70 Bad Shots. A Couple of Great Putts. See You Next Friday.
Why speed control might be the most frustratingly important part of putting.
Settle in. Let’s talk golf.
I’ve been spending a lot more time studying and practicing my short game.
And after a recent Friday night round, I’m glad I have been.
Because the rest of my game that night?
Less than memorable.
It was hot.
Really hot.
And my long game was awful.
My driver is still very much a work in progress. I was getting great distance, plenty of height, and watching the ball reach an apex that made me think…
“Oh, that’s going to be good.”
Then it would turn right.
And keep turning right.
And apparently try to visit an entirely different hole.
By about the sixth hole, I started making some progress.
But I’ve learned this lesson before.
The course is a terrible place to start rebuilding your golf swing.
That’s what the range is for.
For me, once the bad shots start piling up, resetting can get difficult. One bad drive becomes two. Then I’m thinking about what went wrong. Then I’m trying something different.
And suddenly I’m negotiating with my golf swing in the middle of a round.
Never a good sign.
But then I got to the green.
And something changed.
During the round, I made a couple of great putts.
One was from about 20 feet.
I read the green.
Picked my line.
Tried to get the speed right.
Hit the putt.
And watched it roll.
And roll.
And then…
Thunk.
There are few sounds in golf better than a ball dropping into the cup from 20 feet away.
And yes…
I did the happy dance.
Thankfully, it was a hot Friday night and there weren’t many suckers…
I mean golfers…
on the course.
So other than my golf partner, there weren’t many witnesses to a grown man celebrating a putt like he’d just won the Masters.
Worth it.
And that’s when I was reminded why we keep playing this ridiculous game.
You can hit 70 shots that make you question every golf decision you’ve ever made.
Then you hit two great ones.
And suddenly…
“See you next Friday.”
Golf makes absolutely no sense.
But somewhere between the bad drives and my completely justified happy dance, I noticed something about my putting.
I wasn’t just aiming at the hole anymore.
I was trying to read the green.
I started looking at the putt from both sides of the hole, paying attention to the slope and trying to picture what the ball would do as it slowed down.
Where was the break?
How much would it move?
And most importantly…
How fast did I want the ball traveling when it got there?
That’s where speed control started making a lot more sense to me.
I’ve watched hundreds of videos and read plenty about putting, and one thing comes up over and over again.
Speed control.
Now I’m starting to understand why.
Obviously, you have to get the ball to the hole.
But smash it six feet past and congratulations…
You’ve created another putt.
And probably a harder one.
Hit it too softly and something else happens.
As the ball slows down, the slope has more time to influence it.
A firmer putt will generally take less break, while a slower putt will generally take more.
Which means the speed I choose can change where I need to aim.
That’s the part I hadn’t fully appreciated.
Speed and line aren’t two separate decisions.
They work together.
Change the speed…
and you change the line.
Which means reading a green isn’t just figuring out where the ball will break.
You also have to decide how you want the ball traveling when it gets there.
Yeah.
Easy to write.
A little harder when you’re standing over the putter.
But when the speed and line work together, putting starts to feel a little less like guessing.
And apparently that’s all it takes to get me to come back.
Two putts.
The Takeaway
I’m starting to realize that putting isn’t really about aiming at the hole.
It’s about deciding how you want the ball to arrive there.
Too much speed and a miss can leave you staring at another uncomfortable putt coming back.
Too little speed and the break has more time to take over.
But get the speed and line working together?
That’s when putting starts to make a little more sense.
I’m still learning to read greens.
I’m still going to misread breaks.
And I’m definitely going to hit putts too hard sometimes.
But I’m no longer standing over the ball thinking only:
“Hit it at the hole.”
Now I’m thinking about the path, the speed, and where I’d like the ball to finish if it doesn’t go in.
Because I’m also starting to realize something else.
A good putt doesn’t always have to go in.
Sometimes a good putt is the one that leaves you with an easy next one.
That’s a small change in how I’m thinking about putting.
And based on Friday night…
It might make a pretty big difference.
The Next Shot
Golf has an incredible ability to make you forget.
You can slice a drive.
Top an iron.
Miss a short putt.
Question every golf decision you’ve made in your adult life.
Then you stand over a 20-footer.
You read the green.
Pick your line.
Get the speed right.
The ball starts rolling.
It catches the break.
Keeps tracking…
And then you hear it.
Thunk.
Suddenly the bad drives don’t seem quite as bad.
The heat doesn’t matter.
And apparently you’re doing a happy dance on a nearly empty golf course.
That’s golf.
Seventy shots can frustrate you.
One can bring you back next Friday.
For me, that’s part of the journey.
I’m not trying to master putting overnight.
I’m learning to read the green a little better, control my speed a little better, and give myself a better chance on the next one.
And every once in a while…
I’ll get the line right.
I’ll get the speed right.
And maybe…
I’ll hear that thunk again.
Small Changes. Better Golf.
