Swing coaches, statisticians, and mental coaches can all try to figure out what made Tiger Woods so amazing, but what about the guy himself?
Tiger may occasionally drop hints that assist explain his performance (see: “playing aggressively to my spots,” the “Tiger 5” numbers he meticulously maintained, etc.), but what he told two former Stanford University golfers stood out the most.
During our Golf Digest Happy Hour, course-management specialist Scott Fawcett talked about two interactions he had with Maverick McNealy and Joseph Bramlett. Both former Stanford players turned tour pros questioned Tiger about what made him so outstanding, and his shocking response was the same: lag putting.
Senior Game Improvement Editor Luke Kerr-Dineen and I discussed Tiger’s insight and what it implies for the rest of us in this edition of the Golf IQ podcast, which you can listen to here (or below).
The significance of lag putting.
According to Fawcett, who worked with McNealy on course management in college, McNealy once asked Tiger, “Why are you the best player of all time?” Tiger said, “Well, because I’m the best lag putter ever.”
Tiger told McNealy that it doesn’t matter how much difficulty he gets into; he always believes he can dump an approach somewhere on the green and leave himself 40 feet. Because he knows he can always two-putt from anyplace on the green, he is less concerned with his iron play.
Tiger’s outstanding lag putting was one of the primary reasons he led the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance during his early career peak of 2000-2002.
What is the message for the rest of us? Think about how many times you hit the ball within 10 feet in a round. For a scratch golfer, this is perhaps two or three times each day, and even less for mid- and high-handicappers. The vast majority of your first putts will be from mid- to long-range, thus one of the simplest methods to lower your scores is to improve your speed control and reduce the amount of three-putts.
As Fawcett pointed out during our Happy Hour, a player who averages 79 makes only one more birdie per round than someone who averages 95. What is the remainder of the difference? The 70s shooter produces significantly fewer bogeys, doubles, and other errors, with many of those coming from three-putts.
“This game isn’t about making birdies. “This game is about avoiding bogeys,” Fawcett explains.
By increasing your speed control and becoming a terrific lag putter, you will not only save a few shots per round by making fewer three-putts, but you will also relieve pressure on your iron game, as Tiger suggests. Because you know you can go down in two from anyplace on the green, you won’t feel obligated to fire at difficult hole placements. Simply hit it on the green from 40 or 50 feet away, two-putt, and go on.
Tiger claims it’s the reason he was so good; perhaps there’s something to it.
Again, you can listen to our complete conversation about Tiger’s comments and the necessity of speed control right here.
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