Tried the putting for fun today and got 84 on my first attempt. Bet I can't do that again haha

I've decided to give this program a try as my short game has gone from bad to embarrassing over the last few years.

My putting stroke has been uncomfortable for awhile as well, so I'll simultaneosly be working on fixing that.

Anyway, I had an hour or so tonight and only was able to make 13/25.

tried the 20 foot lags today and got it on my second try... i tried the chipping a couple times and failed miserably...i will do the other lags and then spend probably a day trying to get the chipping down (I am an above average short game player but these are tough)... I tried to redo the 3 footers for fun before leaving and it took 4 attempts. I can see how missing once changes everything. when i rolled in 84 in a row i didn't have one mechanical thought just aim look and roll. When I started missing i was sometimes thinking things like "Is my alignement off?" Don't leave it open" etc. I feel like from that distance not much matters other than making a commited stroke with a focus only on the target.

For the chipping is it suppose to be from the rough or the fringe? I have trouble judging the lie from the deep rough i was trying the chipping today. I'm sure it helped me improve but adds a challenge for sure

i start with perfect lies and then make them worse if I get 8 of 10. side hill, down hill lies, etc.

Hi all,

Just an update

Played comp yesterday, and for the first time in a long time I had no three putts

Also got up & down from 80m for birdie on a par 5 - stuck the wedge to 2 foot.

Shot 82 (69 nett) so very happy.

I went down to course today & went through routine again,

3 foot 1st go
20 foot (2nd go)
30 foot (1st go)
45 foot - this is still my arch enemy and after several attempts I still failed to get 20, so I settled with 17 and moved on
chipping 1st go (9 out of 10 + one holed)
sand 8 out of 10 within flag stick
wedges - I actuall do this a bit different to the routine as I played nine holes and droped 5 balls 30 m on one hole, 40m the next etc. Whilst landing on the green is no problem, I'm not getting them close enough consistenly for a realistic up & down, as my ave distance would be between 15 to 25 foot.

My biggest issue is not enough Greens in Reg, and I spent some time on the iron play - five iron in particular and after god knows how many shots I finaly managed 6 out of 10 onto the green from 145 m (160 yards)

Cheers

Steve

Hi all,
Long time no post (my new work blocks 2+2 a-holes).

I have really improved my ball striking over the last 2 months. Which is great. The down side is my 1st put length has gone from around 12' average to a 28+' average. My last round I shot 80 with 40 puts.

I am awful at lagputting. I have done this practice routine and when I'm on the practice green after about 30 minutes of practice I really do well with lag puts. But when I get to the course and get to hit 2.2 puts every 15 minutes I seem to loose the feel for the speed.

Are there any other drills that will help with lag putting, other than just practice? Maybe it would be best to practice for 15 min. Then go hit balls for 15min, then back to green for 15 ect. So I'm not on the green for 1.5 hours straight.

lol

I find that if I find 2 holes that are the right distance apart on the practice green I can just go back and forth for hours. I use 4 balls and just go back and forth until I get 20 and then mark off a little more distance with a couple tees to use as new starting points.

Why 4 balls? Random number of balls you had with you the first time you did it or is there a reason? I'm torn myself between wasting time if I use too little balls and not being game like if there's too much?

i use 5 balls when practicing cuz it's hard to fit many more in the cup

That is what I'm saying. After about 10 minutes going between the same 2 holes I dont have any problem with lagging it to 3'.

But that isn't the case when I get to the course. Because there is normally 15 minutes between greens for me to forget exactly how hard to hit a 25' put.

Just looking for more drills that will help with knowing the feel right away, since I'm not allowed to practice for 10 minutes before hitting my 1st put on the course.

one thing I noticed lately is that when I remove that circle made of tees around the hole I'm doing much better
with tees I'm subconsciously trying to stop the ball in that 3foot circle not in the hole

so with smaller, more specific target my putts are much better

That is typical for almost everything. The smaller you can get your focus the better the results will normally be. I was a high school quarterback (bad one). But I remember I was told by the coach that I should focus on throwing the ball to a specific stitch mark on the receivers jersey, instead of the receivers chest.

When I hit my approach shots (or tee shots) I'm typically trying to land the ball on the smallest thing I can find in the area I'm hitting the ball. For example I'll find a fallen leaf in the fairway that I want to hit the ball over on my tee shot and now I'm focused on hitting the ball over that leaf instead of focused on trying to hit the fairway.

When I get to putting I'm typically aiming at a specific blade of grass. I

This is awesome and I can't wait to try it. Might take me months to be able to get through that (7 handicap and short game is a mess). Thanks for sharing!

OK Dr. Golf, you have just described me and my husband Justin (you know who we are!) and I am looking at fixing my short game. I am going out today and starting program A because I just live to far away from the ATL to get lessons from you in person. I have the drive and fairway shot down, but the rest is a let down. My goal use to be to beat my husband, but now I just want to be better! Will let you know how it goes!

Finally decided that I'm not a special butterfly that needs to work on long game more than short game if I really want to get better. Gonna spend the next few weeks (months?) working through this routine.

I learned today that 30 foot lags are a bajillion times harder than 20 foot lags. Got 25 in a row in just a few tries from 20 feet, then managed to get only 6 in a row from 30 feet. Right now I can't even fathom completing the 45 footers.

Just curious, how do you actually measure the 20 feet and 30 feet? Do you just walk it off, or something more precise?

I just walk it off.

16 straight 30 footers this time. Progress! Also tried chipping and bunkers, both have a long way to go, but I could already see a lot of improvement in one session.

Going to bump this 19 HC likely going to try and take on this beast in some form. Spend 30 min before the round putting today Eric and quite honestly failed the 3 footer challenge (got 18 and 17 in a row back to back with one miss and moved on).

Question on the putting should it be the exact same or similar putt each time?

I look forward to trying to get out my wedge in the future. Was able to do the first lag putting second try but didn't have a ton of time on the 35 footers.

Got back out there today to practice spent about an hour or so to get through all the putting and the first leg of the chipping. Practice area was limited so didn't have great area to work on 25 yard plus pitches. Seems like a great routine to work on when I have practice time certainly struggle with the 45 footers.

Yeah, I need to work on my putting I don't think I could complete them in one day, even if my lower back wasn't hurting.

edit: lol, and the greens at my track aren't even quick!

This is a strategy that has been around for a long time -- In the 1960's, a man named Chen Chin Po (also known as Papa Chen) started teaching Asian caddies a golf improvement strategy way ahead of its time, breaking the game down into skill sets that had to be mastered before you moved onto the next one. Much like how people learn martial arts.

1. The caddies had to master short putts

2. Then they had to master long putts

3. Then they had to master the chip shot, pitch shot & bunker shot

4. Then they had to master approach shots - half to full swing

5. And eventually tee shots had to be mastered

Then they would be taught the basic rules of the game and from there they would go play on the Asian tour. This ‘green to tee development strategy’ makes perfect sense if you think about it.

Looks similar to the first post, eh?

Wouldnt they at first be doing chores with a similar type of movement as a puttingstroke.

LOL