While Denny McCarthy is still seeking his maiden victory on the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old pro has gained a reputation as one of the best putters in the world, and he backed it up last year, as the Tour’s top-ranked player in Total Putting.
Rolling the rock like McCarthy is a coveted skill, among both pros and recreational players. And on this week’s episode of Subpar, McCarthy told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz how he developed — and continues to maintain — his talent on the greens.
“I wouldn’t say I was born with it, because I had some junior and amateur rounds where I really struggled,” McCarthy said. “It’s something I put a lot of time into early as a professional, just trying to find my own way, my own process, what works best for me.”
McCarthy admitted that this year has been off to a weird start for him on the greens, where he’s been up and down from one round to the next.
“I don’t feel like I’m putting bad,” he said. “I’m just not quite seeing them right.”
How does McCarthy handle things when he’s not getting the results he expects? It starts with re-calibrating.
“If it gets off, I’ll put an hour session in, kind of retrain my eyes a little bit,” he said.
1 of the Tour’s elite putters shares his best putting tip for amateurs
But no amount of practice can replace the real thing, and McCarthy said simulating pressure situations during practice time is his favorite way to get reps in.
“I’ll come up with some games with Derek, my caddie, and maybe play some putting contests with other players to kind of get those juices going,” he said.
McCarthy said he also likes using AimPoint as an additional tool.
“I’ve learned AimPoint,” he said. “I understand it, and I do use it every now and then if I’m really struggling to commit to something. I’m not obsessed with it. I use it as a tool if I’m struggling to see how much break there is, and I’ll toss my feet in and be like, oh, OK, there’s more break that I’m seeing.
“I do think it’s helpful if I’m not seeing the break,” he continued. “It helps me commit to something a little more sometimes.”
McCarthy said he’s been approached by his fellow pros for advice on how to improve their putting, but if he has one word of advice for recreational players, it’s this:
“I’d say take something close by to aim at and focus on that,” he said. “Something close by, not near the hole, something that you can track closer to you, and use whatever that is.
“I’m not very mechanical, so I’m not going to throw out a mechanical tip,” he continued. “I’m just going to say visualize the arc around that spot, essentially, and I like it typically to be closer to me than the hole. It’s easier for me to aim at something closer to me than farther away.”
For more from McCarthy, including why he wants to challenge Gary Woodland in basketball, check out the full episode below.
