Editor’s note: Unlike the full swing, too much weight shift can have a disastrous effect on your putting. Enter GOLF Top 100 Teacher Micheal Hunt, who has a flamingo-inspiring putting drill that can help — Luke Kerr-Dineen, Instruction Editor
Theories differ as to why flamingos stand on one leg. The correct reason, as neuromechanists have recently discovered, is that flamingos are more stable on one leg than they are on two—they’re able to passively support themselves on a single leg with almost zero muscle activity.
The point of this zoological discussion is that a flamingo stance may be the perfect fix for your putting, especially if you sense that you have too much body motion in your stroke.
Try this: Drop a few balls on the practice green and set up with a narrow stance. Take a deep breath and exhale. Next, lift your heel up behind you (it doesn’t matter which one). Go slowly. This is a core-balance move, not a strength move.
Once you get comfortable, stroke a few putts.
It won’t be easy at first, but once you get the hang of it, what you’ll find is that your body weight will be forced to centralize and stabilize, because there’s no where else for it to go. With two feet on the ground, your weight can shift from side-to-side without you even knowing.
But when you’re standing on just one leg, you’d fall over if you shifted from side-to-side, so your body self-corrects by stabilizing and centralizing your weight. Once you get used to the feeling, go back to putting normally, with two feet on the ground. Your stroke will be smoother, your balance better and your distance control improved. Your putting will be in the pink! — Michael Hunt
