Titleist Tips | The Importance of Your First Putt

From Dave Phillips On September 16, 2020

In a typical round of golf, hitting the green with your approach shot is cause for celebration. Sometimes, when the shot has been particularly challenging, you might even breathe a sigh of relief. But... at a major championship, where the greens are as difficult as those at Winged Foot Golf Club, host of the 2020 U.S. Open, hitting the green is only the beginning of the battle.

When you play slick, undulating greens like those designed by A.W. Tillinghast at Winged Foot, you have to putt defensively. As Titleist staff member and TPI co-founder Dave Phillips shares in this video, the goal is to get down in two putts. One-putts are purely a bonus at the U.S. Open. The real objective is to avoid three-putts and worse (which can occur anytime you let your guard down on major-condition greens).

To putt intelligently and to give tough greens their due respect, Dave details the importance of your first putt. It requires some extra thought and strategizing as you read and plan that first lag putt, ensuring that your next putt is as easy and makable as possible.

Give Dave's advice a try the next time you face a tough layout with demanding greens. The extra work you put in will pay big dividends on your scorecard.

In a typical round of golf, hitting the green with your approach shot is cause for ... celebration. Sometimes, when the shot has been particularly challenging, you might even breathe a sigh of relief. But at a major championship, where the greens are as difficult as those at Winged Foot Golf Club, host of the 2020 U.S. Open, hitting the green is only the beginning of the battle.

When you play slick, undulating greens like those designed by A.W. Tillinghast at Winged Foot, you have to putt defensively. As Titleist staff member and TPI co-founder Dave Phillips shares in this video, the goal is to get down in two putts. One-putts are purely a bonus at the U.S. Open. The real objective is to avoid three-putts and worse (which can occur anytime you let your guard down on major-condition greens).

To putt intelligently and to give tough greens their due respect, Dave details the importance of your first putt. It requires some extra thought and strategizing as you read and plan that first lag putt, ensuring that your next putt is as easy and makable as possible.

Give Dave's advice a try the next time you face a tough layout with demanding greens. The extra work you put in will pay big dividends on your scorecard.

400 Videos
Filter:
  1. Instructor
  2. Alex Buckner
  3. Brad Faxon
  4. Dan Whittaker
  5. Dr. Mo Pickens
  6. Matt Leach
  7. Matthew Johns
  8. Sophie Walker
  9. Cameron McCormick
  10. James Sieckmann
  11. Mark Blackburn
  12. Michael Breed
  13. Trillium Rose
  14. Jonathan Yarwood
  15. Dave Phillips
  16. Brandon Stooksbury
  17. Justin Parsons
  18. Layne Savoie
  19. Dr. Rob Neal
  20. Dr. Greg Rose
  21. Skip Guss
  22. Jason Baile
  23. John Kostis
  24. Jennifer Hudson
  25. Ryan Hager
  26. Corey Lundberg
  27. Tom Patri
  1. Club
  2. Driver
  3. Fairway
  4. Hybrid
  5. Utility Iron
  6. Iron
  7. Wedge
  8. Putter
  1. Drill
  2. Fundamentals
  3. Shot Shaping
  4. Anti-hook
  5. Anti-slice
  6. Alignment
  7. Tight Lie
  8. Long Rough
  9. Bunker Play
  10. Consistency
  11. Distance Control
  12. Trajectory

Brad Faxon Putting I.Q. Test

From Brad Faxon On April 08, 2024
Titleist staff member Brad Faxon poses a simple putting riddle to all the...

Build a Reliable Pre-Shot Routine

From Dr. Mo Pickens On April 05, 2024
To play your best, you need to think well on the golf course. Many dedicated...

To Improve Green Reading, Find the Straight Putt

From Brad Faxon On April 03, 2024
Reading greens can be a very difficult skill to master. Greens surfaces are...

Brad Faxon's Process for Reading Greens

From Brad Faxon On March 07, 2024
The most important skill in putting is green reading – properly assessing and...

How to Recover from Hardpan Lies

From Jason Baile On March 03, 2024
Finding your golf ball on a tight hardpan lie does not have to mean bogey or...

How to Recover from Loose Lies

From Jason Baile On February 29, 2024
If you struggle when your golf ball comes to rest on pine straw or loose leaves,...
Results loading...
No results

Titleist Instruction Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest tips from Titleist Instruction