One of TOUR's best putters, Donald imparts wisdom

text size

Halleran/Getty Images

Luke Donald has just 20 putts in the first round at Muirfield Village. And why not? He's one of the TOUR's best putters.

Jun. 4, 2009
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Luke Donald just tried to stay in the present.

He rolled in that first putt Thursday from just off the fringe. Five more birdie putts from 10, 25, 12, 6 and 8 feet followed in quick succession, but Donald tried not to get caught up in what was happening.

"You try and just focus on every shot as it comes," he explained. "Obviously, it's in the back of your mind that you're making a good run, and you want to keep that going."

Stats: Putts per GIR Stats

When Donald was done, he had sole possession of the lead at the Memorial Tournament after a sizzling 64 that included just 20 putts -- a personal and tournament best. The PGA TOUR record is 18, accomplished seven times, most recently by Ken Duke at this year's World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

Donald's performance Thursday was no fluke. The 31-year-old Englishman is among the PGA TOUR's best putters -- leading in five statistical categories, including total putting and putting average.

So who better to get a putting tip from than Donald, who had eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch on Thursday at Muirfield Village?

"Putting is all fundamental," he said. "It's such a small stroke, you can't make corrections like you can in a full swing because there's just no margin for error."

So when Donald talks to his pro-am partners, he has three areas of emphasis.

1.) The setup: "You have to have your eyes directly above the ball tracing straight lines to the hole."

2.) The hands: "Your hands should be falling just below your shoulders. ... If your hands are outside the plane of your shoulders, you're going to have more of an arced putting stroke. If you get it too far in, it's going to make the putting stroke go out. So you want it somewhere in the middle, where your hands are hanging right beneath your shoulders."

3.) The grip: "Grip in a putting stroke is very different to hitting shots. When you're hitting golf shots, it's more in the fingers, and putting you want it more in the palms. So you keep that club face square to the target."

Donald said putting has been an area of emphasis for him since he turned pro in 2002. The two-time TOUR champ also started using an Odyssey mallet-style putter a year ago at The Honda Classic.

"I think that really helped with the pace of my stroke, really helped lining up putts a little bit better," he said. "Just seemed to swing very well."

Of course, another key is confidence.

"You start putting well, and you start believing in yourself a little bit," Donald explained. "Confidence on the greens breeds confidence. You keep making more putts. I think putting is very mental. Once you feel like you're a good putter, then it becomes easier."