Medicus Putter Trainer III

Article 3 in the Series: How to Cut 10 Strokes Off Your Golf Score Using Medicus- Using the Medicus Putter Training Aid to Improve Distance Control

Medicus Driver Improves all aspects of your swing from the takeaway to downswing.

Above- The Medicus Putter Trainer attached to a normal putter.

We’ve arrived at the third article about how a golfer who normally shoots 100 can knock 10 strokes off his score and shoot 90. This article will offer a game to play on the practice green to improve distance control, a crucial element of good golf scoring. Our goal with greatly improved putting and short game is to cut 5-6 of those 10 strokes. Obviously putting is the key to good scoring in golf.

But First A Little Review

Up to now we’ve discussed a certain amount of background as it

applies to putting. Here are some of the key points covered:

Use a “new-fangled” putter with a very high MOI (moment of inertia). Those putters may look funny, but the high MOI means you will hit many more solid putts. This is an important part of putting well.
Practice the short putt drill described in the last article with the Medicus Putter Training Aid. Then repeat with your regular putter.
Practice distance control as described in this article with the Medicus Putter Training Aid. Practice distance control playing the same game with your regular putter.
Remember that the ideal force to hit a putt is such that the ball will stop 17 inches behind the hole.

Item no. 4 above is very important. However, it is much easier said than done. Even if you know that more putts will go into the hole if they are hit with the amount of force stated, what do you think will happen when you try to hit the ball with that amount of speed? Here’s a hint- you won’t be able to do it at first. You will probably knock the ball eight feet past the hole or so, maybe even more. On your return putt you’ll probably leave it four feet short. Sounds like we’re creating more three putts than eliminating them.

Dave Pelz Designed A Practice Routine To Hit Putts the Proper Distance

When the famous putting guru Dave Pelz, author of “Putt Like The Pros” made his 17 inch discovery by taking tons of data on numerous golf courses and varying playing conditions, he called one of his friends who was a regular on the PGA Tour. This accomplished pro did exactly what I described above, and he had six three putts on the first nine holes he tried to hit the ball 17 inches beyond the hole! Trying to make a change like that just throws off one’s brain and touch too much, so it is easy to say, and hard to do.

So Pelz decided he needed to have a way that golfers could learn to hit putts the right distance. And he came up with a game he calls “Safety Drawback”. A golfer can play this game on a practice green using 20-30 foot putts either by himself or with a golfing buddy. The latter option is a good idea, because a little friendly competition helps sharpen a player’s focus.

Safety Drawback

Each player will keep score, and the maximum score on a hole is 5, except for the last hole, where there is no limit to one’s score.

The player will hit his first putt and try to either make the putt or hit it into the “Safe Zone”. The Safe Zone is a semi-circle of 3 foot radius (about the length of a standard putter) that is behind the hole. That is, the diameter of the semi-circle runs through the hole, perpendicular to the line of the putt, and the semi-circular part of the Safe Zone is behind the hole. So a putt hit with perfect speed which stops 17 inches behind the hole is about half way into the semi-circular area of the Safe Zone.

If the golfer succeeds and hits the putt into this Safe Zone, he can tap in his putt from there for a score of 2. If the player is not in the Safe Zone, he must replace his ball a putter-length farther away from the hole than he was, and it is from there that he will hit his next putt. If he makes that putt, his score is 2. If he misses, he must once again add another putter length to his next putt and putt from there. This continues until either the ball goes in for a score of 4 or less, or he picks up and records a 5 on that hole. Once again, the maximum score is 5, except on the last hole. This drill will obviously help a golfer hit his or her putts with the proper speed. 9 holes is enough for this game, so after that practice something else.

Closing Comments

Play this game a few times with the Medicus putter training aid, and then use your regular putter. The Medicus Putter Trainer will of course help with your stroke mechanics and force you to use your large upper-arm and shoulder muscles to properly swing the putter. Your own putter without the training aid will feel different, and so you must practice with this also. Don’t forget to write down your score on each hole with a pencil, because you won’t be able to remember the scores until the end of the round. And as for putts of 40 feet or more, forget about the 17 inch goal and just try to make the ball die at the hole and go for a two putt.

One last thing, this drill should help with chipping distance control as well, and improving your up and down percentage will be needed if you seriously want to cut your score by 10 strokes, which is a huge amount.

The next article in this series will talk about using the Medicus Driver to improve tee shots.

To check out the Medicus, click here: Medicus Driver Improves all aspects of your swing from the takeaway to downswing.

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