Week 33: The Psychology of Putting

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Every golfer has stood over a three-foot putt and felt as if the hole was 30 feet away. The battle that a golfer faces on the putting green usually takes place in the mind. Before you let your head get the best of you, consider these methods to help you putt naturally.

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Don't make breaks that are not there -- You see it when you watch the pros play. Once the ball is on the green, the player circles the pin and stares for minutes, trying to identify every bump near the hole. Subconsciously, we feel we have to bring the same level of time and attention to our putting. By doing so, we begin to invent breaks that do not exist. Take a casual glance at the surface between your ball and the hole. If you are playing on your local course and it is not a destination for the pros, chances are that your putt will be fairly straight. Trust your instincts instead of trying to prove to your foursome that you can see breaks on the green that they cannot.

Do not obsess over distance -- Once you attach an estimated distance to your putt, you become consumed by that number. If it is only three feet, it is a putt too short to miss. If it is 20 feet, it is a putt too long to make. A basketball player does not say to himself, "I need to use my 15-foot shot here." He simply focuses on the rim and tries to shoot the ball to reach the center of the rim. So focus on the hole and concentrate solely on finding the center of the cup with the ball, regardless of the distance.

Remember the good putts -- If you have putted the ball well once, you can do it again, regardless of how many bad putts you have in between. After you make a good putt, reflect immediately on what you have done. Were you looking at the hole instead of the ball? Did you visualize the path the ball would take to the cup? Did you use a smooth, uninterrupted stroke to hit the ball? These are all facets of good putting that you can use every time.

Do not be overwhelmed by the finality of the putt -- Bad putts tend to stick with us longer because of their finite nature. If you take a bad swing off the tee, you have a few more shots to make up for it on the scorecard. But once you make a bad putt, you cannot erase it. There is no miracle shot from the rough that will get you back to par. The most important thing you can do when faced with a putt is to give yourself a chance to make it. If it falls a little short or rolls just wide, at least you will be close enough to putt it in a second time. Soon enough, your confidence will build and those two-putts will become one-putts before you know it.

Now that you feel confident with your putting, it is time to make sure your knees do not let you down. If knee pain is preventing you from performing at your best, you might be suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Various treatments for OA do exist, such as ORTHOVISC®, which provides up to six months of knee pain relief. Made from ultra-pure natural hyaluronan, which is found in healthy joints, ORTHOVISC® is injected into the knee joint where it acts to replace your natural joint fluid, to help cushion, protect, and lubricate your knee.

ORTHOVISC® is a proud sponsor of PGATOUR.com. Talk to your doctor to see if ORTHOVISC® is right for you. Or visit our Web site at www.orthovisc.com for more information on how to maintain your knee health to help you keep playing the game you love.

Follow us on Twitter for up-to-date information on maintaining joint health and the prevention/treatment of knee pain due to sports-related injuries or the early symptoms of osteoarthritis.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

ORTHOVISC® is for patients who do not get adequate pain relief from simple pain relievers like acetaminophen or from exercise and physical therapy. ORTHOVISC® is not for use in people with known allergy to hyaluronate preparations, to gram bacterial proteins, with infections or skin diseases in the area of the injection site or joint. Common side effects include joint pain, back pain, headaches and pain or redness at the injection site.

This is a paid placement by DePuy Mitek, Inc. The opinions expressed above are those of DePuy Mitek, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the PGA TOUR.