Casey putting on tin foil to prep for fast greens

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Players are always looking for novel ways to prepare for the preposterously fast greens at Augusta National Golf Club. It's a bit of a fool's errand, since there's really no way to truly prepare for the speeds and slopes that can bedevil Masters contestants.

However, teaching professional and CBS reporter Peter Kostis might have come up with an effective way to help his pupil, Paul Casey of England. Because putts in the four to six- foot range are crucial to winning the Masters, Kostis had Casey practice four-footers on strips of tin foil. One strip was an inch wide, another three-quarters of an inch.

Not only does it require discipline to putt the ball pure and straight to keep it on the strip, but, as Kostis says, "that thing runs about 42 on the Stimpmeter."

Casey, 33, has four top-20 starts in six Masters appearances, but he missed the cut last year.

-- Dave Shedloski