PGA Golf Tour Pros Are 2ft 5inches Short from a 25ft Putt

(I-Newswire) March 1, 2009 - Research has shown that PGA Tour Pros are 2ft 5inches short of the putt, from 25ft, if they did not hole it, while golfers with a handicap of 20 are likely to be 6ft 5inches short and a beginner 9ft short of the putt.

It goes without saying, that the higher the handicap the more likely the ball is going to be short of the hole, not alone in it. So, what can be done to rectify it?

PGA Professional, Neil McEwan, recommends working more on the pace of the putt rather than concentrating on the line and gives the following speed drill to try:

"Place a shaft 3ft behind a practice hole. Then from 20 to 30 feet try to hole out, but monitor how often your ball finishes short of the hole, and then try to make it finish past the hole but short of the shaft. As your pace improves your line and green reading will become much more consistent."

The putting stroke should also be taken into consideration, says Neil, as there are two types of putting strokes - the ’straight back and through’ and the ‘arc’.

Neil comments: "My leased preferred style is a straight back and through putting stroke. In this type of stroke the putter moves straight back from the ball and the face of the blade tries to stay square to the ball-to-hole line. Then on the downswing the face has to open the same amount. To make this stroke work, the face needs to be manipulated in a shut-to-open fashion. This can produce a roll with a sliced and skid shape".

This style of stroke was made very popular by short game guru Dave Pelz. In his book “the putting bible” Pelz promotes a shoulder dominated straight-line motion with no forearm rotation.

Neil continued: "My preferred putting style is to let the putter work on a more natural in-to-in shape with the face staying square to the arc. This arcing in-to-in path has a more open to closing face like a swing door. The face should be kept square to the plane of movement �" a style similar to the shape to the full swing fundamentals."

The golf equipment used by golfers will influence the type of putting style used too. The length and lie angle of the shaft will help to determine which of the styles are most suitable. The more upright lie and shorter / closer you stand to the ball, the more straight the path of the putter will tend to move back and through. Whereas a flatter lie will help to promote a more rounded movement.

Neil says: "The longer the shaft the more the shoulders will move around - although I try to encourage my students to make much more of the stroke with the arms than the shoulders. Rocking your shoulders can also cause a lot of head movement. One other area that might help is to match your putting style to your putter. It makes sense to me to use a face-balanced putter if you’re a straight-line putter, and a heel toe weighted putter if you’ve more of an arc putting style."

Ends

Notes to editor:
Neil McEwan is a golf professional in the UK, teaching golf for 20years. Previous students include Steve Webster, Sam Walker and Tom Whitehouse, who are all now on the Professional European Tour.

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