How a Practice-Integrated Putter Can Shave Strokes Off Your Game
How many times per round do you three-putt? If you answered 3 or less, I’m proud! But if you answered 3, 4, or even 5 times a round or more, I have something you should try.
On the practice green, do you find yourself making putts that don’t go in on the course? That’s because you are approaching putting practice incorrectly.
The most efficient way to improve your putting in real-time is to take a “train while you play” approach and introduce a practice-integrated putter to your game.
A practice-integrated putter? Yes, exactly. A practice integrated putter is a putter that was designed to be both a training aid and a putter you can compete with anywhere while still being 100% legal.
The best example of a practice-integrated putter is, of course, the Optimum by Focalpoint.
Common Putting Challenges
There are three reasons why practicing putting can be a real challenge for many of us.
First, the inconsistency between a practice putting green and a real green is a big deal. Say you spend an entire hour practicing on the putting green before a round. By the time you step onto the real course, you’ve been putting on a completely different space than you will encounter during your round. Instead of spending an hour on the putting course before a round, maybe just take 15 minutes to warm up and then get on the course. The more time you spend on the course training while you are playing with the Optiumum, then the more you will improve.
Second, the putter you are using doesn’t provide you with much feedback while putting. With our putter, the Optimum, you are given immediate feedback as to what you did wrong. If you turn your wrist too much or too little, the ball will reflect this. If you miss the sweet spot, you will see it instantly due to the ball’s movement.
Third, has to do with time. Golfers by nature, are a busy bunch. It’s hard for them to find time to practice. This is exactly why using our putter, the Optimum, is going to help your game. It trains you while you play on the course. You no longer need to spend 4 hours practicing putting, just play a round.
What Is a Practice-Integrated Putter?
Simply, a practice-integrated putter is a putter designed to double as both a training aid and a legal putter to be played anywhere competitively. This putter performs at the level of a Scotty Cameron and teaches you to putt well without 3 hours of practice every day.
Some key features of a practice-integrated putter are simple alignment aids, a weighted design, and a consistent feel.
Our putter, the Optimum, would be the best example of a practice-integrated putter. Our alignment system is easy on the eyes and allows for a quick consistent alignment. We have designed our putter to have a weight to it, to promote consistency during the putting stroke. And, we made sure to produce a product that feels great in your hands.
How it Works: Training While You Play
It really is as simple as the phrase sounds. Train while you play. But how does that really work? The train while you play strategy works off of three pillars that improve your putting: feedback, muscle memory, and time management.
When it comes to feedback, the train while you play initiative allows you to both feel and see alignment errors in real time. Especially with our putter, the Optimum, you will be able to tell immediately before you even hit the ball, if you are lined up. This comes in handy during the round because it gives you a baseline of alignment you can return to before every putt.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the human body is its ability to train its muscles to repeat actions consistently. For example, tying your shoes. That’s muscle memory at work. You do something so many times that it gets remembered by your muscles. That’s exactly what we want to attempt to do while we are putting. The building of muscle memory can also occur while on the course, so feel free to get out there and go for it.
Perhaps the best benefit of the train while you play initiative is that you don’t have to go out of your way to schedule four-hour practices. Instead, simply play a round. Maybe even play two rounds. The progress you will see in those two rounds of live play will be much greater than spending four hours on the practice green.
Benefits of Practice-Integrated Putters
My goal is to help you improve your putting. I believe the best way to do that is to use a practice-integrated putter or something similar to train while you play live on the course. You may wonder what the benefits of this approach are. Well, let me tell you.
First off, three-putts are going to virtually disappear. The days of three-putting are over. Beyond that, you will find yourself becoming more consistent every day. Consistency is one of the keystones of putting.
Another benefit is going to be improved confidence when standing over the ball. Rather than putting to avoid a mistake, we’re going to build the confidence to attack birdies and eagles. And make them.
As you continue to practice with a dual-use putter, you will continue to build consistency and confidence, and your muscle memory will increase.
Why the Optimum is the Ultimate Practice-Integrated Putter?
I truly think we have designed and built one of the most unique putters to ever enter the market. `We did that on purpose because we believe our putter can help you improve more than anything else out there. Why? Because of the Optimum’s dual-purpose functionality.
As we have mentioned, the Optimum conforms to the rules of golf while also being a great training aid to help while you are training on the course. Our putter is not only unique because of its design, but also because of its performance.
How to Incorporate a Practice-Integrated Putter Into Your Routine?
The best way to approach this is to break your routine down into parts. First, is the warm-up, then the round, and finally post-round.
During your warm-up, you’ll want to spend about 15 minutes shaking the dust off your putting muscles. But don’t spend a ton of time on the practice green because we want your focus to be on the round.
During the round, it is important to stay mindful of two of the most important aspects of putting: alignment and tempo. As long as you consider those two things, then you will be on the right track. Don’t overthink the putts you have during the round. Putt them as you normally would, and take a couple of meaningless mulligans if you need to.
Finally, during the post-round portion, it’s important to evaluate your progress. Did you avoid three-putts? Did you make any pressure putts? Etc.
Take the questions and others and tweak your practice based on what you need to work on.
Conclusion
Improving your putting game can be as simple as picking up a practice-integrated putter. In my words, I call this a train while you play strategy. These dual-use putters allow golfers to improve their putting while on the course.
If you want to make a change that will help you improve your putting, then the Optimum is the putter for you.
