Putting at Home: Alignment, Stability, and Rhythm
Reading the slopes or adjusting your speed on a treadmill? Impossible, admits Martin Hall. However, you can work on a putter stroke at home that sends the ball in the right direction. Together with Blair O’Neal, he demonstrates three areas to work on and an exercise he credits to Henrik Stenson.
To be continued
What the lesson shows
Martin Hall starts by sorting things out: at home, You can't practice reading the slopes or really work on your speed. However, you can work on a shot that sends the ball exactly where you aim. The key to this is: About 90% of the ball's initial direction depends on the clubface angle At impact, the putter’s path matters very little. His setup: two chopsticks on the ground to align his face and shoulders, a small piece of Post-it note about 60 cm in front of the ball, and a coffee cup serving as the hole. Getting the ball to roll over the Post-it note is proof of a square clubface.
The second project is the lower-body stability: Turn your knees slightly outward and tighten your glutes a little—a tip he picked up from Dr. Rob Neal. Third area to work on, the pace: For most good putters, the upward motion lasts about twice as long as the downward motion toward the ball. To get a feel for it, count “one thousand and one,” no matter how long the putt is: the speed changes, but the rhythm doesn’t. Bonus: Henrik Stenson’s drill, which involves putting one ball into another placed one grip length away; if the second ball doesn’t go straight, the clubface wasn’t square.
The Exercise, Step by Step
- Place two sticks on the ground to align your face with your shoulders.
- Stick a small piece of Post-it note to the floor about 60 cm in front of the ball.
- Place a cup or glass on its side as a target at the end of the line.
- At address, turn your knees slightly outward and tighten your glutes a little.
- Putt by rolling the ball over the Post-it note while saying “one thousand and one.”.
- Use the same “thousand-and-one” on both short and long putts.
- Bonus: Place two balls one grip length apart and putt the first one into the second, which should roll straight.
Key Takeaways
Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing on the putter's path instead of the face.
- Wanting to practice reading slopes on a mat.
- Move your knees and hips during the swing.
- Adjust your pace based on the length of the putt.
- Do not hit the ball in the center of the clubface.
Driving Range Mode
Keep it in plain sight, on the rug.
- Chopsticks, Post-it notes, and a mug in the living room
- Putting streaks counting “one thousand and one”
- Two-ball exercise at the end of the session
- Back on the green: working on slope and speed
Your Questions
Why is there a Post-it note in front of the ball?
Martin Hall places it about 60 cm away. If the ball flies over it, it means the clubface was square at impact, which determines most of the ball's initial direction.
Should you use a straight putter or an arc-shaped putter?
For him, that doesn't matter much: about 90% of the ball's initial direction depends on the clubface angle. If the clubface is square, the ball heads toward the target.
What does “one thousand and one” mean?
That’s the rhythm to maintain: “one thousand” on the way up, “one” on the way down toward the ball. It replicates the ratio of about two to one seen in most good putters, regardless of the putt’s length.
What does Henrik Stenson's workout consist of?
Place two balls one grip length apart and putt the first one into the second. If the second ball doesn’t go straight, the clubface wasn’t square. Martin Hall says he heard this from a commentator who saw Henrik Stenson do it at Royal Troon.
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