Let’s talk about the most mentally exhausting three feet in golf. I’m referencing the three between “This is basically a gimme” and “What the F#%k?! Did a chipmunk deuce in front of that cup? That should have been in. My ball hit something…” We all been there.
Most people new to golf putt with their hands. Not because anyone taught them to, but because that’s what feels natural when you’re staring down a putt and your nerves start doing the thinking for you. The problem is your hands and wrists contain small, twitchy, unreliable muscles, and putting is a game of precision, not power. The moment your wrists get involved, you’ve introduced variables you can’t control. Lack of control is no bueno on the golf course.
Try thinking of your putting stroke as a pendulum, not a swing.
Your shoulders should rock back and through horizontally (as in your back shoulder tilts up in your take away, and comes down in your follow through as your front shoulder goes up). Your arms stay quiet and connected to your chest. Your wrists do essentially nothing. They’re along for the ride, not driving the bus, lock ’em in. If you’ve ever watched a pro putt in slow motion, notice how their triangle (shoulders, arms, hands) barely changes shape from takeaway to follow-through. That’s not an accident. That’s the game right there.
The mental shift that matters more than the mechanical one.
Most newbies stand over a putt thinking about not missing. Don’t hit it short. Don’t blow it by the hole. Don’t three-putt. Don’t think about asking the cart girl for her digits. That’s a brain full of “don’t,” and a brain full of “don’t” produces exactly the tentative, deceleration-heavy stroke that causes the short, twitchy misses you’re trying to avoid.
Instead, think about starting the ball on your line with the speed you’ve already decided on. That’s it. Committed to a line, committed to a speed, and let the pendulum do the rest. Golf punishes hesitation more than it punishes bad decisions. A confidently missed putt three feet past the hole is a far better outcome than the tentative six-inch miss that comes from steering. And keep your head down on where you make contact with the ball. When you practice, practice just keeping your eyes right where you hit the ball for a count of a few seconds. Exaggerate it in practice to build the habit. Don’t look up until the ball stops rolling or drops in the hole.
The Need for Speed
Speed matters more than line on nearly every putt you’ll have. A putt hit with the right speed but slightly off line has a much better chance of dropping (or finishing close) than a putt on a perfect line hit with the wrong speed. If you’re going to obsess over one thing before you pull the putter back, obsess over speed.
Trust the pendulum. Commit to the roll. Stop thinking with your wrists.
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