In Which I Learned to Putt

Here's several phrases I've uttered:

In response to a close-in clang, "Oh, it's going to be one of those days!"
In response to a great, but not quite drop-in, drive: "Oh great, now I have to make a putt!"
In response to an outright miss, "Man, I gotta learn how to putt!"

I practice drives in the park and putts at my house, with my portable basket. No two putts were the same. No two putts in a row, much less days in a row, were the same. If I made a putt, and it felt good, I'd try to get it back, try to figure out what it was. No dice. Sure, maybe a round I'd hit a few 20 footers and feel good, but if it weren't 12 and in, it was an adventure. Practicing at home was little different.

Then, last week, going into my first A-tier (first tournament of any kind, actually), I knew I had to putt. And, not just putt, but I had to replicate the putt over and over, with people watching, with something on the line. I renewed my efforts, watching videos, studying styles, looking for something that I could do now from 20-in, but with a little more swing or weight-shift, would eventually be good from 30-in and 35-in. I now you aren't supposed to change up your putting style a couple of days before a tournament, but take it from me, whatever I came up with wasn't going to make my putting worse.

It was Biblical the day I found it. I read or saw something somewhere that clicked, practiced in the house, visualizing the putt. Then I rushed outside and set up my basket. The Biblical part was the rain. Out of nearly blue skies it poured rain. The clouds that were there were so soft and pale white that they almost shrugged and said, "Don't look at me, I couldn't rain like that." So, I moved the basket to the edge of the garage and walked to the back of the garage -- about 25 feet -- and started putting. Ching, ching, ching. Over and over. This Biblical part was how God Himself reached out of the sky, touched my arm and said, "Now you can putt. Sorry about all that other stuff, and all those other days, but we got a lot of laughs up here watching you!" A fully replicate-able, good from 35-in putt (note: not saying I make all of them, but it's not a stretch now).

I love moments where it all clicks and it comes together. In the A-tier, I nearly missed my first putt on my first hole, for birdie, from 10 feet (hit the very, very top and dropped in, whew!), then I missed the next putt and then I remembered and replicated "My" Putt. The next day, I started the same way, with an iffy putt for birdie that I barely made. Then I made probably 10 putts I wouldn' t have made the week before. 10 strokes, yes. I was on fire (relatively so, at least), because I had confidence. I've putted on three other days since, and can hit reliably from 20-in, nearly-always from 25-in and hit chains or basket from 35-in. Being able to replicate these putts and that feeling, means everything. Life seems so much nicer now, you know? Go ahead, cut me off in traffic, no problem.

If you can't putt, I don't really have much advice, nothing except this: when you find that motion that works -- you can tell, like you can tell when you are in love or who it was that farted in the car -- stop everything and figure it out. You gotta have balance, a motion toward the basket, THE SAME GRIP (I traced my grip on my putter), and confidence. Oh, and just use one putter. Your routine varies if you have a stack of putters. If you use one, it's like the real game; after all, you want to putt as well during a round as you do in practice, right?

Now, perhaps I just shot myself in the foot. Maybe I'm jinxed; I'm sure I'll have bad rounds, but just the fact that I've been able to make the same putt over and over 300+ times in a week when I used to not be able to replicate a stroke twice in a row, I'm confident finally found my stroke.