A Great Putter Is Made Not Born

A great putter is not born, but is made -- made through conscious effort to improve not only the putting techniques but also the self-image. A positive self-perception immunizes you from doubts and fears about your putting techniques -- doubts and fears are stumbling blocks in golfing success.

Of course, changing the way you perceive yourself as a putter requires practice and perseverance.

First, practice mental visualization of the good putts you have made.

Garry Player once said: "On every putt, see the ball going into the hole with your mind's eye."

Mental visualization is important to golfing success. In your mind's eye, you already see your success, and seeing is believing.

Tiger Woods' father was said to have trained his son while he was still a very young kid to roll a ball to a hole, and then roll it to the hole again with his eyes closed. That was how Tiger Woods received his training in developing his mental golf.

Practice to relive the perfect putts you have made. Visualize the puts in your next round of golf, and see them going in the hole.

Stop complaining in the way your converse about your own putting. Stop moaning about the mistakes you made. Complaining only reinforces the negative image, and may well become self-fulfilling prophecy.

Confidence means the ability to control the mind by focusing on something small and simple.

In good putting, you clear all the clutters in your mind by narrowing your mental focus as much as possible. Learn to empty your mind of instructional thoughts from books, fellow golfers, or your coach. Just let your subconscious mind take over your strokes. It is like a runner on the track would let the subconscious mind take over the breathing to increase the oxygen intake; a runner does not have to consciously breathe harder in order to get more oxygen into the lungs to win the race.

So neither should you consciously focus on your strokes. Instead, just focus on the target.

In your mind's eye, you should see only a mental picture of the hole or your target. A good putter not only focuses on the target, but also narrows down the target. Therefore, a good putter's target may not simply be the hole. Remember, the smaller the target is, the better control your brain and your body may have in getting the ball to the target of your choice. Learn to select a smaller target, such as a broken blade of grass, or a tiny edge of the hole. Your brain works better when the target is smaller, and your brain subconsciously has better control of your body's functions, especially your muscles and reflexes.

You may have one of the best strokes of your life when you see the target, and your mind simply reacts to it with little interference from your conscious thought.

Confidence means getting control of the present situation, and the past is insignificant and irrelevant.

In any sport, gaining control of the present situation is important. Some people believe that you must try the hardest in order to control the present situation. However, in putting, trying your hardest may not be equivalent to doing your best.

Why is that so? 

This is because putting requires spontaneity, and spontaneity is controlling the mind and hence the response, but without striving your hardest to control the resulting action. Essentially, spontaneity is focusing on the process, and never on the outcome. In this way, your efforts may become "natural" and "effortless." As a result, your strokes may become more confident, free from doubt or hesitation.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Be A Confident Putter

A good putter has to be confident. A good putter has to feel that he or she is up to par. Yes, if you start telling yourself that you can't putt, you may indeed have a problem in getting your ball in the hole even from a distance of just two or three feet.

Missing a short putt on the last hole may become an unforgettable mistake that you start dwelling on until it may haunt you for the rest of your life. People often say you learn from your mistakes. However, the inability to forget could be more devastating to golfing success than the inability to remember what to do.

As a good putter, you must acquire the ability to consciously block from your mind all your missed putts. You must learn to focus on the present putt. Always think of yourself as a good, if not a great, putter. This is confidence at its best.

Of course, your inner self might tell you to get "real." However, you must also learn not to use "realism" as your excuse for your persistent negative attitude towards your own evaluation of your caliber as a putter.

Remember, Jack Nicklaus misses his putts too. But he chooses not to remember the putts he has missed; instead, he remembers the perfect putts he has made. And don't tell yourself that you are not Jack Nicklaus!

Confidence is disciplining your mind to separate you from the rest of your competitors, just as Jack Nicklaus has separated himself from the rest of the professional golfers. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Perfect Putting

The average golfer takes 43 percent of his or her shots from the putting green. This means that putting plays a pivotal role in the game of golf.

Golfing success demands the composite of a great player and a great putter. Perfect putting is the dream of any golfer.

Putting on the green is an art in itself.

