Month: March 2026

Some people may say this is not a fault. However, because this part of the game keeps people from improving, I am calling it a fault. Fault no. 3 is putting. If you were going to give people a putting handicap similar to their regular handicap, it would be at least 2 higher than their handicap. There might be a few exceptions, but not many. Why can’t most players putt that well? I feel that there are some underlying issues that players do not think about and therefore are lacking awareness of just how bad they are. There is more information on putting than on any other aspect of the game. This blog is not going to go through ways to putt or how to putt. I have done previous blogs on the subject. I am not sure all this information on putting is doing much good. I think one of the reasons people putt so poorly is that they simply are not aware of how bad they are. I know every golfer complains about their putting, but that is just part of the game. Even though they complain, I think there is a feeling that on a lot of days they do not do that bad. They are wrong. Let’s look at a couple of things that cause players to overestimate their abilities on the green.

I think putting stats are very misleading at times. The basic stat that you should allow 2 putts per green is very generous. If you follow this rule and think that 36 putts is a good putting round, you are way off base. Here is how you should feel: 30 to 32 putts is an okay day on the green; 27 to 29 putts a round is a good day on the greens; anything 26 putts or less is a great day on the greens. If your round has anything over 32 putts, then you had a bad day on the greens. Another misleading stat is how the pros putt. The latest stats show that from 8 feet, the pros make 50% of their putts. However, when you see one of the leaders on Sunday putting from inside 10 feet, the graphic may say that he has made 48 out of 49 putts from 10 feet or less. Granted, some of those putts could be under 2 feet, but that is a 98% rate. That means somebody out on tour that week is making only about 5 to 10% of those putts; those are probably the guys that missed the cut. The bottom line is this: the top 10 on the leaderboard on Sunday are putting at a rate that we can only dream about. If you are going to improve your game, putting is the best way to do it. It takes no extra strength. The ball does not leave the ground. So how do we do it?

Putting is always what makes or breaks the hole. Because of this, we put too much emotion into the results. Even so-called stoic pros seem to finally succumb to lipped-out putts or bad strokes with signs of emotion. All of these emotions lead to a general lack of awareness of what is really going on. You need to pay more attention to what is happening on the greens. You need to start on the first putt of the day. This should dictate how you putt the rest of the day. We have all had these days where, on the first putt of the day, you make a really good putt. Maybe it goes in, or maybe it doesn’t. The putt was well struck on the intended line you wanted and with very good speed, ending up just a couple of inches away from the hole if it did not go in. Right away, you should feel that you have it. You have the touch for the greens on that particular day. Don’t fight it or try to figure it out; just go with it. Then there are the days that the first putt you hit is terrible. You leave it 4 feet short or long. You did not hit it on your line. You did not even read the putt right. Maybe it broke a lot more than you thought or a lot less. Maybe it even broke the opposite way you thought it would. Whatever the problem was, you need to correct it immediately. If you are short, make sure the next putt of any length is long. If the opposite is true, make sure the next putt is short. Correct your line right away. Play more or less break depending on what went wrong on the first putt. Instead of getting upset about missing the putt, just be aware of how you missed it and correct immediately. Once you increase your awareness of what is happening on the greens, the better your chances are of improving that score.

The 4th most common fault has nothing to do with the golf swing. It is an on-course problem. It is not properly evaluating your current shot. Even though I rank it no. 4, it may be the most important. I say this because the tour pro spends so much time evaluating their shots. This can be the reason the regular golfer may be given a pass on this problem. If we spent this much time trying to figure out each shot, a round of golf would be much longer. It could actually take 6 hours. These are the factors that need to be considered on every golf shot, in no particular order: the wind, the temperature, the lie of the land, how the ball is resting on the ground, the distance you want to hit the ball, the trajectory of the ball, the curvature of the ball, where the trouble spots are, and where the pin is. There is no way you can take all of this into consideration in the course of a round and play golf at a reasonable pace. However, when the pace of play is so ungodly slow, you can think about the shot a lot more. I put these in no particular order, but here are the ones that are the most important.

The most important factors on any golf shot are the lie of the land and how the ball is lying on the ground. This can make as much as a 20-yard difference in how far the shot is going to fly. Anytime your ball is on some kind of a slope, uphill, downhill, or sidehill above or below your feet, you are not going to hit the ball as far. The distance could be as much as 20 yards shorter depending on the severity of the slope. This is not a blog about how to play these uneven lies; you can easily look them up. The bottom line is this: you are not going to hit the ball as far. There are two reasons. One, you are going to have to swing easier just to maintain your balance. Second, the technique required for hitting some of these lies reduces your distance. The way the ball lies on the ground is also critical. Shorter fairway grass decreases your distance. A tighter lie can reduce your distance by about 5 to 10 yards. On the other hand, if your ball is lying in the rough, it will add some distance. If the ball is sitting up fairly well, it can add about 5 to 20 yards. The other important factor is pin location. This is overlooked the most on tee shots on par 4s. You want to try to get your tee shot on the side of the fairway that is opposite of where the pin is. You can try and factor in other considerations of the shot as time allows. If you really pay attention to how your ball is sitting and how the slope of the land is, you should be able to take about 2 to 3 shots off your score per round.

Standing too far away from the ball is fault no. 5. The reason standing too far away from the ball is such a common fault is that it just feels good. Your body feels nice and stretched out, giving you a sense of freedom, and in a powerful position that enhances your confidence at address. However, this comfortable feeling can be deceptive, as it often leads to poor mechanics. It seems like the fault gets worse when we get to the irons and the short game, where precision is paramount. When you get too far away from the ball, this has a tendency to get your weight on your toes, the big no-no discussed in the previous blog. This improper weight distribution can cause a variety of swing issues, including inconsistent contact and loss of power. Fortunately, there is an easy drill to get you to stand the proper distance from the ball, and it works with every club in the bag, ensuring you develop a more reliable and effective setup that can greatly improve your overall performance on the course.

Just take your normal address position. Once you feel you are in your address position, simply take your right hand off the club and let your arm dangle straight down just swing back and forth about 6 inches each way. It’s vital to allow your arm to relax, as tension can affect your swing. Once you feel it is in the straight down position, simply bring it back to the club without maneuvering it at all. When your hand returns to the grip, if it goes right back into the proper grip position, then you are at the correct distance from the ball. If you find that you are standing too far away from the ball, then your right hand will make contact with your left hand at a higher position on the club shaft, indicating an adjustment is necessary. To get back to the optimal grip position, you will have to move a little closer to the ball, allowing for a more aligned and effective stance. On the rare instance that you are too close to the ball, your right hand will make contact with the shaft about an inch or two below the left hand, causing imbalances that may interfere with your swing. In order to get back to the grip position, you will have to get a little further from the ball, ensuring that both hands can work together harmoniously throughout your swing sequence. Proper positioning and adjustments are essential for striking the ball effectively and can significantly enhance your overall game performance.

This drill is easy to do anywhere or anytime on the golf course or the range. Once you get used to standing the correct distance from the ball, you will find that many times you can just picture the drill in your mind and instinctively know that you are at the proper distance. Getting the right distance from the ball is crucial; it will not only improve your balance in the swing but also enhance your overall performance. Moreover, it helps your swing stay inside the line and curb that tendency to come over the top, which can often lead to inconsistent shots. Although often overlooked, standing too far away from the ball can lead to a plethora of problems with your golf shots, such as mis-hits and loss of power. Once corrected, many things just go right automatically with the golf swing, making your practice sessions more productive. As you continue to refine this essential aspect of your stance, you will likely notice an increase in confidence and even a newfound enjoyment of the game.