Hit the tee. Or don’t.
At the least, the advice is better than saying putt your ball harder. Or putt it softer.
Brad Faxon is one of golf’s greatest putters, and the tee tip is one of his best putting drills. If you’re struggling with speed control on uphill or downhill putts, take that tee from your pocket or from behind your ear and wedge it into the back of the cup.
On the uphill putts, try to hit the tee. On the downhill putts, don’t hit the tee.
“With the Masters approaching, speed control is going to be really important to the winner of the tournament,” Faxon said on a video he shared on his Twitter feed. “I love this drill. On uphill putts, put a tee in the back of the hole. Practice hitting the ball hard enough so that you have enough speed so that your ball will hit that tee on the uphill putt. …
“Now on the downhill putt, it’s the opposite. We’re going to put the tee on the other side of the hole, and when I go to putt the downhill putt, I want the ball to roll in and not touch the tee. This is a great exercise for you to practice hitting the putt with the right speed for putts that are uphill and putts that are downhill.”
At the least, the advice is better than saying putt your ball harder. Or putt it softer. And …
“If you can judge your speed during the Masters, you got a really good chance to win,” Faxon said.
