Take Dead Aim

BY KEVIN HAIME

TO BORROW a phrase from the late, great Harvey Penick, “take dead aim”. Nowhere is that more important than on the putting green. Aim is critical to making putts. That’s a pretty obvious statement that I’m sure you’ll all agree with. But most of you don’t take near the care you need to when preparing to roll the golf ball. In fact in the camps and putting seminars I’m involved with, up to 90% of you aim improperly. That’s a pretty staggering statement HELPFUL but I assure you it’s accurate. REMINDER Most golfers just aren’t attenIt’s within the Royal tive enough when it comes to Canadian Golf aligning their putter face. If Association rules your putter is just one degree of golf to mark your open or closed on a ten-foot golf ball with an alignment aid so make sure you do so. putt you will miss the putt. Now just imagine how much you will miss by when you extend that out to a thirty or forty footer.

The aim necessary to making more putts is precise. I often use the comparison of billiards in my teaching. How many billiard shots would you make if you aimed wrong??? Now think of how much time

If you’re struggling with aim, try a different visual configuration. The Odyssey two-ball putter is specifically designed for better aim. These three putters all belong to me and I rotate them when necessary to give me a fresh look.

you spend aiming your billiard cue then take that same precision to the putting green. You can work on your stroke until you’re blue in the face but it will never swing properly and roll the ball perfectly if you have to compensate for poor aim. Simply stated, if you aim improperly you will either roll the ball well

When you’re practicing, set two shafts down on the green to help you with aim on short putts. Remember to make sure that your eyes are directly over your target line. Anything else will skew your vision.

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and miss the putt or somehow adjust your putter face mid stroke, put a bad roll on the ball, and miss anyway. Here are a few pointers to get you on your way.

Always set your putter face in position before you set your body. If you set your body first you’ll tend to aim yourself, and not your putter face, at the hole. The best pre-shot routine you can learn from belongs to Greg Norman. Watch him and copy him.

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