Arnold Palmer used to take putting advice from only one person, a virtuoso putter and fellow player named George Low. "He'd watch me putt for hours, and every once in a while he'd come over and say ... — Arnie leans in to reveal the great secret — "'Man, you're a great putter.' "
It's our goal, in this special report on the art and science of putting, to have people saying that about you. For most golfers, putting is an afterthought. "Let me just roll a few on the practice green before we go" is the common refrain. But think about it: Putting is nearly half the game. If you want to play better, there's no getting around it: You must become a better putter.
We talked to dozens of teachers, leading players and scientists to produce this issue, the most ambitious and far-reaching collection of putting advice we've ever published.
So forget for a moment that you can't shake in a two-footer without having to push away horrible thoughts of incompetence (note the stats on right). Here we pledge three things:
(1) To unveil the basic, non-mysterious reasons why your putting isn't so good, (2) that facing them will be easier than you think, and (3) man, you're going to like making more putts.
