Have you ever played a round of golf when you could not sink a putt? Most of you said ‘of course’! Have you ever played a round of golf when you seemed to drain your putts from everywhere? A few less ‘of course’ was just spoken. What was the difference between the two rounds? Most will say the mental game was the difference and that would be true, however I suggest it was your focus when putting.

On the days when they are putting awesome, most players will sink or lag their putts on their first two greens. Suddenly, the player is feeling ‘it’ (what ever it is) and they start to pay closer attention to the factors of the green that are important to making great putts. But, why do most golfers wait until they have a good start before practicing focused putting.

Other sports have the same moment during the game when the player must focus differently. In basketball – the free throw; in tennis – the serve; in darts – doubling out; and in volleyball – the serve; all of these sports require a focused effort to perform a specific skill; golf is no different.

Focused putting can be achieved by anyone at any time. It is a simple skill. It all starts on the practice range. I talked about the 3-6-9 putting drill in earlier posts and that will definitely help; but the skill for focused putting is a pre-shot routine! It is important to develop a pre-shot routine to trigger your entire body and mind that focused putting is required. This routine is yours alone and there is no wrong way to do it. Watch Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson, two completely different styles with a similar result.

Like other sports, a pre-shot routine is very important to duplicate success. Do you have a pre-shot routine for putting? If not, why not?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!