Hitting a bad drive or a poor approach shot or missing a short putt can get to golfers sometimes, even those with low golf handicaps.
Occasionally, golfers take their frustrations out on a club.
Putters for whatever reason seem to bear the brunt of golfer frustration.
Most players taking golf lessons from me know of someone who’s thrown his putter in the water or otherwise damaged it during the course of play.
It’s not just weekend golfers who wreak havoc on their putters, either. Professionals do it, too.
Woody Austin, winner of the 2004 Buick Championship, got so frustrated with his game once that he bent the shaft of his putter on his head after missing a crucial putt.
He’s not the only pro who’s done it, either. That raises the question: What do you do when you don’t have a putter to putt with?
The Rule on Putting with a Non-Putter
The rule on clubs is straightforward. If a club is damaged during the course of play, you can replace it.
For example, if something happens to a club during the course of normal play the clubhead falls off, the shaft gets bent while hitting you can replace the club.
Tiger Woods sent a PGA official to the trunk of his Buick during the 2004 Deutsche Bank Tournament to get him another sand wedge after damaging his on some rocks while swinging.
However, if you damage your club through some action other than during the normal course of play, like smashing it on a rock or bending it over your knee, you’re stuck.
You can’t replace it. You have to discontinue using it and play without a replacement.
In other words, if you intentionally damage your putter, you have to pay the price. Now the question becomes: what do you putt with to finish the round?
You have several options when it comes to using another club. Let’s look at three of them.
Putting with a Wedge
One option is a wedge. The advantage to using a wedge is that the shaft lengths of a putter and a wedge are similar.
The length allows you to not only take your normal putting stance, but also set up with your eyes directly over the ball.
Setting up with your eyes directly over the ball, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips, is essential to good putting.
The disadvantage with using a wedge is that you have to strike the middle of the ball with the thin leading edge of the blade.
That’s not easy. It takes a great deal of precision and confidence to hit a golf ball with the leading edge of a club.
It may not be something you want to try if you’re already angry or upset over your play.
It might just make things worse instead of better, costing your strokes.
Putting with a wedge is best if you have a short-to-intermediate putt to make.
If you go much further away than 30 feet, it can be tough to judge the speed and hit the ball correctly to get the distance “right.”
The Best Putting with a Wedge Drill
Take 5 balls to a local putting green.
Make a “star” or “pentagon” formation with the balls around the hole. Start at about 6 feet away from the cup.
Practice taking your wedge back and then bring it forward. Square the leading edge up directly in the middle of the ball.
Count how many of the 5 putts with a wedge you make.
The next round, move back to 10 feet. Then 15 feet. Then 20 feet.
Count how many total putts you make. If your score is 15 or higher, this is probably your best option.
If not, make a point of practicing this drill once per month or so until you get there.
Remember, in terms of lowering your overall scores, this isn’t “super important.”
But in that one round where you lose your putter, it can make all of the difference.
Putting with a Driver
Some players with low golf handicaps use a driver if their putter is unavailable.
The advantage of using a driver to putt with is that it is second only to the putter when it comes to having the least amount of loft.
A driver has a face loft of 5 to 10.5 degrees, while the putter has a loft of about 1 degree.
The large face also makes it easier to make good contact with the ball.
The driver’s disadvantage is the length of its shaft.
It’s hard setting up directly over the ball with a club that has such a long shaft.
To get comfortable, you’ll need to stand farther away from the ball.
Your eyes won’t be directly over the ball.
Also, the ball tends to pop of the driver’s face because of the mass of the clubface.
However, if you have a longer putt, the driver can be more forgiving than a wedge.
The Best Putting With a Driver Drill
For this, you’re going to want to make a “circle” with eight tees about 2 feet away from the cup.
If the putting green won’t let you do so, use quarters or ball markers.
Take 5 balls, and make the same pentagon shape as above at about 30 feet from the pin.
Take your driver, and work on getting a smooth stroke that goes “through” the ball as you putt.
For every ball that stops inside the 2-foot circle by the cup, it’s a point.
For every ball that hops over the clubface, that’s minus 1 point.
Repeat this at 40, 50, and 60 feet from the cup.
You want to end up with 60% of points (12 out of 20).
Then challenge yourself to get to 75% (15 of 20).
Remember, you can get negative points with this drill, but you have a larger target. So it balances out in terms of difficulty.
Putting with a Hybrid
A third option is putting with a hybrid.
It doesn’t quite have the driver’s low degree of loft, but the shaft is a much shorter.
That enables you to get a little closer to the target line with your eyes.
But the ball pops off a hybrid’s clubface just like it does with the driver. And the head is typically shorter, which makes the angle of impact all the more important.
So you need to be careful when using this club.
Some players use a hybrid to hit shots just off the green. Why not try it as a putter, if your putter becomes incapacitated?
Rounding Everything Up about Putting with a Wedge or Putting with a Driver
Any of these three clubs can work. You might want to spend some time practicing with them though. That way you’ll at least have some feel for the clubs as a putter should you ever need to use them. However, if you’re really serious about lowering your golf handicap, you’ll work on keeping your frustrations in check and saving your putter. It’s the best way to improve.