In this instruction piece, PGA professional GRANT HEPBURN demonstrates how to visualise what you’re planning to do.
Some of the most effective tips and drills in the game are the simplest ones.
In this case, I like to teach my students to keep their heads as still as possible while putting by using the coin drill.
The idea is to place a coin under your ball before you putt (1). Now, hit your putts as normal, making sure that you do not move your head or your eyes until the ball is gone and you can see the coin (2).
Rate the success of your putt by whether you watched until you could see the coin after the ball has gone.
The reason for practising this is that a still head and eyes are vital to making a consistently accurate putting stroke.
Many ammies ‘peek’ as they hit their putts, eager to see where the ball is going. Peeking involves lifting your head as you strike the ball. It may not seem like much, but peeking will cause your shoulders and chest to move, pulling your arms and hands off the correct putting line.
Getting it right
In this correct sequence, note how my head, and eyes, never move – even after the ball has gone.
For the drill, I’m practising a 10-foot putt. With the ball placed on top of a coin, I make a stroke where my shoulders and arms move, but there is no movement of my head.
This allows my legs to remain still and it keeps my shoulders rocking on the same path back and through, which in turn helps the putter to remain on the same path back and through towards the hole.
Getting it wrong
In this sequence you will see that my head moved even before the ball was struck and that has also made my shoulders lurch forward as well as my legs move.
All of this extra movement disrupts the path of the stroke and makes it very hard to control the putter and hit the ball accurately towards your target.
– This article first appeared in the July 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
