Golf Digest March 2017

The Putter That Aims Itself E very year about this time, I pore through the Hot List looking for a new putter. I have one in mind this year, but if it’s like the past 32 years, I’ll stick with the very odd-shape putter pictured on this page that I started using in 1985. I’ve gone through eight of them, and I have eight more identical ones in a box in my garage, which should get me to the finish line. There’s a story here, of course. In the early 1980s, Dave Pelz was working on a research project with tour pros and serious amateurs who uniformly mis-aimed right or left of their putting line, forcing a correction during the stroke. For example, Lee Trevino aimed left and pushed his putts (pretty…

I lost the Hong Kong Open in December by one shot, but I didn’t get beat because of my iron play. I led the field in greens in regulation that week, hitting 86 percent. My iron play has really been taking shape over the past two years, and it’s a big reason I got to No. 27 in the World Golf Ranking by the end of 2016. If you’re struggling with your irons or simply want to improve before your golf season gets going, some of the things I’m working on might help you, too. Try them, and you can make ball-striking the strength of your game. —WITH RON KASPRISKE LOCK ON TO YOUR TARGET Take your stance and alignment seriously every time you swing. It gives you peace of mind that you’re…

G reenside bunkers are not happy places for most golfers. Chunks, skulls, shanks—a lot of bad shots can be traced to a faulty setup, usually with the ball too far back and the hands too far forward. That leads to a steep crash into the sand and an ugly result. The big swing fault I see is cutting across the ball with an out-to-in club path (above, right). You can get out of the sand this way, but it’s difficult to hit the ball on line. You’ll tend to pull it or put a lot of sidespin on it. If you want more-predictable results, do the opposite. Play the ball up in your stance, in line with your front foot. And instead of pushing your hands forward, drop them back so the…

“Treat a stone wall the same as water.” W hen the opportunity is there, I like to incorporate the history of the land into a design. I’m inspired by Scottish and English courses, where often you come across stone walls that are in play and make for memorable shots. The most famous might be the one behind the green of the Road Hole, the 17th at St. Andrews, which has contributed to double and triple bogeys since the 15th century. Although I never airmailed that green so badly in competition that I had to play a ricochet off that wall to try to save par, I always liked trying the shot in practice rounds. It’s fun. When we built Richland Country Club in Nashville, we encountered a dry-stack stone wall, which is…

F or better pitching consistency, your hands, arms and body have to work as a unit. One of my teaching pals, Tommy Marino, came up with a simple way to practice this action. Slip your arms through a wire clothes hanger up to your elbows (above). Mimic a few swings without a club, and feel the arms and body moving in unison. Now grab your wedge and make some half swings without a ball. Keep the hanger resting against your stomach from start to finish. Notice how it reminds you to pivot your body back and through while you swing the club. The hanger eliminates the fault of an armsy swing with no body rotation. Work up to where you can hit shots while wearing the hanger. All you have to…

H ere’s an interesting stat for you: 10 players on the PGA Tour made every putt from three feet and in last year. Ryan Palmer never missed in 829 attempts. A big reason these guys are automatic from this range is that they stick to a fundamentally sound routine. This gives them great confidence that the ball should go in. So if you want to make all the short ones, follow this fourstep routine. David Leadbetter operates 34 golf academies worldwide. 1. MARK IT Using a permanent marker, draw a dot on your golf ball. It needs to be big enough that you can easily see it when you get ready to putt. 2. GET FOCUSED Orient your marked ball on the green so the dot is at the top. When you stare down at…