Day Two: Leisure Putting

I was on the putting green at Penmar today just before 7:00pm. I knew I had about an hour and a half left of sunlight.

I've heard somewhere that 60% of your shots come around the green, so it never hurts to work on the putting game.

About 6 or 8 weeks ago, I finished reading the Phil Mickelson book 'Secrets of the Short Game' in which he spent a good deal on putting. One of the many anecdotes that book offers was Phil stating that so many things can go wrong with your putting stroke that you just might actually make a long putt from time to time - your line could be off, you pull the putt, under estimate the break but hit it too hard to take it out and actually jar the putt. He states the importance of getting the ball on the correct line and using the correct stroke. He also stated that a drill he does is try and hit 100 3 ft putts in a row. If you miss, you start over at 1.

So tonight I spent a good deal of time on trying to get down the rhythm of putting a good stroke on the 3 foot putt. I did this for about 20 minutes or so with 3 balls.

I used 3 Taylor Made Burner TPs which is what I am currently using on the course. I want to get the exact feel of the cover of the ball on the practice green as I am going to be using on the course. I have found that different balls all react and feel differently off the putter face of the putter, so I want to get the exact feel of putts at different lengths with the same ball. I have a feeling that later on in this exercise, I may be changing to a different ball as my short game improves.

I also have my eye on a new putter. I grabbed a putter in the Roger Dunn putting area where there are probably 500 different kinds of putters all lined up. I grabbed an Odyssey Black Series I #9 style putter and after about 10 or 12 putts thought it was money. And then I looked under the blade and it was 'money' - it retailed for about $229.00! Now, it has been awhile that I have been in the market for a putter, but man oh man, when did putters get so expensive?!? Nonetheless, I liked the feel and rolled about 10 straight 12 footers that felt effortless and got on line and held it the entire way. It felt a lot better than my current putter. Nonetheless, the price tag has me wanting to see if I can get some better feel with my existing putter by focusing on improving my stroke. Someday, I will get that putter - but tonight and for the near future, I will focus on my good ol' trusty putter.

I then kicked it out to 8, 10, 15 and 20 footers for another 45 minutes or so.

In 1 hour and 15 minutes, I took about 200 to 250 putts - all at my own comfortable pace. Near the end, I would take a couple practice swings prior to hitting each putt from about 10 feet to try and focus on my stroke. I am playing my ball forward of center and striking it pretty well. I am trying to use more of my shoulders with better posture - as I see Tiger on tv with such beautiful putting posture - lots of shoulders, arms and hands working like one unit - each one a function of the other.

Tomorrow I am playing Penmar with a handful of pals - it is the local Par 32, 9-hole course. It has 5 Par 4's and 4 Par 3's. Holes 6, 7 and 9 are driver holes, so I look forward to trying to poke a couple drives out into the Fairway and collecting a good score. This will be the first time in this journey that I will be on a course, so it will give me an idea as to where I need to focus. Penmar is a good place to focus and practice on all types of shots that a big 18 hole course would present (except water).

More to come after tomorrow's 9!