In his book Putt Like the Pros, the well known and highly respected short game guru and teacher, Dave Pelz, makes some interesting points that every golfer should be aware of. This article will discuss a number of these observations which will hopefully put the science of putting into better perspective.
As a young college student Pelz had aspirations of being a great tour player, and he played college golf at Indiana University in the Big 10. As time went by he became more and more frustrated that he could not beat a certain player from Ohio State, also in the Big 10, named Jack Nicklaus. Of course no one knew at that time that Nicklaus would become perhaps the greatest player to ever play the game. Before his last year in school Pelz and his coach decided that putting was the aspect of the game that was holding him back, so with great determination he decided to dedicate himself to practicing his putting and making improvements. He arranged his class schedule such that in the fall and winter season when the weather did not allow golf to be played he took a very heavy load of classes. In the spring season he then had a light class load and was finished every day by...