Today has to do with putting.
1. To acquire the feel for the length of the stroke needed to hit an approach putt, and thus the speed, I set up behind the ball looking directly at the hole. I then take a practice stroke that I know would send the ball ten feet. I take another stroke that would send the ball halfway to the hole from there, and another that would get the ball all the way to the hole.
By sneaking up on the actual stroke in this way, proceeding in identifiable steps, I get a very good idea for how long to make the actual stroke because it is built on the foundation of knowledge that I gained using the practice procedure #3, below.
2. To make short putts, that is, putts of under eight feet, you must feel the speed, find the line, in that order, and step up to the ball aligned in your stance to the staring line of the putt.
Now for the critical part. You must forget about the hole entirely and hit a straight putt of a given distance, just as if you were putting on your living room carpet. The existence of the hole beside you must vanish from your awareness. All that must be on your mind is the physical act of making that straight putt. If you do just that, you have set yourself up so the green will do the rest.
Do not try to do the job of the green once you have found it.
3. Here’s a distance drill for you. Line up four balls and hit each one six feet, without looking where they go. You do this by closing your left eye and keeping it closed until you have putted all four balls. Line up four more and do it again. Repeat the drill to distances of nine feet and twelve feet.
You don’t look at where the balls ended up until you are finished, to prevent you from subtly adjusting your stroke. The purpose of this drill is to memorize what a stroke that hits the ball these distances feels like.
You may do the drill another day to fifteen, eighteen, and twenty-one feet.