THE PRACTICE RANGE: Every Possible Putt

By Daniel Island Club Head Teaching Professional, Ron Cerrudo

Recently, I had the privilege of playing with my old tour roommate, Tom Watson. Yes, that Tom Watson! The first thing I noticed was how pure his putting stroke was from short distances. As you probably know, in recent years Tom has had trouble with short putts ranging from three to five feet. I finally couldn’t contain myself so I asked him what he did to smooth out his stroke on the most crucial putts. His answer really surprised me. Tom starts by feeling the ball (what I mean is concentrating intensely on the ball) then looks at his hands as he takes the putter back. By doing this, he focuses on making a smooth stroke instead of worrying if he is going to make the putt.

If you are having trouble with short distance putts, try Tom’s approach – but make sure you practice before taking it out on the course. Tom practices these types of putts by placing the balls around the hole like a clock, three feet away from each other, making sure the area has some slope. He does this so he faces every possible putt: uphill, downhill, right to left and left to right. When you try this, make sure you give each putt your full attention. It was great playing with Tom again. He made eight birdies and two bogies – not bad for a 58 year old!

P.s. He beat me!