Page 64 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2018

SPORTS & OUTDOORS coast golf update
TEE-OFF
with Tommy
RELAX AND MAKE THAT PUTT
story by Tommy Snell
Many golfers ask me how I make so many putts. What makes good putters great and bad putters good? I’ll leave the technical aspects to the golf professionals on the Gulf Coast, but I thought I would share some insight that I’ve learned over 50 years in the game.
RELAX! Most bad putters live and die with every short putt, and one lip-out, shove or pull ruins the stroke
for the rest of the day. Jordan Spieth in a Golf Digest article once wrote that “Putting problems often stem from effort — too much effort.” Remember when Tiger made that 2008 putt at Torrey Pines? Over a playoff-forcing 15-footer, he told himself if it goes in or doesn’t, “it doesn’t matter, as long as I make a pure stroke.” That’s how the greatest make putts. They relax and make a good stroke.
ALIGNMENT.
A golfer who works
on putting two hours daily can get away with sub-par alignment or
an imperfect stroke, but weekend warriors need to hone the sharpness of alignment. As the winter months (I almost have trouble saying that on the Gulf Coast) approach, refine
PUTTING MIRROR from EyelineGolf
your alignment. I suggest the putting mirror from EyelineGolf or a putting laser.
FITTING.The type of putter can affect aim, stroke and roll. Do some research. Make sure you’re using the
correct offset, head shape, and loft. How much offset and the shape of
the putter can and will affect aim. The loft of the putter can also affect aim and roll. Too much loft has been proven to put too much backspin on the putt.
GRIP. Everyone has seen the oversized putter grips on tour and at local clubs. These grips are certainly
personal preference, but golfers who rotate or manipulate their putter faces through impact might want
to try one of the bigger grips. I’ve always liked a smaller grip so that I can feel the stroke, but a larger grip just might help.
This offseason work on your putting stroke both mentally and physically. When you have that bad putting day, think of that round as an outlier. Once you have the right alignment and the proper putter, those three footers won’t seem so long, and your opponent just might ask, “How do you make so many putts?”
64 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • November 2018
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