TIPS FROM THE TOP
The way you’re reading them might be hurting you BY JAMES SIECKMANN Make More Mid-Range Putts
IT’S A BLEND You can’t
pick a line without also determining the speed.
THE MOST COMMON com- plaint I hear from golfers at my academy is, “I don’t make
point the ball should roll into the hole – I call it the front door. I put down two sleeves of balls around the hole to form a gateway (above). I’m trying to get the ball to roll through that gate before it drops. 2 CHECK THE SLOPE MIDWAY On the walk back to your ball or marker, stop at the mid-point between it and the hole to see if it’s an uphill or down- hill putt. It should be obvious from this side view. 3 VISUALISE THE ‘ACTION TRACK’ Keeping the entry point (the front door) in mind, go to your ball and visualise an “action track.” It’s the path the ball should take on its way to the hole.
4 PICK YOUR START LINE Instead of projecting a line or target out by the cup, choose something within a few feet of your ball to roll over or roll past. That start line is your “near target” and the front door is your “far target.” This image of the “near target” and “far target” requires one exact speed. If held adequately, it will govern your subconscious and allow you to react athletically, getting the right pace on the ball. Follow these four steps and you will hole more of these difference- maker putts. – WITH RON KASPRISKE JAMES SIECKMANN, one of Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America, is based at Shadow Ridge Country Club in Omaha, Nebraska.
enough putts from eight to 20 feet.” I call these putts “difference makers,” be- cause they really do impact your score. To have success with them, it’s all about matching the line of the putt with the proper speed. If you’re simply standing behind the ball and picking a start line for these putts, you’re going to miss a lot more than you make – reading them this way tells you nothing about the speed you need. Instead, use my pre- putt routine. 1 FIND THE ENTRY POINT Stand on the opposite side of the cup from your putt and picture the entry
PHOTOGRAPH BY DOM FURORE
30 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2025
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