Page 41 Putting Basics
• Hit the ball on the sweet spot..
•Keep your body stable.
•Accelerate through the ball.
•Make sure you follow through.
•Hit the ball with the putter at
right angles to the intended line.
•Learn tempo.
•Try not to think (while in the act).

page 51

Good putting can leverage your game and it will provide rewards over and over -each time you tally your scorecard and when you leave the final green with a smile on your face and a great feeling inside. Putting should be done without thinking,without worry.It should become a simple,practiced,mechanical motion -one in which you line up squarely,take the putter back,hit the ball in the center of the face,and follow through.The paradox is that you must study each putt carefully before you putt.This should not be a time-consuming task,just a good look,long enough to determine the line and the amount of momentum that ’s needed to carry the ball to the hole.  The path is usually uncomplicated and the hole is actually more than twice the size of the ball.So,address the putt with confidence and that confidence will power the ball into the cup.

page 59 

You must be your own motor.

The pursuit of a goal will reinforce
the energy you expend toward that
purpose,and,as a result,give you more
energy to reach that goal.

page 70

After two days of losses to the 1999 European team,Ben Crenshaw looked
straight at us on TV and told the world he believes in fate.He said,“I ’ve got a
good feeling about this final Sunday at the Ryder Cup in Brookline.”
In my opinion,“he knew something.” He knew the unknowable..It is power.It is
magical.What he conveyed to the world was more powerful than when Babe
Ruth pointed toward center field,before hitting a home run there,for the benefit
of a sick child in a Chicago hospital.

I delivered 13 of these books to the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston the Saturday
night before the close of the Ryder Cup.That is where the Ryder Cup players
were staying.I sometimes believe that the everlasting magical power of the
content of these pages can help golfers even if they never open the book.
Ben Crenshaw knew the same thing.He said he believes in fate.And,in my
opinion,he absolutely knew the outcome in his heart and soul.We all,just had
to witness it in the physical realm.

However,if you saw him on TV saying all this after Saturday ’s matches,you
possibly did not share in his belief and faith.Did you think to yourself “Ben
seemed a little off? How can he say these things? He is hanging himself out in the
wind to twist and turn and perhaps allow the media to use him as a punching
bag ” Did you feel a little bit embarrassed for him because he was almost guaran--teeing a win for the U.S.?I knew he knew.

That ’s probably why I drove down to Boston to deliver the books.I wanted to be a tiny part of this magical experience.I will travel for magical experiences.And
he did it in front of us all on international television.You gotta believe!
Hundreds of nameless people try this everyday.In the west,in less sophisticated
circles,it is what most of us call ‘following our gut ’ — not very elegant,,but it ’s to the point.It takes an enormous amount of courage to step on this last,ultimate
bridge of faith.But if you are going to have faith in anything it should be in
yourself.You must trust your putting ability.

As Ben Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker,“Turn off your computer,turn off your
machine and do it yourself.Follow your feelings,trust your feelings.” And then,,
of course,‘the Force ’ will be with you..The ball will roll into the hole.

page 72

In life there is a constant battle between good and evil.You must find the balance and harmony in the midst of that struggle.When you do,you will have learned.Then,the putts will fall (a lot).

page 77

A Round of Fear
Weakened, disoriented by the power of my ‘dis-ease’, I stumble.
Shaken to see the foundation of my accomplishments and lessons
cracked and crumbling beneath my fear,
I struggle to reach the prize.
But it is gone, won by another.
Standing in the shadows of defeat,
I feel the sinister invader leave my body.
As the fog lifts, I see it, recognize it.
And I know I did not lose because of another.
I lost because of it, undone by the seeds of undoing, undone by fear.
Fear, the uninvited guest at all of life’s parties,
the shadow dancer, dancing between love and hate
between joy and sorrow,
or between nothing at all.
Fear needs no partner to join the dance.
It is the master of illusion,
pulling monsters from our minds,
casting doubt like a long/sinister shadow,
across our brave face/the ground where we walk.
Indifferent and devious,
fear is the mirror of distortion,
the image of our hopes and dreams
warped in the reflections of fear’s fun house.
Words fail, insignificant against the backdrop
of power that fear wields.
How do you describe, in a few words,
something that holds the power
to fell empires,
to destroy the brave and
crush the meek,
the power to reign in our joy,
deepen the hollows of our sorrow,
fuel the fires of hate, and
break the knots of love?
Fear is not welcome on the putting green.

page 79 

There is no room for demons on the putting green.They add to the pressure.They complicate things. They interfere with play and undermine your confidence. Get rid of them... and knock the putt in the hole!

The worst demons you will ever encounter are in your own mind.

page 80 

Bad images take root as surely as weeds grow in a garden.They are like weeds in our minds and they lead to bad actions.So be prepared.Ideally,you should
replace bad images with good images or no images at all.No images are best,
but if you cannot stop negative thinking from creeping into your mind,then try
substituting a different image.It should focus on something or someone other
than yourself.It should serve to remind you where negative thinking can lead
and help you relax.If you need a bad image on the golf course,remember this
one...

We do not want bad thoughts or images
or we will slink down those cobblestone
pathways to those unchartered holes in
our minds.

page 84 

At some point,we need to switch from fear of humiliation on the green to
thinking,“Ah,home at last,here where it is friendly,where the hole is really
large,where we have all made the same mistakes,where we ’re all forgiven.” The
green is a very friendly place.Remember that!The rough is a tricky place.The
green is a friendly place. 1 GREAT TIP is worth $20. You will find plenty of them here!
 

A missed putt?Handle it and move on.
Don ’t let it affect the rest of your game.
You must turn your bad fortune around.

page 89 

Once you become a very good putter,you will always be a very good putter. Some days you will miss putts that lip out of the hole.That does happen!Some days it can happen four or five times.This does not matter.You will endure and putt well.  The hole is a big place he only thing that putting has to do with golf is that it takes place on a golf course.

page 118

Exercise #6

a. Stand with feet a comfortable distance apart.
b. Clasp hands behind the back, bend forward with the torso hinging at the hips.
c. Extend arms overhead. Aim to bring arms as far overhead as possible. If needed, use a tie or golf club to bridge the distance.

page 127

Drill #4 The Electric Kool-Aid Putting Test" (Thank you Ken Kesey.)

Place six balls in a circle approximately three to four feet around the hole. Your goal is to putt all six balls into the hole without missing one. Because very few holes are the same level all the way around, this drill will allow you to practice the same distance putts from different angles and slope conditions. You may also want to increase the distance for more practice. When you successfully make all six balls, you will be electric!

page 129 Three in a line:

This is another great drill intended to develop accuracy and feel. Set three balls about five to six inches apart in a straight line. The balls may be out in the open or against an inside wall. You can do this on a putting green or inside carpet. Take a fourth ball and place it two to five feet away from the line. Putt the fourth ball. The object is to hit the middle ball without touching the first or last ball. The sharper the angle of the putting ball (the fourth ball) to the middle ball, the more difficult the drill becomes.