Spend half of practice time on putting, chipping

As golfers we are always searching for ways to lower our scores. There are many ways to accomplish this but the quickest and, in my opinion, the best way is to spend more time practicing on your short game.

The average player will have more than 50 percent of his or her strokes in chipping and putting. With that being said, I doubt that most players spend 50 percent of their time practicing their short games.

Next time you go to the course or range to practice or hit balls, take the time to spend half of it putting and chipping and try to practice with a purpose.

Start by practicing putts 3 feet to 5 feet. These are the putts that will improve your score and help avoid three putts, which as we all know are confidence killers. Try to spend 75 percent of your time practicing putts inside 10 feet and than practice longer putts to develop a feel for your distance control.

Here are a couple of simple fundamentals to work on while you are practicing your putting.

1. Try to have your eyes over the line of the putt at address and try to keep your head as still as possible during the stroke.

2. Place the ball just a little forward of the middle of your stance.

3. Keep your hands slightly ahead of the putter head during the putting stroke.

4. Try to keep your backswing and follow-through relatively the same length; this will help with distance control.

5. Develop a preshot routine.

Here is one of my favorite drills that I use for myself and my students.

First, find a straight putt and then start at 1 foot and make three putts. If you are successful, move to 2 feet and continue to move back each time you make all three putts. If you miss any of the three putts, you move up to where you last made all three putts.

This will accomplish several things. It will have you practicing a lot of short putts and it will build your confidence because most of the putts will be going in the hole. The more putts you make the more you will expect to make this is a great confidence builder.

One of the most profound comments I have ever read about putting was a quote by Tom Watson. He said something to this effect: There are only four ways to miss a putt, you can miss it to the right, to the left, hit it too hard or leave it short.

So if I hit every putt hard enough to get to the hole I will make 25 percent more of my putts. The goal then is to try to roll all your putts 12 to 18 inches past the hole, which will instantly eliminate 25 percent of your misses too.

John Hildreth is a PGA teaching professional at Desert Rose Golf Course. If you have any question about your putting, contact Hildreth at 431-4653 or contact your local PGA professional.