When Chris Wood first started working with his putting coach Phil Kenyon his alignment and posture were very square, angular. He was bent over a little too much and it all looked rather awkward.
Chris said “So the first thing Phil did was lengthen the shaft of my putter, so that I was able to stand a little taller and with a softer, more rounded posture.
My arms hang comfortably, as opposed to bending sharply like they used to do; it’s a more natural look – and it leads to a more natural stroke.
I travel with the Vision putting mirror and use it virtually every day to check my alignment on short putts. I want to be able to look down and see that everything is aiming where I want it to be aimed”
That’s the putter, my feet, my shoulders and my eyes. It’s pretty basic stuff, but so important.
I also use a string as a guide for my stroke, and will set up a ‘gate’ a foot or so in front of the ball so that I can test and measure my ability to get the putt started on the line I want.
This is the single best drill I believe all golfers should work on. I like to do this on straight putts, but also on left-to-right breakers.
The key is that the gate has to be close enough that the ball hasn’t started to break before it goes through the gap.
I tend to clip the left side of the gate more than the right, which tells me to double-check my aim and to work harder on starting the ball on the exact line.
It’s all great feedback.
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