Golf Putt - Making Golf Putts

Making the Big Putts
Ron Mann, Ph.D.
© 2003 Copyright Ronald L. Mann, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved

"Drive for show, putt for dough." We have all heard this saying and it is true. Most major tournaments, even local amateur club events, come down to a single stroke that is made on the green. It seems like the simplest part of the game, just roll the ball a few feet, but it can be the most challenging and important part of your game. Most golfers want to take strokes off their game and spend time on the range hitting drivers and irons, but unfortunately do not spend a proportionate amount of time with their putting game. If we two-putt every hole, that is 36 strokes! There is a lot of room there to shave off three or four strokes a round. How happy would you be if you could lower your score by three strokes in the next two months without buying new equipment or taking lessons focusing upon your mechanics?

When the pressure is on, those "Big Putts" get even tougher. A big putt might only be three feet; it does not have to be a downhill, side hill thirty-foot putt for a birdie. Any putt that stands between you and wining the hole is a "big putt." When the pressure is on, the mental side of the game becomes more important than mechanics, because mental breakdown leads to physical breakdown. Physiological research shows that fear, doubt, apprehension and uncertainty lead to greater muscular tension and constriction; hence lack of coordination, fluidity and good swing mechanics. Good rhythm, timing and tempo break down when we get too tense. The adrenalin is flowing and we typically become quick and rush the stroke. We either decelerate on the follow through, because we are afraid to blow it by the hole, or we lose any sense of feel for distance and blast it past the hole because we do not want to come up short. To make things worse, when we are most nervous standing over a putt, we typically look up too quickly, because we want to see if we made the putt, and pull the stroke off line.

Tension inhibits our ability to visualize well. When we lose the ability to moderate internal states, we cannot read the green, see the breaks, and sense the speed. In short, our ability to make the "big putts" under pressure goes out the window. The resulting frustration is enormous. We make a great drive and second shot leaving a chance for a birdie, but we cannot convert. Tiger Wood’s level of frustration was severe in the 2003 Buick Open because he just did not roll the ball as well as he is capable. He was only two stokes behind Jim Furyk. His putting game would have made the difference. That is golf! Some days are better than others. However, there are some proven methods that can increase your chances of rolling the ball well and making those big putts.

Let’s look at three factors that directly relate to putting and discuss some mental techniques that will improve your ability to roll the ball: Tension, Imagination, and Visualization.

Tension: The problem

We have discussed how tension basically blows your ability to putt well. Tension starts in the mind! Remember this: if your body feels tight, it started somewhere in your mind with a thought that was fear based. A common mental error that most golfers make is to be performance oriented. We think too much about the score and our results.

Thinking about our scores takes us out of the moment and takes our attention away from the process of playing the game. The simple fact is: if we stay in the moment, maintain our focus on each stoke, then the outcome will take care of itself. Great putting requires a good sense of feel. Increased mental, emotional and resulting physical tension kills our ability to feel our body and sense the roll of the green. We have to learn to manage tension if we are going to score well and make those important putts.

Tension: The solution

Diaphragmatic Breathing: The breath is a key to managing tension. There are several aspects to the breath that are important to know. Research has shown that diaphragmic breathing allows more oxygen to enter the blood stream and reach the brain. Simply beginning your breath from your diaphragm, rather than from your upper chest results in decreased heart rate, decreased cardiopulmonary stress, decreased muscle tension, decreased fatigue, decreased need for sleep, decreased perception of pain, increased blood and oxygen to the brain and heart, alpha brain wave activation, and increased relaxation response. That is a lot of bang for the buck! All you have to do is breathe, which you are doing anyway, but breathe properly from the diaphragm.
Mindful Awareness Breathing: We have already discussed how tension starts in the mind with a thought, a negative, fear-based thought. " I can’t make this putt, " "I am a terrible putter," "I always choke" are just a few of the thoughts most of us have heard in our head while preparing to sink the "big putt." Mindful awareness training teaches you how to mentally disengage and be unaffected by those "not so helpful" coaching tips that seem to come from some hidden demonic realm. Here is the technique. Sit with your eyes closed and watch your breath. I hope you realize that since your eyes are closed this is not something to do while you are driving your car!

Back to the technique. Breathe through your nostrils and simply count the breath, i.e. 1 on the in-breath, 2 on the out-breath, 3 on the next in-breath, as so on. Notice how high you can count and when your attention is drawn off your breath. Once you are aware that you have wandered off your breath, bring you attention back. I was using this technique last week with some nine-year-old kids at Mountain Gate Country Club. The kids shared what was popping up in their minds that pulled their attention off the breath: " I am thirsty," "The airplane," "A girl named Barbara." Little Johnny was rather surprise that Barbara had popped into his mind. Ah the mind, it is full of stuff and typically starts popping in when we least want it to.

