is growing to the lef,t the putt will break left, and if the grain is growing to the right, the putt will break right.

Lastly, when you are putting on true bent greens the ball will break with the slopes but on Bermuda greens the ball might break UPHILL if the grain is strong enough.

Putting Greens - Read the Green, not the Putt

I am going to give you a lesson on reading greens that will change the way you putt FOREVER and I mean that in a good way.

Greens are Built Low in Front and High in Back

Ninety nine percent of all the greens in the world are built low in the front and high in the back. There are two reasons why they are built this way. First of all, they have to have a run off for the drainage. Secondly, the nature of our game is for the putting surface to take an approach shot. The green has to have some angle facing the fairway so the golf ball will have chance to stop on the green.

With that being said, let's start with the surface. Golf professionals read greens and amateurs read putts. When a golf professional begins the walk towards the green after their approach shot they have all of their antennas up.

Some of their antennas are on auto pilot. They are feeling the steepness of the slope leading up to the green with their feet. That information is relayed to their vision as they begin to look to see if there is a steep fall off near there ball or hole. As they approach the green they begin to looking around to see if the green has a lot of grass or if the green is sitting in a shaded area with little sun light for the grass to grow. And guess what, they have not even reached their golf ball.

Now down to the nitty gritty. After they mark their golf ball, the game is on. Personally I like to cut the green into four pieces. Down the middle, from front to back, and side to side. Every green I have ever walked on is really four greens in one. I do not even think about it anymore.

Reading Greens - Speed Comes First

The most important two thoughts come next, AM I GOING UPHILL, DOWNHILL or FLAT and IS THE PUTT GOING TO BE FAST, SLOW or NORMAL and thought number two IS MY PUTT GOING TO BREAK LEFT, RIGHT or STRAIGHT.

Come on and give me some help here after 50 odd years of putting the golf ball rather well if a putt can do anything else you have to clue me in. See, with most greens built low to high if I am looking to the back of the green I know it is going to be a slow putt and if I am on the right side of the green there is a good chance it is going to break left and if I am on the left side of the green there is a good chance it is going to break right.

Rocket science, not hardly. Does my theory have a couple of holes in it? Absolutely (but just a couple). I know there are double breakers and two tiered greens. I am well aware of this. Once you break the green into four putting greens and apply the same theory, the holes go away.

This is my final thought. In the past 32 years of teaching professionally I have seen more amateurs MISREAD their putts than I have seen amateurs MISHIT their putts.

I can not tell you how many times I have seen amateurs have a 25 foot putt from the back of the green towards the front of the green, roll it 20 feet past the hole and when I say "did you hit it too hard or did you not realize you were going straight downhill", the reply is the same "I never even realized I was going downhill".

You do not have to SEE the slope to know whether it is uphill or downhill. IT IS THERE, believe me.

Golf Putting Introduction - Is Putting an Art or a Science?

If you dig too deep with this part of the game it is going to bite you. If you spend hours studying it, spend $500 on a custom putter, make sure your golf balls are perfectly round, and meditate before every putt, oh yea line it up from six different sides, you are going to LOSE. I promise you.

Nobody has ever tried harder on every putt than me. I go through my routine every time, I clear my head, I give myself every chance to make every putt I hit and then I LET IT GO.

My father told me 45 years ago "it's all going to come out in the wash". I can not tell you how many putts I have made with the wrong read or wrong touch. On the other hand I can not tell you how many PERFECT putts I have missed.

PUTTING IS AN ART. IT IS NOT SCIENCE. Webster's defines art as "the products of human creativity". That is exactly what you, me and Tiger has to do every single time we walk onto a putting green.

We have three moving parts to make a putt go where we want it to go. We have to have the correct read, the correct amount of speed and we have to aim it in the right direction.

The ten million dollar question is which one of the three is the most important. If you can not read the putt, how are you going to hit a good putt? If you read it correctly and hit it with the wrong speed, that isn't going to work. And lastly, if you read it correctly and hit it with the correct speed and mis aimed the putt would you still hit a poor putt?

