KDUORWWH·V )LUVW - Carolina Golf Journal

Julie Cole
Tips from the Pros
If you
have been
following
this series of
TIMELESS
TIPS you
have discovered areas of your game
that you can improve. These
professional golfers’ SECRETS OF
SUCCESS have been incorporated
into their games. If you would
like to read the first (2) articles,
please visit our website at
www.Danarader.com and apply
these tips into your practice
sessions – you will see your skills
and game improve.
PuttiNG:
With putting being nearly half
of your score it is important to
spend time learning to read the
greens. These are some facts that
the greatest golfers in the world
have learned about reading greens:
• The biggest influences on
break - in order - are slope
amount, putt length, angle
of slope, stimp (see
description below), ball
speed and grain.
• Grain grows down hill 99%
of the time, it will also grow
toward the setting sun
and where water will
drain off the green.
• The amount of break
will increase “triple the
amount” when you
increase the length of
the putt from 5 feet to
10 feet.
What is stimp? A stimpmeter
(photo #1) is a device that
Timeless Golf Tips – Series 3
#1
By Julie Cole, Managing Partner, Dana Rader Golf Schools
measures the speed of a green. Balls
are rolled down the stimpmeter onto
the green. The end result from the
ball accelerating down the stimpmeter
ramp is a speed of 6.00 ft/s. The
distance that the ball travels is the
stimp speed (i.e. 10.5 ft. roll means
a stimp speed of 10.5)
Green reading takes time and
effort to learn. Begin by walking
around the hole to feel the break
with your feet and to visually see
the slopes. Stand on some different
slope angles on the green with your
eyes closed. Notice where your
weight feels in your feet. The
greatest putters in the world have
this sense of feel in their feet.
Then learn to dissect the break
on long putts into thirds. The first
third of the putt, middle and final
third of the putt near the hole. Each
of these three areas will have an
influence on the roll of the ball.
PitCH sHot’s feel:
When you observe a basketball
player shooting a foul shot, they
bounce the ball a few
times, look at the basket
and shoot. This routine is
used to visualize the ball
going in and to get the
feel of the arc of the shot. They are
not looking down at the ground or at
the ball and then trying to shoot.
They are imagining the entire shot,
feeling and seeing it in their “mind’s
eye” go through the hoop.
All of the short game shots
around the greens must include a
mental picture of the flight, loft,
landing area and roll of the ball.
A practice swing, imagining the
flight and roll of the ball, is essential
to a great short game and developing
feel around the greens.
Use the following technique to
practice FEEL around the greens:
• Find a practice green and
drop 5 balls around the
green.
• Attempt to get each ball up
and down, but use a
practice swing with each.
• Make the practice swing
and finish looking at the
target imagining the height,
landing area and the ball
rolling to the hole.
10 - www.CaRolinaGolfJouRnal.Com - SummeR 2012 _____________________________________________________________
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