Mindful awareness will teach you how to gain some distance from the thoughts that your mind generates and allow you to more easily observe them and let them go. So, when you are standing over a putt and some negative thought pops in that says, "I can’t make this putt!" you will notice it and let it go without identifying with it. Within a second you can return to focus and maintain a positive feeling about the stroke.

Yogic Breath: The yoga system has a variety of breathing techniques that change states of consciousness and awareness. I have found this simple breathing technique to be very helpful to golfers on the course. It will quiet the mind, calm down the emotions, and create more brain activity in the right hemisphere, which is ideal for greater feel and visualization. Here is the technique: Breathe evenly and slowly through your mouth and imagine the breath beginning at the base of your spine on the in-breath and traveling up in the center of your spine to your forehead. As you exhale, imagine a current of energy that goes down your spine. The focus upon the center of your spine creates a sense of balance and redirects your life force energy so you can play better golf.

Imagination: The Solution

We can use our imagination to help us deal with extreme tension and anxiety that is created by difficult circumstances. Johnny Miller shared a very personal story about his win at the 1973 U.S. Open. He came to the last hole and needed to sink a thirty-foot put to win. He said, "I was physically shaking because I was so nervous. I just knew I could not make that putt. But then a thought came to me. My son could make this putt. So I decided to let him make the putt. I imagined that he was putting the ball. I let him make the putt and it went dead center." His creative use of imagination allowed him to win a major.

I think this is a great story for golfers of all levels. It shows us how creative we can be to mentally change our circumstances and thereby change our physiological states. For example, do you ever notice how often you come up short on a birdie putt, but if you have to make a putt for par you are more likely to get it to the hole? Why not think of that birdie putt as a putt to save par. Just by changing your mental conception, you can create a different image and respond accordingly. Often times, we tend to tighten up over the little three footers. What if you imagined you were on the practice green and you have just sank five of these putts? This could take a load off your mind and allow you to make a good, smooth stroke.

Visualization: The Solution

Even though most golfers have heard about the benefits of visualization, many do not take the time to use this powerful technique. I see many amateur golfers just step up to the ball and stoke it without a good visual sense of where they want it to go. I have heard many golfers joke about Zen philosophy and say, "Be the Ball." The fact is, if you "be the ball," you are going to stare at the ball and hit the ball. You want to visualize the target, not the ball, and make a good stroke through the ball at the target.

Warner and McNeill, from the school of Medicine, at East Carolina University, studied the physical effects of mental imagery. They reviewed hundreds of studies and reported that mental imagery can be used as mental practice to prepare oneself for athletic performance. They cited research that actually measured the muscle movements that occurred just from mental imagery. In other words, our muscles react to our thoughts. Thinking and imagining hitting a golf ball actually activates minute muscle movements that correspond to the kind of visualizations that we create. There are actually two types of visualization techniques: using a mental image or picture and creating a kinesthetic sense of feel of the action. Some people are more visual and others are more kinesthetic. The kinesthetic method can be more effective.

The Technique: Here are my suggestions for incorporating visualization techniques into your putting routine. First, after you have walked a round the hole and looked at your putt from all angles to get a good sense of the slope and break of the green, find a position behind your ball. Look at the putt long enough until you can imagine the exact line it must travel. Create a very clear mental image for the path of the ball and see it fall into the cup. Create a clear picture where it will go into the cup and stay committed to that image. If it is a left to right slide, see it going in on the left side.

Second, take a few practice strokes standing next to the ball. Look at the hole and create a physical sense of the speed that you need to roll the ball. Get the feel regarding how hard you plan to stoke the ball, keeping a clear image for the hole, i.e. the target in your mind. Now stroke the ball using the rhythm and tempo of you practice putts and do not look up until you hear it drop in the cup.

Measure your success by how well you stoked it along your line and speed. If you keep putting along your target line with the right speed, the putts will begin to fall. Don’t get caught in judging your putting solely on whether or not they go into the hole. Stay with the process and the results will come. If you incorporate the suggestions I have made, you will sink more putts. Remember, it is a game, so have fun when you play!

Ron Mann, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who specializes in Peak Performance Coaching. He lives in the Pacific Palisades in California and maintains a single digit handicap. He is a member at Mountain Gate Country Club and works with local PGA Professionals at his club and Riviera Country Club. His golf clients include UCLA Women’s Golf Team, UC Davis Men’s Golf Team, Lee Brandon, 2001 Women’s World Long Ball Drive Champion, players from the Hooter’s Tour, and amateur golfers of all ages and skill levels. His book The Yoga of Golf and his audio CD Find the Zone: Master the Mental Game of Golf are available at www.ronmann.com. Dr. Mann provides personal and team coaching. He can be reached at 310-459-9507 or via email at mannr@ronmann.com.