Putt like you want the ball to go in the hole. I’m sure the bemused French golfers who slide on and off the practice green think I’m crazy as they smack around dozens of balls with absolutely no result as I go through my routine with just the one. One ball? Yes, just one ball. Here’s how the routine goes broken down into sixteen steps…

1. I choose how far out I’m going to attempt the putt (I start at 10 feet and work my way out on different holes to about 60 feet) and I start to read the green. If you are actually playing this is the step where you see where your ball is and you mark it. I mark the ball every time even if I am playing first.

2. I line the makers line at the point I think I need to get over for the ball to break, I go back and crouch behind the ball to see if the aim feels right.

3. I walk to the opposite side of the hole and look at it backwards to see if it still feels good.

4. Two practice swings the same speed as the putt will be.

5. Line up my putter perpendicular to the makers line (I don’t bring one hand in over the other nor do I concern myself with being right or left eye dominant. I have a mark on my putter to which I can verify the straightness of the club head and I have a good eye. I know if I can feel it or not. Sounds blurry but not everything can be explained in life).

6. Look at the hole.

7. Look at the point it’s going to break at.

8. Hands nice and light.

9. The V’s of my thumb and forefinger pointing straight up at me.

10. My feet solid.

11. My eyes over the ball (I dropped a few tees from between my eyes to see if they fell on the ball over the course of the session thanks to Bobby Eldridge for the tip).

12. Swing back to just outside my right foot.

13. Strike through ball.

14. Swing the putter 20% further than the backswing.

15. Head down for a faction of a second.

16. Watch the ball head to the cup.

And that’s pretty much how it goes. Sixteen steps. Most of which take a fraction of a second but all of which are important. If I leave the ball short I start again from the same spot. If I go past the cup it’s okay if I leave myself a gimme (which after wanting it in the hole is the point of each putt). If I under read the green and leave it on the low side I start again. If I leave it high and it’s going to the hole for a gimme it’s okay.

It’s a slow process and you will only hit a fraction of the balls the other turkeys around you will but you will putt more of them in the hole, which is kind of the point. I missed only two on the low side and left only one short. The objective is to two putt from anywhere on the green (sinking a few on the way of course) and to put the ball up to the hole. If you can do this you will kill your partners at the end of the round.