‘This will help you stop pulling your putts, guaranteed’

Eric DeKarski, as he swings his putter back and forth, seems to know one thing he can’t do when making contact with the ball.

Pull it.

And how confident is he in his approach?

“This will help you stop pulling your putts, guaranteed,” he says.

DeKarski, who teaches at Ballamor Golf Club in New Jersey, is talking about a video that was recently posted on his Instagram page, and the article is going viral. Players can have their own right line. Players can slow down their speed. But drag destroys it all.

DeKarski thinks he can help. Below is his video. Below are some notes.

In the video, DeKarski lists three parts to his plan to stop pulling.

1. Football field

“First, worry about your football situation,” he said in the video. “Make sure it’s centered and not too far forward.”

2. Press forward

“Next,” he said in the video, “add a little forward pressure with your hands.”

3. Wrist movement

In the video, DeKarski did not ask for wrist movement, and to test, he had a drill. He said it was his best putting drill.

“Put the golf ball on your inside arm,” he said in the video.

“If you do the stroke well, it will stay there. If you throw or release early, the ball will come out.”

In the video, DeKarski then made the putt.

Should the method at least be considered? Definitely. The author, aged 14, tried. I put the ball “in the center and not too far forward.” I added forward compression – in full disclosure, I’ve used this before and I’m not a fan. I put the ball between my inner arm and grip.

I hit 10 putts and didn’t see a pull.

Is the process guaranteed? That’s a big word, of course. It works, though. The steps end the drag methods. One thing to add to DeKarski’s video – watch his putter stroke. He returned the club a distance that seemed to be based on the length of the putt, hit the ball, and his follow-through was short, a move used by Cam Smith. (You can read more about that here and here.)

Let’s keep the conversation going. Last Sunday, GOLF Top 100 teacher Kellie Stenzel wrote an article titled “Try this 5-step plan to become a better putter,” and you can read that article by clicking here or scrolling down.

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Being a good putter requires good strategy and a little systematic practice. Once that’s dialed in, you can practice with focused exercises that will help you master the distance and get better at green reading.

So what are the keys? Let’s take a look.

Nice setup

It all starts with having a good setup, where your posture allows your arms to hang so that your eye line is almost above the ball and parallel to the line of the target. A great training aid to improve this is simply a mirror position.

Stroke method

Next, I suggest you work on your stroke technique, which can be done with a swing arc or on a putting mat. Ideally, the face of the putter will always face the curved path.

My good friend, GOLF Top 100 colleague Stan Utley, describes the stroke as “going straight back on the inclined plane,” which makes it easy for even the beginner golfer to understand. But to achieve this, you must remain still during the stroke, which will help improve technique and distance control.

Equipment

Another factor in becoming a great putter is your equipment – so make sure you have a putter that suits you and your stroke.

Many times, putters are too long when bought off the shelf, making it difficult to get into good shape – which can have a negative impact on your stroke.

Practice distance control

Once you have your technique dialed in, I suggest you start focusing on self-driving distance control – with a three-foot drill which is one of my favorites, as I use it all the time in my clinics.

Simply set the balls in three-foot increments, starting with a short putt and working your way back. The goal is to control your stroke length and distance, so take a stroke before each shot, trying to make your stroke as realistic in size as possible.

You should try to roll the first (short) putt within two to three feet of the hole, so focus on your backstroke length to control distance.

As you move back, the stroke size should increase. When this happens, the natural fall speed of the putter increases, resulting in the ball moving forward. The ability to control the length of the backstroke at different distances will pay dividends with distance control – which will help avoid three putts.

Practice stroke size

Another important aspect of being a good putter is correcting the rise and fall of changes.

To practice this, pick one downhill putt, and one downhill putt, and practice going back and forth several times in a row until you have two putts or better. The feelings that can be developed by controlling your stroke size can make a big difference in the course.

Remember that putting is a learnable skill, and that, with some commitment to it, you can develop the confidence to lower your putts in each round – thereby improving your score.

If you’re looking for more short game and putting tips, I suggest you check out Parker McLachlin, aka The Short Game Chef, who has tons of tips to help improve your game around the green.

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