I do not believe anyone is any more important than the other two.

To me, that is an art form. Your ability to read a 25 foot hard breaking left to right downhill putt and hit it with the correct amount of speed (for the club championship).

ART not SCIENCE.

Golf Putting Introduction - Putting Instruction

Putting is Extremely Influential on your Golf Handicap

I know some of you have heard it before yet I am going to say it again. Anywhere between 40-50% of your score, my score and even Tiger Woods score is a result of putting. The first time you hear that number it seems to knock everyone over. As a matter of fact, the 100th time you hear it, it seems to knock everyone over.

Golfers Don't Practice Putting Enough

There seems to be a major problem with that number. NOBODY DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT. It has to be close to twenty years ago where that number became a popular thing to talk about. We have all kept track of our putts for the past 50 years but it wasn't until someone placed a percent on the number of putts per round that really got us thinking.

Once upon a time it seems like we used to think if we had 29 putts or less we putted well and if we had 30 or more we didn't talk about it. Then all of the sudden we wake up one morning and someone says "do you know that 38% of your round today was putting". Of course the next stat to come along shortly there after was what percent of your round was from inside 100 yards. We will discuss that at another time.

Back to the 38% of your round on the putting green that was enough for anyone to take notice, except us and I mean ALL of us. The 18 handicap golfer averages 36 putts per round. You can run but you can not hide 40% of 90 is 36 putts per round.

You Can Be a Great Putter

You and I may not ever hit the golf ball as far as Tiger or as straight as Tom Kite but we can all learn to improve our putts per round percentage and I mean all of us. That is exactly what this part of the program is designed to do.

I am going to give you some mechanical techniques and then move on to some mental advice. From there I am going to explain how you can teach yourself to become a great green reader. After all these years I am so convinced if I could read your putts for you it would eliminate three putting the world over. I will wrap it up with what I refer to as the picture. The picture is the secret you have been looking for so you can become "The Best Putter in Town".

When you have finished this program and spent four to eight weeks working on the information I have passed on to you it will change your golf life FOREVER.

Remember putting is a journey NOT a destination. Grab your putter and three golf balls and let's get started.

Golf Putting Introduction - Putting Mechanics

Don't let there be any misunderstanding. I have come across some thoughts that work for me but don't apply to the amateur golfer. I have been the guinea pig for many ideas I have come across.

The Putting Stroke - Straight Back - Straight Through

The reason I went into depth about this subject is because when I tell you something I believe in I have spent many hours practicing, researching and then applying it to my way of communicating to students.

I am telling you right now that I am aware there are many ways to do different things in this world, but, I have no idea why anyone would swing the putter any other way than STRAIGHT BACK AND STRAIGHT THROUGH.

I know that was a long way around for me to get you to understand how passionate I am about the putting stoke. I have read and studied every conceivable way to swing a putter and I will go to my grave knowing that the easiest, consistent and most accurate way to swing a putter is STRAIGHT BACK AND STRAIGHT THROUGH.

Now I am going to tell you why.

Why Straight Back - Straight Through Works

You have to stand across from the golf ball when you putt. When you stand across from the golf ball on the full swing, the golf club swings back on an arc. The reason it swings back on an arc is because you are standing so far from the golf ball and the club is bent in such a fashion that the golf club has to swing INSIDE of a slight arc.

With that being said, when you address a golf ball with a putter, you are standing much closer than the full swing. The second reason the putter has to swing back straight is because the putter is designed to swing straight back. The putter is much more upright than the other 13 clubs in your bag.

Lastly, it is much easier to swing the putter back straight with a square club face than to let the putter swing inside on an arc with the face opening and then swing it back down on the arc and try and to square the club face up at impact.

By now I hope you are getting the idea that although I know some golfers have had success without swinging the putter back and forth straight, I do not believe it is the easiest, consistent and most accurate way.

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