Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today, we revisit a clever putting tip from Seve Ballesteros from our September 1986 issue.
One of the biggest keys for reducing three-putts is dialing in your speed. If you can hit your putts with the proper speed, you will leave yourself with makable second putts — even if your aim isn’t perfect.
Recreational golfers typically struggle with this skill, particularly when you introduce break into the equation. These putts that require the marriage of line and speed can short-circuit the average Joe’s brain and lead to many three-putts.
If you’re someone who struggles on these types of putts, worry not. Thanks to a clever trick from five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros published in the pages of GOLF Magazine in 1986, you won’t have to fear three-putting anymore. Check out his advice below.
One of the club golfer’s biggest problems on the greens is being too bold and knocking putts through any break.
Because sharp left-to-right and right-to-left putts depend so heavily on pace, they require an expert touch to get the ball rolling on the right line at the right speed — slow enough to take the slope but fast enough to reach the hole. Hitting the ball just right is a tough assignment, particularly when a match is on the line.
I understand this problem well, which is why I’ve developed a strategic — and slightly unorthodox — method for putting that takes a little pressure off hitting the putt at the perfect speed. And if you aren’t sweating the pace, I guarantee you’ll make more breakers.
The key is swinging on an out-to-in path, which means I catch the ball on the toe of the putter at impact. Because the toe end of the putter is lighter than the center, it effectively deadens the hit, allowing for a more aggressive stroke. Naturally, the combination of cutting across the ball and catching it on the toe is going to cause the ball to move a hair to the right. By using this rightward spin, I can hit the ball on an “inside line” to the crest of the break and let it drift back and down to the hole.
Exactly how you hit the “inside line” putt depends on the direction the putt is breaking.
Faced with a right-to-left putt, many golfers make one of two mistakes: 1. Fearing they won’t reach the crest of the break, they hit the ball too hard and run right through it; or 2. Attempting to be too delicate, they never reach the crest, so the ball falls off line on the low side of the hole.
I take precautions against both mistakes by setting the blade square to a point inside the highest point of the break and then making a firm stroke. I take an open stance, which promotes the out-to-in stroke and a hit off the toe of the putter blade. Now when the ball reaches the crest of the break, it is moving fast enough not to fall off course, but slowly enough to take the break.
Again, to hit the left-to-right putt, I set up open and aim the putter blade inside the crest of the break. This way the ball will drift back to the normal break and toward the cup.
I’ve been using this method for a few years with success, especially on lightning-fast greens. Despite its unorthodoxy, I consider this percentage putting because even if I hit the ball a little easier or harder than I should, the ball still has a chance of rolling in one of the side doors; that’s a luxury the bold putter never has. He has to be right on the money, otherwise the ball will run past the hole or pop out because it’s moving with too much steam.
If you fall into the category of the overly bold putter, make a visit to the practice green and give my method a try. I’m sure it will give you the inside line to lower scores.
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