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My Shot Take it from somebody who knows: Even the greatest putters occasionally lose their touch
By Don Pooley
If I were to teach somebody to putt, I'd tell him to start by studying Tiger's stroke. His arms and shoulders move back and forward together, and he has no extra moving body parts. His stroke is compact. His left wrist stays firm and his clubhead goes straight back and through. Tiger's attitude is equally awesome. He's aggressive, a lot like Tom Watson was in his heyday. Tiger makes sure he gets the ball to the hole, and he is especially firm on putts inside five feet. That's a great way to putt, but it makes Tiger prone to lip-outs because his ball is cruising so fast when it hits the cup. When I lose my touch, I go back to my favorite drills. In one, I hit straight six- to eight-footers with a chalk line between me and the hole. The line forces me to line up my body correctly, square the putter face and bring the clubhead straight back and through. On 10-footers, I also put three coins on the green six inches apart -- one under the ball, one in front and one behind -- and try to graze the middle coin. Keeping the putter inside the coins keeps my stroke compact. The best way to practice is to play competitive games with friends. One of my favorites is Sinks, in which you play to a predetermined number of points and only one-putts earn a point. Another is 7 Up. You get two points for a sink, one for the closest to the hole and minus two for three-putts. The first player to seven wins. You can never master putting, but Tiger's stroke is so solid that he has nothing to worry about. He's going to snap out of his so-called slump with at least one victory before the Masters, and then watch out at Augusta. Pooley becomes eligible for the Senior tour on Aug. 27.
Issue date: February 19, 2001
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