Why is Jordan Spieth a great putter?

Some golfers have a “natural gift” that allows them to play and compete at a very high level. Some of us have to “work really hard” to acquire the same skills, to enable us to compete against them... and sometimes beat them. Do you believe Jordan Spieth has a “natural gift” or did he have to “work really hard” to become one of the best golfers in the world?

Image from http://www.jordanspiethgolf.com/about-jordan-spieth

This article is for the vast majority of us who clearly do not have a “natural gift” for golf but are willing to learn and practice what Jordan Spieth does every week to improve his game and enable him to gain an advantage over other players. The following Putting Drills are part of Jordan’s routine when he goes to a tournament:

1. Gatecrasher – Place the golf ball about 10 feet away from the hole. Then, place two ball markers about mid-way (5 feet away from the hole) between the golf ball and the hole. The goal of this drill is to make the putt by rolling the ball through the ball marker “gate” and into the hole. If you do this drill with a friend, give yourselves half-a-point for rolling the ball through the two markers and another half-point for making the putt.

   
   

2. Leap Frog – Place a ball marker on a gentle upslope or downslope about 5 feet away from the golf ball. You then putt the ball and attempt to make the ball stop within about 6 inches of the ball marker. The objective is to predict whether that will happen as soon as you putt the ball by actually calling out loud whether your putt will be successful. The purpose of this drill is to help you develop a feel for your putt.

3. Look at the Hole – In this drill, you get to forget about watching the ball when putting and instead you’ll be looking at the hole as you make the putting stroke. This is a great drill when you have a long putt to get a feeling for distance control. It’s even more important on short putts, which is where you’ll be starting off the drill first. Why look at the hole when putting? Think about it this way: in basketball, you look at the basket rim when shooting; in football, you look at the receiver when throwing. Golf is one sport where you look down at a ball instead of your target. You can actually make putts looking at the hole because your brain gives you distance and target information to help you sink your putt. Also, by not looking down at the ball, you don’t have to spend your mental energy focusing on mechanics. Instead, you develop trust that your mechanics will hold up and perform a successful putt—just like a basketball player trusts his shooting mechanics will hold up while he focuses on the rim.

Instructions:

• Measure a 3-foot putt.

• Set up to the ball like normal, square the putter face to your line.

• Now look at the hole.

• Make the putting stroke and trust it.

• Make 5 putts like this from 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12 feet.

• Then make 5 putts like this from 15, 18, and 21 feet.

• And finally, work on lag putts from 25–50 feet, just trying to get within a few feet of the hole.

Quotes from Jordan Spieth:

• Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

• Stay focused on your goals, but remain flexible in your approach.

• Champions are made in the off-season.

• Believe in yourself even when no one else does.

• Failure is not the end. It’s just a stepping stone towards success.

• Talent is given, greatness is earned.

Is there any doubt... Jordan Spieth has to “work very hard” for everything he has achieved?

Written by Perry Noun