Got this tip from an e-mail I received ...
by Connell Barrett
I had two main thoughts on Sunday as I watched the Wyndham Championship.
1. As Sergio's putter went off like a stick of TNT on the back nine, I thought of Trevino, who once said, "A pro who leaves himself too many par putts won't be a pro for long."
2. Ryan Moore coolly drained a palm-moistening, playoff-extending 4-footer for par on the second extra hole against chip-off-the-old-boulder Kevin Stadler. Did you notice how short Moore's stroke was back and through? It's as if he was brushing in a 1-footer.
That reminded me of the best short-putting tip I've ever heard, from Joe Parent's book Zen Putting. Golf instruction is often needlessly complex, but this idea — treat 4-footers like tap-ins — is blessedly simple. Here it is, in case you missed it when it ran a few years ago in Golf Magazine. Parent wrote:
How to turn knee-knockers into tap-ins.
What if you could be as automatic on 4-footers as on tap-ins? You can — if you master a simple drill that turned a yippy college player into a clutch putter. He came to me because he couldn't make a 4-footer under the gun. He placed so much pressure on himself that he'd guide his putter toward the hole, instead of freely swinging. The solution was simple: Hit knee-knockers with a tap-in stroke. Your stroke is smooth. Your face is square. You can't miss. Here's the trick.
1. Place two tees in the ground about four inches apart, marking the edges of an imaginary hole. Hit a few putts to the "hole" from nine inches away using your tap-in stroke. You'll be surprised to see how far the ball rolls past the tees — usually about four feet.
2. Move the two tees to a spot about three feet in front of a real hole, and again tap-in toward the imaginary hole. Because your mind and body are relaxed over a mere nine-inch putt, ball upon ball will fall into the real hole.
3. Now remove the tees and set up to your four-footer, but putt with your tap-in stroke to an imaginary hole nine inches in front of you. Soon you'll be pouring 'em in.
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