Week 3 - Files & Videos

Week 3 Outline

0:00 - 0:30

Green Reading applies to just about every putt outside of two feet.
Walk to the middle, feel the slope. Is it None, Small, Medium, or Large?
Green speed - Higher speeds increase break (ball has more time for gravity to act - think about how slowly the ball rolls at Augusta).
Distance - Longer distances increase break (same reason, more time). This is important as putts of different length on same line break different amounts.
Have students roll balls between or beside alignment sticks (placed on the high side of the start line) to verify their start lines.
When in doubt, play more break than you believe - the ball will be curving toward the hole this way instead of away from it.

0:30 - 0:55

Three stations consisting of:
1. Lay a string at 30 feet and practice stopping balls on the string from 25, 30, 35 feet (randomized starting position).
2. Put tees in the ground at 10’ and 30’ - Play the ladder game (first ball past the 10’ tee, subsequent balls must go past the previous ball and short of the 30’, score is the number of balls that “fit”).
3. With a Partner - From different distances (outside of 10’), putt to a tee and without looking up, call the distance the ball finished beyond or short of the tee to within a foot. No peeking! Partners alternate choosing the tee location and putting.
Important for longer putts where speed matters.

0:55 - 1:10

Find a flat area on the green and put a metal yardstick down. Put the ball in the little hole and putt off the end of the yardstick. The ball will readily fall off the sides, making it apparent if you pushed or pulled it. If the ball rolls off the end of the yardstick, you’re accurate enough to make an 8’ putt. Practice at first rolling the ball about 5-8’ (don’t let students “steer” the ball off the end with tentative, guided strokes - emphasize making their regular putting stroke). Note their tendencies (push or pull) and have them make corrections.
This is big for short putts where start line (Bead) tends to matter more than speed.

1:10 - 1:30

Golfers play a 6+ hole “course” (time dependent). Low total wins.
Players putt and, for every putt that’s not holed, “draw back” the ball directly away from the hole one putter length.
In other words, if hole 1 is a 20’ putt, and a golfer leaves the ball 1’ short, he “draws back” the ball one putter length and has to make about a 4’ putt. If he misses that putt, he draws it back again, and repeats until he makes the putt.

Page Last Updated: June 05, 2019.