ROLL THE ROCK, DON'T BOUNCE IT
Exclusive by DES SHEARER
Golf Australia CONTRIBUTING PRO

A CONSISTENT set-up and repetitive putting stroke are the keys to making those important pressure putts from three and four feet.

Here is a drill you can use on the practice green at the golf club or on the living room carpet to help your set-up and groove a putting stroke you can be confident will work.

Place a two centimetre wide timber strip (pic 1) on a flat putting line that points straight to the centre of the cup. Now place your ball on the edge with the brand name running around the equator on the ball. Alternatively you can mark a line on your ball with a red or black marker.

For a consistent set-up, use the timber strip to assist you in setting your feet square and to aid you in positioning the ball on the target line (or in this case, on the timber strip) directly below your left eye (for right-handers).

Once you are in square-to-the-target relaxed set-up position, the key is to get a good roll on your putts.

To get the ball rolling to the hole (pics 2 & 3) it is important for the putterface to hit the ball is it passes the bottom of the swing arc and is actually rising up to the ball.

It is also important not to make contact with the ball below the line of its equator. With the ball raised one centimetre off the ground, the tendency will be to make contact with the ball
below the centre, causing it to get airborne and start to bounce along and off the timber strip (pic 4).

To avoid this, be sure you have at least 10° of shaft lean toward the hole at impact (grip ahead of the putterhead) with the putterhead rising slightly. You will be making more four-footers in no time.

This tip appeared in the January 2009 issue of Golf Australia.