Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
At Pinehurst No. 2 last summer, Sam Burns registered his first-career major top 10. This week at Oakmont, he’s enjoying similar success.
Playing in the early wave in the second round, Burns posted the low round of the championship as he carded six birdies en route to a five-under 65. The round propelled the 28-year-old up the leaderboard and into the top five as the afternoon wave battles to make the cut.
“For this golf course, you really just have to free it up,” Burns said. “It’s too hard to try to guide it around here. You’re going to hit some in the rough, you’re going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.”
Burns is obviously swinging it well this week, but it’s his flatstick that’s his ultimate weapon. The five-time winner leads the PGA Tour this season in SG: Putting, and that sweet stroke has translated well at Oakmont as he’s ranked inside the top 30 in the field in putting for the week.
So, what is it that makes Burns such a great putter? After his second round, we got a little insight.
Burns’ key ingredient for great putting
If you watch Burns on the greens, you’ll notice he isn’t overly analytical in his approach. Whereas some players are extremely regimented when it comes to putting (think Bryson DeChambeau), Burns is much more feel-oriented.
“He plays golf, I think, very freely, and he’s got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting, and a lot of it is just very reactionary,” said Scottie Scheffler, one of Burns’ best friends on Tour. “He’s got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That’s really all there is to it, it’s as simple as that.”
It can be tempting to get very rigid when you’ve got a putter in your hands, but when you start to over-analyze, bad things tend to happen. With Burns’ approach, everything is based on trusting his technique and using feel to get the ball in the hole.
“I try to keep it very simple,” Burns said. “I think if you look at putting, the ball is rolling on the ground. There’s a lot of imperfections on grass. There’s a lot of different lines the ball can go in, depending on the speed, so if you try to be too perfect with putting it can drive you crazy, so I just try to really read it, put a good roll on it, focus on the speed and hope for the best.”
If you’re someone who struggles on the greens, it might serve you well to borrow a page out of Burns’ book. Dial in your technique on the practice green, but once you get to the course, don’t be too rigid in your approach. Be athletic and reactionary instead.
It seems to have worked out well so far for Burns on the diabolical U.S. Open greens. Chances are, it’ll work for you, too.
