sink MORE M O
THE WINNING FORMULA bY shanE O’gRadY
gOLf DIgEST IRELaND TEachINg PROfESSIONaL WItH lInton WalsH
LINE +
SPEED +
STROKE +
ROUTINE
First, picture the ball
rolling down the line
at the right speed.
Then imagine the ball
in the hole and the
way it will feel
MONEY PUTT
A lot has been written about the
mysteries of putting over the years.
Most of the information has been good,
but in my opinion, incomplete. To truly
understand putting, I believe you must
consider four key elements that make a
successful stroke work.
We’d all agree that the best putter in the
world won’t hole a putt if the wrong line is
picked. So: line is number one.
Very few putts are straight, so the speed
is an important aspect of calculating the
line. Speed is number two.
Now if you produce a square stroke with
the first two, you have a huge chance of
holing putts. Square strokes is number
three.
The last aspect, routine, allows the first
three aspects of the formula to be put into
mental and physical order. It allows you
to hit that putt without any conscious
thought – it will make it a reflex action.
You just look and react. Routine is number
four.
To use a simple analogy, imagine
someone driving a car. Turn on the car,
put into gear, clutch is out and off you go.
Putting should have a similar one, two,
three; the players I have worked with
through the years prove these simple
formulas work because you only really
know what works when pressure is on.
Competing at top amateur and
professional tournaments will expose
any weakness, but putting flaws can be
fixed. In only four lessons, over a period of
four months, I believe I can really change
you and your scores, and turn you into a
winner – at whatever level you play at.
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M ONEY PUTTS
Estuary Point
ine
ry L
ua
Est
2
SINK MORE MONEY PUTTS
LINE & SPEED
Reading greens is an art in itself.
As you’re playing a golf course, take
into account all of the terrain and
environment that’s facing you. You
will generally see the high and low
part of a green as you approach the
front, but take into account the wind
too, and look for hills and any flowing
water that will help you judge the
gradient.
A ball will always fall towards the
slope of the land as gravity takes over
when the power comes out of its
roll. Imagine the current of a river,
and how its direction doesn’t always
exactly match where the river bank is,
and you’ll see what I mean.
Modern USGA-spec greens are
much bigger and have a gravity pull
and life of their own. They generally
have three minimum manhole wash
points where the water will drain and
where your the ball will pull towards.
So when playing practice rounds,
always check out their location. You
will see a lot of tour players with a
special green chart mapping these
findings.
When you get to your ball, bring
your eye firstly to where the hole is
and then slowly back to your ball.
Always walk down the low point of
the putt and get a side view between
the ball and the hole. This will help
+++
you see any extra breaks or whether
it’s uphill or downhill. I don’t believe
you should ever walk on the high side
for two reasons. It slows down play
a lot and confuses the life out of you.
When you come close to the hole use
your imagination: visualise water
filling up the hole and at what point it
breaks out at.
In your mind, draw a line through
this point and out the other side.
This is what I call your estuary point.
You must feed the ball down through
this point. It’s a great visual tool to
help you create the curve in your
mind. It also helps you establish the
speed.
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SinK MORE MOnEY putts
SQUARE STROKE
1
I have a putting studio
at Blackbush Golf Club and
here we have 5 cameras
state of the art sam lab
technology which gives you
an ultra sound printout of
your stroke. These tools
are fantastic at letting you
see things that your eye
can’t see. You can make a
stroke as complex as you
like but I like simple. With
this in mind, I have devised
a very simple training
tool. 99% of people we
test open the putter on
the back swing and close
it on the through stroke.
Not by intention, but not
understanding straight
back as a term. This told to
someone is incomplete, it
should be straight back and
parallel. This as you can
see from my training card
(below), is self explanatory.
Using this at home helps
you control your stroke
and roll your ball down the
line that you picked at the
right speed.
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ROUTINE
+++++
2
3
sINk MORE MONEY putts
Good routines take 15 seconds from
once you start them, keep you in the here
and now and stop the demons in your
subconscious telling you all the things you
don’t want to hear.
Address the ball quite close to the toe
of the putter, an inch or so back. The first
five seconds should be used to square the
ball up, feet, hands and shoulders to the
hole. Then, take two strokes consciously
thinking of how hard to hit the putt. Return
the putter to where it started from and
slide the blade across to the ball.
Then slide your feet in the same amount.
Take one look and then a second. On the
return of the second look, bring your eye
back extra slow to the ball. As your eyes
reach the ball, let the putter-head move at
the same speed your eye came back from
the target.
Your mind has no time to think of how, it
just reacts to the information put in during
the earlier part of the routine. Square –
Speed – Slide over – Look and React. Same
as the car, Turn it on – Put in gear – Clutch
out and go! Always do everything in pairs,
as it gives you a metronomic beat to follow.
This gives you a nice rhythm and helps
speed and strike. The speed of your eyes is a
great way to calm down under pressure. The
more your mind races under pressure, the
more it speeds up and twitches.
Shane O’Grady is one of
Ireland’s most successful golf
coaches. He is well-known for his
work with Lisa and Leona Maguire,
who are now ranked first and second
in the European amateur rankings.
Shane has also produced over 60
championship wins with students,
both professional and amateur.
Highlights of the last 12 months
include David Mortimer winning the
Irish PGA Championship and British
Club Professional Championship
2010, Mark Stanton winning the Irish
Club Pro Championship and several
championship wins at boys and
girls level.
His method is very much a
holistic approach in both the long
and short game, instilling winning
formulas.
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