Whether you are playing golf at Eagle Nest Golf Club or any other nearby Myrtle Beach golf courses, chances are you could use some help with your putt. Don’t just blindly hit the practice putting green and swing repeatedly. Put some drills into play and focus on the job at hand.
Putts are all about pace and direction, and several drills can help you fine-tune your Myrtle Beach golf course putting game.
Pace Drills
Loosen up and get your head in the game by building confidence with 2- to 3-foot putts at a Myrtle Beach golf course’s practice putting green. Then increase the putting distance to about 15 feet, where you have lower expectations of making the hole and can better focus on pace.
Stacy Lewis, the winner of this year’s prestigious Kraft Nabisco Championship, recently said that speed is the key to making a putt. Her suggestions for speed work are first to hit a ball while holding the putter with just your right hand. Note how far you need to take the putter back to make the putt. Then hit a ball while just using your left hand. Note how far you need to take the putter back. And finally, hit a ball while looking at the hole. Once again, note how far you need to take the putter back to make the putt.
Putt with the mindset of the ball finishing up to 18 inches past the hole, whereby on your next putt, you have a high percentage of completing the hole with a tap-in. At Eagle Nest Golf Club, you should practice your terrain-specific pace so that your ball finishes in the following manner.
18 inches past on a slow, uphill putt
12 inches past on an average putt
6 inches past on a fast, downhill putt
Direction Drills
To work more on the direction of your putt Lewis recommends first paying attention to the butt end of the putter. Make sure it is pointing at your belly button through the entire putt. When you become aware of this, you can watch how easily it shifts away from your belly button and gets off-center.
Now it is time to work on direction. Place a dowel rod pointed toward the target hole, yet a few feet away. The idea is to swing your club and hit the dowel rod so it pierces the hole. If your swing path or mechanics are flawed, the dowel rod will flank to the left or right of the hole, thereby missing the goal. This drill is a terrific visual aid for practicing the direction of your putt.
Your putting stroke can improve with enough practice, but the difficulty lies in maintaining the posture required for any time. Avoid the ensuing lower back pain by working on your putts in shorter yet more frequent practice sessions at Eagle Nest Golf Club. When you have improved your putt, you will have a blast showing off your new moves on any Myrtle Beach golf course.
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