The Lipstike Drill

February 8th, 2010 | Tuition

Do you consistently strike the ball from the same part of the putter face? And is that the centre or ‘sweet spot’ of your putter? Actually, do you know where you strike the ball on the putter face? Does matter? Asian Golf Monthly putting guru Paul Hurrion says ‘yes!’

Inconsistency in the strike area may seem a small hiccup, but it can afflict any golfer, even Major Champions. It can either defeat your aim of being a better putter – or be overcome quickly if you use my simple answer. Firstly – yes! It matters. Every time you miss the ‘sweet spot’, the impact twists the putter slightly. This means miss-hits producing misdirected putts and poor strikes leading to short putts. To be a good putter, you have to create a good repeating stroke that enables consistency of strike. Striking the ball out of the ‘sweet spot’ every time not only gives you the best roll, but also the best feel. Importantly, the consistency builds your confidence … plus there is a hidden bonus.

And now my simple answer: The Lipstick Drill. I guarantee it can help you to improve distance control, direction and confidence overnight. And the hidden bonus? Focusing on striking the ball in the centre of the putter will help prevent your eyes following the ball too soon and add another stability factor to your putting style.


The Lipstick Drill

The purpose of this drill is to check if you are striking the ball on the centre of the clubface. Smear lipstick on the face of the putter. Then hit a putt. The mark in the lipstick will show you where the ball is being struck. Is the strike where you thought it was? Is it in the centre? Repeat the drill 10 times and look for the ‘consistency’ of the pattern that you have created. More three-putts are caused by pace control than poor alignment, so in order to control the pace of the golf ball, it is vital that the ball must come consistently out of the sweet spot of the putter face. Importantly, this drill does not interfere with the putter face or deaden the feel of the hands. If your putts are inconsistent in terms of strike (heel and toe), try switching to a putter with a higher Moment of Inertia (MOI). This will help give you greater stability or forgiveness with off-centre hits and cut misdirection and distance control errors.

Working with GEL Golf, I have designed the Paul Hurrion Signature Range of putters to help golfers enjoy the key benefits Tour players look for on the greens. The groove and multi-layer aluminium insert technology enables weight to be positioned around the perimeter of the putter head, creating a high MOI for the precise reason that not even Tour players strike the ball out of the centre every time. Based on the bio-mechanical principles I have studied, I know that consistent strike and putters with a high MOI help you to create stability and consistency at the point of impact in the area of the game that matters most – your putting.

Asian Golf Monthly - Lipstick Drill - March 2010 - p62 : Please find below the tenth in a series of 12 instructional articles for Asian Golf Monthly : ‘Lipstick Drill’ - Asian Golf Monthly - March 2010 : http://paulhurrion.com/tution/

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