Golf Tips: Work on Putting Distance

Watching David Toms 3-putt in the playoff this past Sunday at THE PLAYERS was hard.  He was very shaken after missing the 2nd putt on the first playoff hole.  His 2nd putt distance was a knee knocking 3.5 feet under extreme pressure.  The pressure got the best of Toms and he lost the playoff to K.J. Choi.  The difference between 1st and 2nd meant nearly a million bucks. That 2nd putt from 3.5 feet makes me think even more about how important distance control in putting really is.  Had Toms done a better job at controlling the distance of his first putt, he could have left himself a no-pressure tap-in for par.  That par would have extended the playoff and kept him in the running for that $1.7 million first prize and a coveted PLAYERS Championship win. Many teaching pros say that the worst part about amateur's putts is their distance control.  Most of us know the basic break of a putt, though we may slightly misread it.  Based on this information, lagging or controlling distance better will at least make the next putt easier to drain. Next Practice Putting Session The next time you hit the practice putting green concentrate on one thing, distance control.  Use whatever techniques you prefer from visualization to putting to tees in the green etc.  Just work on distance.  The next round you play, you might just save a few strokes by preventing 3 or 4-putts.