Tips & Tricks

THREE SIMPLE KEYS TO LOWERING YOUR SCORES

That’s right. You’re only three simple keys away from lowering your scores. It’s all in your putting. I know it’s not much fun but that's because you’re struggling with consistency. It’s time to change your behavior!

For well over 25 years, the incredible game of golf has played a starring roll in Michael Breed’s personal life and professional career. His latest career highlight involves the opening of the Michael Breed Golf Academy at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, a Golf Digest Best New Course of 2015. As one of the world’s premier golf instructors, Michael received the highest honor of his career when he was chosen as the PGA’s National Teacher of the Year in 2012. Additionally, Michael was selected a Top 100 Instructor in America by GOLF Magazine, was voted into the Top 50 Instructors in America by Golf Digest (now ranking 13th on this exclusive list and #1 in the state of New York) and also hosts The Golf Fix, a golf instructional show and one of the most popular original broadcasts on Golf Channel.

1. The first key is simple. You need to get fit for your putter. If you are like everyone else, you bought your most recent putter after a brutally bad day on the greens. Found one on the rack that your friend uses or you saw a professional using it and thought it would solve your putting woes. It worked for a day or a week, but now you're back missing putts again and shooting high scores. Let’s stop the madness—visit one of the many talented PGA Professionals at a Trump Golf property, and ask them to assist with this process. Begin with getting your putter fit—they will be happy to help. Here are the elements that you need to be aware of when following this simple rule: Let the putter choose you. By that, I mean the following. Most players struggle with putting because they can’t aim properly. There are many elements to the putter that allow you to aim correctly, and the aiming lines are just one. Pay attention to the length, number and color of the lines to assist with correct positioning. The size and color of the head, as well as the neck of the putter, play a large role in your ability to properly align. And finally, the length, lie angle and grip size are extremely important parts of the putter but can be altered for you individually. That is why seeking assistance is such a valuable part of finding the correct putter.
2. The second key is focusing on the putter face. This too is very easy to do. The challenge is that you want to think of your putter path. But, the truth is, the putter face is responsible for 90% of the outcome of the putt. In other words, the path is not that important. It’s important, but the face is 9 times more important. Focus on getting the putter face aligned to your target at impact, and you have a great chance of making more putts.
3. The final key is practice. I know, just hearing the word makes you cringe. However, you can do it. I know you are going to hit putts on a putting green at some point, and you might as well do it properly. Here’s what you need to work on: speed. If you go to a tour event and watch the players on the practice putting green, you will notice the majority of their practice is developing distance control. Here’s a simple drill that will help: place four tees in the green creating a box that’s four feet wide and three feet deep. Begin with a 10 foot putt and work on hitting 3 golf balls in a row into the box. When you are able to do that, back up 5 feet, and repeat the drill. Continue the drill moving back 5 feet each time until you get to 35 feet. Measure the length of time it takes you to complete the drill. As you improve the length time, you will improve your putting.

If you follow these three simple steps, your putting score will certainly improve while your scores become lower and lower.

Don’t forget to visit the Michael Breed Golf Academy at Trump Golf Links, Ferry Point to learn more tips and tricks!