I began my golf industry career in the putter category as an ad agency account executive. The first new account I landed was Ray Cook putters, which in the 1960s and 1970s had experienced much success and earned quite a following in the pro ranks with the likes of Billy Casper, Bruce Crampton, Dave Stockton, Nancy Lopez, and many others.

Being naturally curious and “techy”, I was always drawn to the back end of the operation, figuring the more I knew about how and why putters worked, the better marketer I would become.

As I became more and more interested and knowledgeable about how putters worked, I also became somewhat obsessed by the study of the great practitioners of the “art” of putting. I read every book on putting I could find dating back to the early 1900s, and made a study of the techniques employed by the best putters on tour … but also those in the ranks of the recreational golfers I have observed. And I can tell you that some of the best putters I have seen come from both groups.

I should admit my father and brother were both excellent putters of the ball, but my own passion was for the ball-striking and shot-making side of the game. To be honest, I didn’t really like putting, much preferring to bang thousands of balls from my shag bag into the ninth fairway of that little 9-hole golf course that was my world growing up.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you that my putting was always the weakest part of my game–neglect will do that, right? I have struggled with the yips and sub-standard putting most of my golf life, which is rather strange, considering I have designed over a hundred putters and penned a full-length manuscript called “The Natural Approach to Better Putting”. I have never pursued publishing it, but should probably do so, as a recent return to that manuscript has proven very helpful to me.

You see, I have set a goal for myself to shoot my age this year at 69. [I saw a quote the other day that went, “it’s funny being the same age as ‘old people”, and I can totally relate.] To achieve that goal, I am simply going to have to become a better putter of the ball, so I have made that a mission. And it started by returning to my manuscript and buying a simple putting mat to facilitate daily work on my technique and stroke mechanics.
I began my putting overhaul at home by simply paying close attention to my own technique as I stroked putts “my way”. What I learned was that my grip was too tight and not fundamentally sound. That causes my right (master) hand being overactive, which in turn tends to make my stroke much too quick and right-hand dominated (borderline yippy). I also noticed that my shoulders tended to be open to the target line, so those poor fundamentals lead to these errors:

1. A poor grip prevents the putter from traveling on a simple, natural arc back and through.
2. The grip being too tight causes a quick, jerky stroke, which leads to “the yips”.
3. Open (or closed) shoulders cannot pivot parallel to the target line – only across the line. So, that explains an overwhelming dominance of misses to the left.

With these fundamental flaws identified, the fix was rather academic. I’ve always compared a round of golf to painting the inside of the house, in that the closer you get to finishing, the slower and more careful you work.

The last step in painting is the trim, and a painter uses a smaller more precise brush and works very slowly and with great precision. Kind of like wedge play and putting …

In addition to the house painter, think of surgeons, computer technicians, fine artists…any activity that requires feel and precision demands a light touch on the tools and a careful and s-l-o-w action. Putting is no different.

So, now I’m working on repetition. Stroking 5-10 putts at a time throughout each day and evening, with acute focus on shoulder alignment, hand position and grip pressure, and making a very slow and rhythmic back-and-through “stroke”, not a “hit” of the ball. And my progress is coming very quickly.

I know I can’t fix everyone’s putting with this one article, but if you are not putting as well as you think you should, my bet is that one or more of these three basic fundamentals is the foundation of your problems–grip/grip pressure, shoulder alignment and pace of the stroke. And the good news is that they can all be fixed rather quickly with only a bit of practice, which you can do at home with a $50 putting mat if you don’t have putter-friendly carpet.

I’m working on grooving my putting technique at home, so that on the course all I have to think about is making the putt. Every great putter I’ve known, observed, or talked with said the same thing—all you should be thinking about is your target line and speed. Your technique has to be second-nature and sound.

And you can perfect that at home.