Tiger on putting

I have been infatuated with golf since my pop first put a club in my hands when I was a toddler. I was an only child, and the club and ball became my playmates. That feeling of solitude and self-reliance enhanced the game’s attraction for me and endures today.

The cliche about the game being you against the golf course is only partly true. Ultimately, it is you against yourself. It always comes down to how well you know yourself, your ability, your limitations and the confidence you have in your ability to execute under pressure that is mostly self-created.

I hope the tips I offer here will help you discover your game -- one that is powerful yet precise, consistent yet exciting, impervious to pressure yet yielding large doses of fun.

The more I examine putting, the more fascinating it becomes. That’s why I practice it so much.

I enjoy the process of altering my stroke a little when it gets out of kilter. I like the challenge of improving my touch, and the feeling I sometimes get when I know I can lag a fast, double-breaking 40-footer to within a foot of the hole -- or else hole it.

There is, and always will be, room for improvement. The goal, even if it isn’t realistic, is to putt my best every day.

The All-American Grip

The putting stroke is not a very complicated action. My hands move only a foot at most in either direction. My arms and body move even less. So the biggest priority in gripping the club is to establish a feeling of sensitivity, comfort and relaxation.

My reverse-overlap putting grip -- with the left forefinger laid across the fingers of the right hand -- is conventional in almost every way. The one difference is that the handle of the putter runs under the butt of my left hand. Most players like the handle running straight up the palm so the club shaft is parallel to the left forearm. This unique aspect of my grip gives me a little extra feel and freedom in my wrists when I need it.

I once asked Ben Crenshaw, who may be the greatest putter of all time, how tightly he held the putter. Ben said he gripped his putter so lightly it almost fell from his hands:

“The lighter you hold it, the better you’ll be able to feel the weight of the putterhead at the other end of the shaft.”

After hearing that, I committed myself to easing my grip pressure -- and it really paid off. On a scale of 1 to 10, my grip pressure is about a 5. That may be tighter than Ben holds his putter, but it’s pretty light for me and I do have an increased sense of feel.

If you’re having trouble on lag putts, or if your speed isn’t right on shorter, breaking putts, or if you feel you’re manipulating the putter, check your grip pressure.

Better feel

A great way to improve your feel is to putt with your eyes closed. After each putt, try to guess how far the ball rolled. This is the best drill for distance control.

PERFECT YOUR POSTURE

I believe in standing fairly tall at address. That enables me to see the overall line to the hole better than when I’m stooped over. What’s more, it allows my arms to hang in a loose, comfortable manner, which reduces tension. My arms also have more room to swing back and forth through the stroke.

FOCUS ON YOUR EYES

The position of your eyes relative to the ball and the putting line is crucial.

Ideally, I want my eyes directly over the ball at address. It indicates I’m standing the proper distance from the ball, my posture is good and I have a dependable view of the line I want the ball to roll on.

If I err, it’s better to position my eyes slightly inside the line. If my head is perched out beyond the ball, I’ll pull a lot of putts to the left or else have to manipulate the putterhead during the stroke to make it track on line.

SAME ROUTINE WITHOUT FAIL

A good putting stroke requires smooth rhythm and a steady, repeating pace. One of the secrets to accomplishing that is to do everything smoothly and repetitively.

Here’s my preputt routine -- or the series of things I do before I actually pull the trigger with the putter. Regardless of your routine, the key is to perform it exactly the same way every time.

I take a general view of the putt while standing behind the ball;

Walk to the hole, taking a side view of the line to help determine slope;

Examine the area around the hole;

Walk back to my ball and crouch behind it, getting the most telling view of speed and break;

Stand alongside my ball and make two practice strokes;

Move the putter behind the ball and then shift my feet forward.

Take two more looks at the line and hole;

Stroke the putt.

SAME PACE, BACK AND THROUGH

My dad always hammered home the idea of swinging the putter back and through at the same speed. When you see a putting stroke that looks smooth, it’s because the putter is taken back at a slow, even pace and then swung forward at the same speed.

If I can stroke the ball from start to finish deliberately and with a sense of rhythm, it’s much easier to keep the club head moving along the proper path and maintain a club face that is square to that path from start to finish.

LET YOUR DOMINANT HAND RULE

Although both hands are charged with swinging the putter back and through at an even pace, my dominant hand has a special responsibility. If you’re right-handed, you obviously have better feel in that hand than in your left. Therefore, you want to instill a sense of pace with that hand especially, so it won’t play too big a role in your putting stroke.

I like to hit putts with my right hand only, making sure I incorporate the same amount of pace as when I’m putting with both hands. I allow my right wrist to hinge just a bit on the backstroke and then release a little through impact.

But I never allow my right wrist to “unhinge” any farther than where I had it at address. Remember, your hand leads, the club head trails behind.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SWING PATH

Once I align the face of the putter square to the target line, the most important thing is to return the club face to that position at impact. The best way to do that is to swing the putter straight back and straight through along the same path.

The straight-back-and-through path is especially important on putts of 5 feet or less, where I’m not hitting the ball very hard.

On longer putts, where I’m forced to turn my shoulders more in order to take the putter back farther, the putterhead tends to move to the inside a little. That’s fine; I’d have to separate my arms from my body too much to keep the putter moving along the straight-back path.