For all the consideration golfers put into which putter model they have in the bag and the countless hours they spend working on their stroke mechanics, could a much simpler skill have a greater impact on their putting?
Specialist putting coach Jamie Donaldson says speed control is the biggest difference between elite players and club golfers.
The Woburn-based putting instructor has worked with some of the world’s best players, including Adam Scott, Lydia Ko, and Ian Poulter.
Asked what separates the best putters from amateurs, he told the Your Golf Podcast: “I would say the first thing that is super noticeable with really good golfers is speed control – how they control their distance.
“Speed control is what they’re best at and what separates them from club level golfers.
“But I still think it’s also what stops some professionals putting even better. They’re not mastering it; they’re just at another level of it. And then there’s another level above that where, when they get their speed perfect for the day, they make loads of putts or they have their really good days on the greens.
“So speed for me is probably the most important [thing].”
Putting skill: How can amateurs improve their speed control?
Donaldson also believes speed control is a big part of why so many golfers three-putt, explaining a tour professional averages only around two three-putts per tournament – roughly one every two rounds.
For an 18-handicap golfer, the figure can be around three three-putts per round. Donaldson revealed one in every four attempts from around 20 to 25 feet results in a three putt.
He said that to improve this, the majority of players needed to alter the way they practised.
“When you look at golfers coming onto the putting green and warming up before they play, they don’t do anything that’s really speed related,” he said.
“They’ll put three balls to a hole and hope they hole them. Amateurs can learn an awful lot from managing swing lengths, tempos and intentions.”
Golfers looking to improve can use targets at 10, 20 and 30 feet, moving move between the different distances.
Calling this the Speed Gym, Donaldson said it forced players to alter the length of their stroke and their tempo.
“For a 10-minute warm-up before you play, I would say stick a tee in the ground at 10 feet from the hole, another at 20, and another one at 30,” he explained. “Cycle through hitting to 10 to 20 to 30 feet, so you’re always having a different length putt.
“If we have a good swing length and the ball goes way past our intended target, that tells us the forward time was probably too quick. So you can start to use the ball to give a clue as to what you’re doing wrong.
“Make sure to take the hole out the equation. Your focus shouldn’t be on trying to hole the putt, but to hit the right distances.”
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