By: Todd Keirstead

At this time of year it is easy to trade the golf clubs in for skis, skates or a snowboard as soon as the first snow flake appears. Most of us pack the clubs away into the garage and wait until spring to get them out again. We are then faced with a month or so of very "rusty" golf until we start to click and get in the golfing groove again. Some of the golfers reading this article are lucky. They live in mild climates where they and can play comfortably all winter. However a great percentage of us live in areas where the weather conditions are against us.

In the next few months I am going to provide installments on basic exercises and drills that can be done in the comfort and warmth of your own home to help you stay focused on your game over the cold, dreary days of winter. The winter time is a great time to work on your weaknesses. If you're really serious about lowering your scores, and you have the time, you can do any number of things to improve your weaknesses and lower your scores.

Putting, as most of us are familiar with is probably the largest source of frustration for almost every golfer. If you hold the self-discipline to practice it will pay off and golf will come easier in time.

One helpful method to stay in tune with your putter is to spend nightly TV time practicing putting on the carpet in the living room. Make sure that the carpet is short and speedy. Shag carpet is too thick and long, and linoleum is too fast. A good industrial-grade carpet is ideal. Then start making putts to a target, a cup or plastic container no bigger than your hand. Generally, the smaller the "cup", the tougher your shot will be. Different positions around the carpet can help to avoid boredom setting in. Just make sure you don't put your target up against a wall. You want to see how far past the "hole" you go.

Drills There are three "musts" in becoming a good putter: (1) your stroke must stay along the target line for as long as possible; (2) the putter head must remain square to the target line for as long as possible; (3) your forward stroke must equal (or slightly exceed) your backstroke. The following drill emphasizes these putting musts. The last drill focuses on distance control, also a key aspect of putting. Place two books on the floor. Position them far enough apart so that your putter head barely squeezes through them. Place a golf ball between the books, assume your putting posture, and make your stroke. Use the books as a visual guide to equal the lengths of your backstroke and forward stroke. Matching the lengths ensures a smooth stroke with perfect tempo. You'll find it hard to move your putter between the phone books unless the path follows the intended putting line. If your putter makes contact to either book, your stroke strayed off-line.

Also, mark your ball with a straight line. Set that line parallel to your target line. Marking the ball makes it easier to align the putter at right angle to the target line at address. Watch the line to see if it moves to the right or left of center as your ball rolls after impact. If it does, then your stroke may have moved off-line or you made contact with a slightly open or closed putter face.

Here is a drill that improves distance control. Place a ball on a penny and putt a second ball to this ball so that it touches the first, but DOESN'T knock it off the penny! Distance control is everything. Rolling the ball to the target with an acceptable "sink" speed will soon become second nature as you try to just touch the target ball.

Good luck with the winter putting practice and we will see you next month. Anyone looking for some lessons this winter can get in touch with me by email at gwagolf@hotmail.com or visit my site at www.gwagolf.com

11/10

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