Dave Pelz: “Studying the game”

Drawing two red lines on your putter is the best alignment method.

Almost every one of my students asks for help in aiming their putts. That’s good advice to seek, because improving your aim is the key to making more putts. We’ve been testing how people aim putts for years at the Pelz Golf Institute and we’ve learned a few things that will get your putts on the right track.

• Focus on the starting line of the putt. In test after test, we found that the better your initial aim, the less you will have to compensate in your stroke to pull or push your putts on-line. Fewer compensations lead to better contact and more made putts.
• Draw two lines on your ball to help your aim. Draw long lines rather than short ones, and use red marker rather than black because red is easier to see. Drawing two lines rather than one helps to form a wider alignment aid. We tested various combinations, and two long red lines led to the best performance.
• Think hard about getting a new putter. Our test subjects aimed two-ball and three-ball putters most accurately. When converging red lines were added to the tops of these putters, our test subjects aimed them even better.

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One green, three shots: Practice a varitey of different chips to improve your short-game versatility. Leonard Kamsler

The green on the 497-yard, par-5 16th hole at the TPC of Sawgrass in Florida would be a great place to hang out and practice your chipping. The setting is beautiful, but more importantly, the green’s design and location — water on two sides, rough, mounds and sand elsewhere — provide the opportunity to try many varieties of chips.

Learning the three shots I’m highlighting will help improve your chipping versatility. You’ve seen Tour pros skillfully play these shots in tournaments, including at the annual Players Championship at Sawgrass. With a little practice, you can play these shots too.

During his run to the Players title in 2002, Craig Perks holed a chip from on top of the heavy fringe, standing just inches from the water. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been fortunate to see Phil Mickelson’s rise to greatness from up close. Phil and I worked together extensively early last year and in the weeks before each of the year’s majors. I can help you understand what he changed in 2004, so you can take your own game to the next level this year.

Photo by Fred Vuich

First, a stat that sums up Phil’s 2004 season. Everyone knows he won The Masters, but did you know that Phil beat World No. 1 Vijay Singh by a combined 34 strokes in last year’s five biggest events (the four majors plus the Players Championship–see “The Phil Factor”)?

The Phil Factor

Here is how the top four players performed in 2004’s biggest events: Read the rest of this entry »