A putt that goes up and then down is the most difficult putt there is. The key is good speed. I like to get an overall sense of the putt by walking to the hole just off the line, feeling the roll of the ball with my feet. I do this briskly, without affecting the pace of play.
Try separating the putt into two parts: a slow uphill putt followed by a fast downhill putt. Pick a point just over the top of the hill, and make sure you get the ball to that spot or just past it. But don't overdo it. You have to hit this putt harder, but I see a lot of people knock it way past. You want a speed that would roll the ball about 15 inches by the hole.
I decide on the downhill part first. Then I consider any grain or wind on the uphill portion. Remember, if the putt breaks, it will break more on a fast green and less on a slow green.
A good way to develop a feel for speed is to find two holes on a practice green, one that runs uphill for 30 feet or so and another that runs downhill. Putt each of them a half dozen times, and note the roll.
THOUGHTS FROM TOM
I want the average golfer on my pro-am team to help on the par-3 holes. He or she probably gets a stroke on those holes and should make more pars on them just because they're shorter. But you have to aim for the safe part of the green, which isn't necessarily the fat part. Aim for the area where there's the least amount of trouble €" even if it's the fringe or fairway near the green.
Tom Watson is the golf professional emeritus at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Click here for more tips from Tom.Hold the violins, cancel the obituaries, and please, someone tell Chicken Little his services won't be necessary. Pro golf will be just fine without Tiger Woods, although the knee-jerk reaction (intentional pun) is to look at the dismal TV ratings when he doesn't play, factor in the one-sided competitive element, then figure the game's already-dwindling popularity will sink to somewhere between curling and Chinese checkers on America's sporting conscience.
Any real fan knows Woods has been carrying this product on his shoulders for, what, 12 years? And though many casuals will find no reason to care about a long stretch of Tiger-less big events, you and five million other Golf Joneses should embrace the most level playing field we've had in forever, a chance for Sergio & The Undercard to make serious hay while the Cat's away.
They may or may not, but that's part of the point. Woods' dominance has been fun to watch, although it hasn't made the game any healthier, not recently, anyway. This one-man tour has been suffocating the game internally, turning the 20 or so tournaments he skips into trivial pursuits of cash and, by golly, a chance to improve one's position in those all-important FedEx Cup standings.
Without Woods around to win five or six of the last 10 meaningful events, a bunch of nice trophies are now up for grabs. Maybe a fading horse such as Ernie Els will revive his career. Maybe a rising young star (Anthony Kim? Paul Casey?) will launch himself into the top tier with a major title. And if the ratings fall another 30 or 40 percent? It's the players themselves who will feel the effect.
Instead of making $115,000 for finishing T-10 at a Canadian Open, Hard Times Harry might have to suffice with $80,000. If a hidden Tiger doesn't make some of these guys hungrier, maybe that will.
Try separating the putt into two parts: a slow uphill putt followed by a fast downhill putt. Pick a point just over the top of the hill, and make sure you get the ball to that spot or just past it. But don't overdo it. You have to hit this putt harder, but I see a lot of people knock it way past. You want a speed that would roll the ball about 15 inches by the hole.
I decide on the downhill part first. Then I consider any grain or wind on the uphill portion. Remember, if the putt breaks, it will break more on a fast green and less on a slow green.
A good way to develop a feel for speed is to find two holes on a practice green, one that runs uphill for 30 feet or so and another that runs downhill. Putt each of them a half dozen times, and note the roll.
THOUGHTS FROM TOM
I want the average golfer on my pro-am team to help on the par-3 holes. He or she probably gets a stroke on those holes and should make more pars on them just because they're shorter. But you have to aim for the safe part of the green, which isn't necessarily the fat part. Aim for the area where there's the least amount of trouble €" even if it's the fringe or fairway near the green.
Tom Watson is the golf professional emeritus at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Click here for more tips from Tom.Hold the violins, cancel the obituaries, and please, someone tell Chicken Little his services won't be necessary. Pro golf will be just fine without Tiger Woods, although the knee-jerk reaction (intentional pun) is to look at the dismal TV ratings when he doesn't play, factor in the one-sided competitive element, then figure the game's already-dwindling popularity will sink to somewhere between curling and Chinese checkers on America's sporting conscience.
Any real fan knows Woods has been carrying this product on his shoulders for, what, 12 years? And though many casuals will find no reason to care about a long stretch of Tiger-less big events, you and five million other Golf Joneses should embrace the most level playing field we've had in forever, a chance for Sergio & The Undercard to make serious hay while the Cat's away.
They may or may not, but that's part of the point. Woods' dominance has been fun to watch, although it hasn't made the game any healthier, not recently, anyway. This one-man tour has been suffocating the game internally, turning the 20 or so tournaments he skips into trivial pursuits of cash and, by golly, a chance to improve one's position in those all-important FedEx Cup standings.
Without Woods around to win five or six of the last 10 meaningful events, a bunch of nice trophies are now up for grabs. Maybe a fading horse such as Ernie Els will revive his career. Maybe a rising young star (Anthony Kim? Paul Casey?) will launch himself into the top tier with a major title. And if the ratings fall another 30 or 40 percent? It's the players themselves who will feel the effect.
Instead of making $115,000 for finishing T-10 at a Canadian Open, Hard Times Harry might have to suffice with $80,000. If a hidden Tiger doesn't make some of these guys hungrier, maybe that will.