Have you ever paid close attention to the different contours around the greens at various golf courses? Some courses have greens surrounded by bunkers, some have few bunkers but plenty of rough, while others are surrounded by a fairly generous apron of closely mown grass. “Run-up areas”, as they are often referred to, are those closely mown areas that present a challenge to people chipping the ball because of the lack of grass underneath the ball. For this reason, you should try using your putter.
I am always amazed at how often I see poor chippers continue to chip the ball every time they are off of the putting green. Usually the reason is it’s ‘the right thing to do’. Forget that. It’s time to start doing what’s ‘the BEST thing to do’.
Using your putter from these ‘run-up areas’ is the best thing to do for most of you. By keeping your golf ball on the ground, you are eliminating the possibility of a BIG mistake, which in turn will keep your score much more reasonable. It takes practice, however, and that’s what I emphasize with many of my students.
Rather than spend all of your time practicing putts from various distances on the putting green, it’s a great idea to start practicing rolling putts from off of the putting green. Most practice greens you find will have closely mown grass around them, just as you would find on the golf course. The more time you spend practicing putting from these areas, the better you will become at gauging the proper speed on your putts.
The next time you are at the golf course, you must remember that the idea of the game is to shoot the lowest score possible. There are no guidelines to follow in order to accomplish this goal. For many of you, learning to use your putter more from off of the green is going to help you tremendously. It may necessarily seem like the right way to play, but your results will likely improve and that’s all that really matters in the end.
