River Ridge Golf Club - West Houston, Katy Texas

Tips From Our PGA Pro, Trey Birchum:

It’s got to get there…

I have no doubt at least once gone over this with a couple of you in the pro shop. And I may have even stuck it in a column once or twice. But I’m going to say this again, because I’m mad at myself and need a little tough love. GET IT TO THE HOLE!!! What a simple, concise, all encompassing phrase that says so little, yet so much. Are you leaving putts dead in the jaws? Can you not get one past the cup to save your life?

Then you, ladies and gentleman, can join us, the millions, the Over-Readers. We look at putts from every angle, we kneel, we crawl, we do that stupid Camilo thing that makes Texans rip out the back of their shorts. We know exactly what angle it’s going to go into the hole from, exactly where to hit it. We just can’t figure out how hard. (Note: A minority of you suffer from the converse of the Over-Reader syndrome; the Grenades. You can’t stop a putt short. Of the fairway. We will take you to task in later editions.) I remind myself and others of this very simple truth- the ball MUST have enough speed to finish either in the back half or 6 inches past the hole to have any opportunity to go in. I know there are times you are downhill on 12.5 greens and can’t stop it short of the hole- it either goes in or it’s gone. Your putt still has to maintain a certain speed on a specific line to go into the cup, even down the side of a mountain. If you decelerate your clubhead, even on a downhill putt, your putt is virtually guaranteed to veer (or begin) off-line. Concentrate on accelerating the putter head through the ball toward your target line on every stroke, no matter the distance or speed of the greens. A putter head that is slowing down is losing energy; how can it transfer any amount of energy to the ball? Practice getting all your putts just past the hole...remember, dead in the jaws just short still counts as two strokes, not one.

Fairways, greens and one putts.....

Trey Birchum
PGA Head Professional, River Ridge Golf Club
email: tbirchum AT riverridgegolfclub.com