Mojo Back!

LOOKING BACK AT THIS SUMMER, ASSESS YOUR PLAY ON THE GREENS. Did you get the ball to the hole nearly every time you had the putter in your hands? Was your green-reading sharp? Did you sink most of the short ones? Did you have many—or any—rounds when you went all 18 holes without a three-putt? If you answered yes to most of these questions, you might think this article is for the other golfer. But don’t be mistaken —there’s some useful advice for you in here, too. But what I’m really trying to do is bring the downtrodden putters back from their dark places. They need to rethink their approach on the greens, and it starts with rebuilding skills like you were rebooting a computer. I’m talking about pre-putt routine, green-reading, accuracy and distance control. I’ve got drills for all of those things. Before we get to them, let’s start with your demeanour. No matter what transpired this season, I want you to start believing you can routinely hole putts. I might be overdoing the celebration in this photo, but only to prove a point. Bring your “A” attitude to the greens, and you’ve taken the first step to a reboot. Here’s the rest of what matters.—WITH RON KASPRISKE

- Josh Zander

BEFORE YOU PUTT

Here are a couple of things to help you before you putt. The first is to read the greens without your eyes. Remember, your eyes can sometimes fool you, but gravity doesn’t lie. The same force affecting your ball is affecting you. So your feet tell you which way the ball will move. When you practice, put a blindfold on, or close your eyes and feel the break (above). Are you favouring your toes? The ball will move in that direction. Heels? Same thing. Leaning to one side? Again, that’s where the ball will go.

Another thing to remember is that the way you hold the club makes alignment a challenge unless you adjust for it. Say you putt with a traditional grip, your trail hand (right for righties) lower than the other. When you grip the handle this way, your trail shoulder drops and is thrown out of alignment. Then if you try to correct the out-of-position shoulder, you change your eye line. You have to get into a level position with your shoulders and eyes before you take your grip. You can do that with a little symmetry to your hand positions on the club. It’s like a prayer grip (