What it takes to break 80: a statistical road map for giving yourself a putt for 79

Golf Digest, May, 2006 by Lucius Riccio

aim at center

WHY CHANCE IT? If someone could guarantee you would hit 18 greens in regulation before your round started, wouldn't you take it no matter where the ball was? forget about pins and focus on the middle of the green as your target. If you push, pull, fade, whatever, you still have a good chance of landing on the putting surface.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PUTTING

avoid short, low

BEAT THE ODDS: We've found through testing in our schools that 80 percent of putts end up short and on the low side of the hole. To make more putts, play more break and hit the ball harder. That way, even if you roll it past, the ball has a chance of going in. Plus, you get to see how the ball will break on the putt coming back.

line up the ball

KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING: Marking a ball with a straight line and using that line as an alignment aid seems simple enough, but few amateurs do it. Choose a starting line that will feed the ball to the hole (don't forget what I said about short and low), and align the mark so all you have to do is hit the putt in the mark's direction.

find your fault

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? I've heard a lot of amateurs say, "I always miss short putts right," or "I always come up short." it's usually just talk, but those things would be good to know. I suggest charting your putts to see if a consistent miss jumps out. Correcting that one major flaw might turn your putting around.

By Lucius Riccio, Ph.D.

Lucius Riccio, Ph.D., an engineering professor at columbia University, has served on the USGA's handicap Research Team since 1979.