Putting is an art because there are no hard and fast rules regarding how one should deliver the perfect putt. Putting is an art because it is a reflection of the philosophy and personal traits of the putter. As such, most golfers have come to believe that "putters are born, not made." Be that as it may, these personal characteristics, such as the power of imagination, the finesse of touch, and the accuracy of judgment  can be cultivated and acquired simply by changing the way you think about putting.

The Basic Elements of Perfect Putting

A good putter must have the capability to assess the green.

A good putter must have the vivid imagination and sharp eyesight requisite in a good survey of the green to predetermine the amount of break on side-hill putts, thereby instrumental in determining the "line" of the putt.

A good putter must be able to analyze the unique characteristics of a green, such as the speed of the green -- fast, hard, slow or soft, and to determine the contour of the green -- sloping one way or the other. An acute awareness of the particular characteristics of the green may help the decision on the strategy before even stepping on the first tee.

A good putter must be able to gauge the distance consistently, especially on long putts. Accurate judgment may help striking a "specialized" stroke.

A good putter must be able to control the stroke and the placement of the ball. A good putter must putt the ball consistently and confidently, such that the ball is put within an inch or two of the targeted spot. Such confidence is often reflected in the positive attitude, the targeted concentration, and relaxed mentality of the putter.

A good artist relies on his or her tools, and this is also true of a good putter, who needs to experiment different equipment before "feeling good" on one that will inspire confidence in delivering the perfect putt.

A good putter must know how to choose his or her equipment. The art of choosing the right size of the equipment depends on the physique, the height, and the arm length of an individual; while the choice of the weight of the equipment is contingent on the individual's preference for power deliverance or delicacy of touch. A heavier equipment may give you more power at the expense of being more difficult to exercise control on a slick green. You must learn the art of arriving at a compromise between power and touch in your choice of your equipment, such that your equipment may become an asset, not a liability, in your putting.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Senior Golf

Senior golf requires golf technique adjustments in both body and mind, and good golf nutrition to overcome the effects of aging in order to optimize golf fitness for golfing success. 

Golf is a game of a lifetime. The game of golf remains one of the few major sports that can be played not only when you are very young but also when you are very old -- as long as you can stand up and walk, you can play golf. 

However, your physical conditions may determine not onlyhow you will have to play the game when you become advanced in your years, but also the level of your performance you wish to maintain. 

You don’t like getting old; nobody does. 

Whether you like it or not, you are not immune from aging, which is no more than changes in your body and mind. The good news is that you can continue to play golf for the rest of you life if you maintain a healthy mind and body. 

Obviously, your mind and your body are not what they were decades ago. Your muscle’s strength and flexibility decline as you age. Unfortunately, flexibility is a major factor in creating an effortless swing, which is the key to golfing success. 

For example, you may have noticed that your swing is not what it used to be. To address the issue, you need to do the following:

Reduce your swing speed.

Find out the rate of your swing speed so as to maintain your body’s balance, keeping you on your feet and in balance through to your finish position.

Create a low and slow takeaway when swinging your club back.

Adjust your body’s rhythm, tempo, timing while turning your shoulders to the target line at a less than 90-degree angle at the top of your backswing.

Aim at producing the same distance and the same accuracy when completing your swing.

The process and the speed of aging vary with individuals. Your genetic factors and your lifestyle in the past decades play a pivotal role in how you age. 

The factors that are not in favor of senior golfer are:

coordination, especially the eye and the hand

stamina and physical endurance

muscle and joints flexibility

mental perception and visualization

However, you do not have to become enslaved to the physical consequences of aging. Senior golf can still be the game for you at any age. If you wish to continue to lower your scores, then take some positive steps so that golf can continue to be as exhilarating and thrilling as it was when you were young. There is no age limit to senior golf.

In order to cope with aging, you need to make certain golf technique adjustments to enhance your going success. 

The aspects of senior golf you should focus on improving are:

flexibility

strength

endurance

nutrition

First of all, you should evaluate the current level of your senior golf fitness with respect to the above. Once you have determined your limitations, then get on a program to circumvent them and improve your success in senior golf.

The Number One enemy to your golfing success isprocrastination. Finding a gym, looking for a fitness coach, buying expensive equipment are no more than excuses for your procrastination. You need only a stability ball, hand weights, and some exercise tubing and you are well on your way to improving your body, which ultimately speeds up or slows down your senior golf performance as you get older. 



Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau