Parker McLachlin shares key to good putting — and it has nothing to do with your stroke

Parker McLachlin has played 164 tournaments on the PGA Tour, finishing in the top 10 four times and notching one win at the 2008 Legends-Reno Tahoe Open.

The 44-year-old played his last PGA Tour event at the 2023 Puerto Rico Open, and in recent years, has been establishing himself as an instructor, building a sizable following online, where he goes by the handle “Short Game Chef.” McLachlin has an audience of 150,000 on Instagram alone, and fans can also access McLachlin’s tips in GOLF Magazine.

On this week’s episode of Subpar, McLachlin shared some tips with hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, covering topics like conquering the yips and the best way to pick wedges to suit your game. He also provided some useful guidance for the greens, sharing his keys to putting, which was one of his strengths as a pro.

“My putting stats were really good,” he said. “I was always a great putter, but I always did it through my set up and my routine. I never really thought about my stroke. So when people feel like they’re in a good spot with their putting stroke, they come to me and I get them in a good set up and a good routine, and they start making putts.”

Stoltz noted that McLachlin had an impressive streak of three-putt avoidance during his Tour years.

“Yeah, it was a good stretch,” McLachlin agreed. “350-something holes without three-putting, which is like 20 rounds in a row on tour. But yeah, I didn’t three-putt very often.

News

“I always made everything inside of six feet and my lag putting was pretty good because again, I didn’t think about my stroke that much,” he continued. “I dove so deep into routine and how my routine would get me into a flow state. I did the same thing shooting free throws with basketball. It was like, I would bounce, set, go.”

According to McLachlin, keeping that consistent routine intact was the only thing he focused on, making his stroke very natural.

“That’s why Jordan [Spieth], on those inside five-footers, he looks at the hole,” McLachlin said. “It’s like, point and shoot.”

For more instruction insight from McLaghlin, including his work with Tour players like Scottie Scheffler, check out the full episode below.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

• Author Twitter Account
• Author Instagram Account