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Hello, this is Choi Jong-hwan. The point where amateurs lose the most points is bogeys and double bogeys on the green. Also, the distance where three-putts occur most frequently is usually the landing distance for the second shot—that is, sloped distances exceeding 5 meters. I call this distance a "lag putt."
In situations like this, you need strategy, not intuition. Today, I will share the method I use exactly as it is.
01Step 1 — Dividing Heaven and Hell with a Baseline
First, draw the baseline, which is an imaginary extension line formed when viewing the ball and the hole in a straight line from behind. You determine which side is higher and which side is lower based on this line.
For example, if the left side is higher and the right side is lower relative to the baseline, I refer to the higher side as heaven and the lower side as hell. Since we do not want to go to hell, our first principle is to always stop the ball in heaven—that is, on the side higher than the baseline—when it comes to rest.
02Step 2 — Safe speed is 50cm past the hole
Next is the speed setting. The appropriate speed is one that stops the ball about 50cm past the hole.
- Speed exceeding the 50cm mark = Dangerous speed
- Speed that falls short of the hole = Speed that cannot succeed
- The speed at which you stop 50cm past the hole = a speed that can be successful and is safe.
When hitting at this speed, if you decide where to look to stop the ball above the baseline, that becomes the maximum target you can see in that situation.
03An amateur's biggest mistake — seeing less and hitting hard
The biggest mistake amateurs make is under-reading and hitting hard during lag putts—in other words, hitting with dangerous speed. This causes them to lose one or two strokes on every hole. If you hit based solely on feel without a plan, there is a high probability that you will be left with a very long uphill putt. Conversely, if you use this strategy, there is a higher chance of being left with a short uphill putt. Since most amateurs under-read and hit hard, using this strategy allows you to aim for the opposite result.
Here are the application criteria. For professionals, this strategy is effective for distances exceeding 6 meters, while I recommend that amateurs start applying it from around 4 meters. Since statistics show that beyond 4 meters, the probability of a one-putt is generally low and most shots end in two-putts, at this distance, it is more important to finish the next putt easily than to sink the ball.
04Using instinct to find direction
If you imagine the shot from behind and decide, "I'm going to park there, and I won't go under this," then take your address and stand straight toward the hole, you will likely feel a bad sensation for some reason. That feeling that an unwanted miss is about to happen—that is instinct.
Try using this instinct. Twist your body slightly higher to find a spot where you feel like you won't go to hell. If you hit in that direction with the speed you determined earlier, you can make a much safer miss. If you have a putt of over 5 meters left in the next round, try applying the exact sequence I taught you today.
