Short game: more important than ever

Editorial Department • Published 26 Jan 2012 13:00 0 Comments

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Luke Donald posted some incredible stats during his amazing 2011. He led in five of the nine stat leaderboards with a stroke average of 69.12, driving accuracy of 75.6%, greens in regulation of 77.5%, 1.694 putts per green in regulation (GIR) and a sand save percentage of 78.6%.

Interestingly though, in driving distance he was way down the pecking in order in 143rd with an average of 282 yards.

At a time when there is so much emphasis on distance, Donald has dominated world golf by having a fantastic, consistent all round game that does not rely on incredible power.

When you watch his swing look out for his extremely smooth and consistent tempo, which remains the same for every club in the bag from wedge to driver.

When you're practicing or playing aim for the same rhythm with every club and see your consistency improve.

Drain it like Donald

The US PGA Tour putting stats show that Donald was first in holing out from the key range of 5-10 feet, successfully converting 65 per cent.

Once again the rhythm and tempo of his stroke is always the same regardless of the length of putt.

To achieve this smooth stroke follow these simple tips:

• Hold the putter with a relaxed grip pressure and soft arms

• Allow the elbows to bend gently and feel the upper arms contact your rib cage

• This will encourage a free flowing release of the putter and the putter face will return to a square impact position without manipulation.

Try this drill:

On the practice green set up as described and hit three putts to a hole around 15 feet away.

Focus on the smoothness of the stroke and rate out of 10 (10 for Luke Donaldesque). Now repeat the same three putts but this time play with your eyes closed and rate the smoothness.

This will give you the feeling for the ideal rhythm in your stroke.

European Tour

Finally, this week on the European Tour, the world's top four players launch their 2012 tour campaigns. Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer all return to action at The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships.

This week's strong field will also include former number one Tiger Woods, whose appearance was no doubt influenced by the reported seven figure appearance fee he has received.

Verdict: Rory to lead after day one, Lee Westwood to win overall.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Jan 12

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