Instruction blog: Unclutter your head for good putting

text size

Gross/Getty Images

Nick Watney's clutch two-putt birdie on the 72nd hole sealed his second PGA TOUR victory.

Is it just me, or does Nick Watney remind you of a younger Davis Love III? The tall and lanky, sweet-swinging Sacramento native won the second PGA TOUR event of his career at the Buick Invitational.

Listen to Travis Fulton

PGA TOUR Golf Academy's Travis Fulton breaks down the keys to Nick Watney's victory at the Buick Invitational in his weekly segment on the PGA TOUR Network (XM 146, SIRIUS 209). Click to listen

You may remember Nick from 2007, when he won the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Since his win in Louisiana, Nick disappeared from the scene due to an ailing putter. However, this week at Torrey Pines, we saw a more a confident Watney with the flatstick as a result of the hard work he put in during the off-season.

Like Davis Love III, Watney's shy and unassuming personality really didn't grab the spotlight until the 16th hole on Sunday, where he dropped a bomb for birdie to grab a share of the lead with John Rollins. Although Watney stayed close much of the day, he flew underneath the radar until the very end. After grabbing a share of the lead, Watney didn't let go, and he showed off his reborn putting confidence with clutch two-putt performances on the 17th and 18th. A difficult two-putt birdie on the 18th gave Watney the victory.

What Can We Learn
Recently, Nick Watney moved to Las Vegas to be closer to his swing coach Butch Harmon. During the off-season, the two put together a game plan to improve his game. They didn't have to look very far to figure out that the problem was on the greens.

Like so many PGA TOUR players, the difference between competing for championships and missing cuts usually lies in the flatstick. In 2008, Watney was ranked 154th on the PGA TOUR in Putts per Round at 29.74. Watney was three-putting roughly once per round and was just not making enough putts from inside 10 feet. This year -- just five events into the season -- Watney has improved this stat to 28.15, which is currently ranked 25th. On cue at Torrey Pines, Watney didn't three-putt all week and was very solid from inside 10 feet.

Some of the changes that have led to this year's improvements were in the commitment to making things simpler. After the round on Sunday, Watney let us in on his new approach to putting on "picking a target and then hit to it."

Seems so simple, doesn't it?

Dunn/Getty Images

Nick Watney didn't have a single three-putt last week at Torrey Pines.

One of the biggest things that interrupt good putting is when golfers start overanalyzing the mechanics of their stroke. Oftentimes, the stroke becomes too calculated where the golfer becomes absorbed on what the putter is doing during the backswing, impact and follow-through. This approach makes us believe that if "I take it back just like this, impact it just like this and follow-through just like this, then the end result will be a made putt."

The problem with this approach is that it pulls the mind away from the target and doesn't allow the player to use their instincts. Over time, like Watney did in 2008, you can become very mechanical and start trying to steer putts into the hole.

Great putters do just the opposite. The stroke is not calculated -- it's free and uninterrupted. One could argue that good putters don't really sense (or know) what the putter head is doing during the backswing, impact or follow-through. They are more focused on the target and the entire picture ahead.

To help you become more instinctive and less mechanical, here are two ideas:

1. Tempo. Don't worry about the putterhead path. Instead, focus on the overall tempo. Count in your mind "one, two". Make "one" the backswing and "two" the forward swing. Keep the tempo consistent so the putter is moving the same pace back and through. When doing this, the length of stroke will match up on both sides and allow for even acceleration as the putts get longer.

A good tool to help with this is a metronome. Set the metronome on a comfortable beat that best represents your personality and practice putting focusing on moving the putterhead to that beat.

2. Look at the hole. While practicing on the putting green start from five feet and focus your eyes on the hole while putting. This drill will free your mind from the putter head and allow you to focus on the target. At this point you will be focused on putting the ball in the hole rather than what the putter head is doing and you may find out just how good of a putter you can be, if you just allow it to happen.

Just Because
Well, the golf season has officially arrived here in Florida, where after a cold spell last week, temperatures finally broke into the 70s this weekend. Now, it has become a tradition on this blog that every year at this time I point out the official start to the golf season here in Florida to those of you in the north still enjoying a nice long winter.

I'm not trying to rub it in. I just want to remind you of what you have coming your way very soon in the way of a warm sun, blue skies, green grass, cold beverages, golf. All right. I'll stop.

Spring looked as if it has begun in Southern California as well this weekend. How about those paragliders in the background over the Pacific Ocean? Is that not the craziest thing you have ever seen? Call me a wimp, but those people are crazy. There is just something about hanging way up in the air with no engine, holding onto strings attached to the wings and your feet tied to the tail that just doesn't appeal to me. Is it just me, or am I missing something here?

I guess its only fitting this week when less mechanics and more instincts is the lesson; I would say paragliding takes this concept to a whole other level.