[PHOTO: Gregory Shamus]
Rose Zhang delivered daggers all weekend at the Solheim Cup. On Friday, Zhang was paired with Andrea Lee in an afternoon four-ball match against Charley Hull and Linn Grant. Big moments were required for either pair to gain an advantage. Zhang was able to convert some key, very long birdie putts early in the match to put them an advantage at the turn that they extended shortly thereafter.
Like this one on the third green:
This. Is. It.@rosezhang drained this long birdie on No. 3 🥶 pic.twitter.com/sAG0TlaHfc
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 13, 2024
And this one at the fifth:
https://twitter.com/LPGA/status/1834657440928817579
Making long putts like this can make all the difference on the scorecard – whether that’s Zhang’s scorecard or yours. Consistently making huge putts is nearly impossible. But, if you’re going to make birdies and long-shot par saves, you need to be able to make some putts longer than five feet.
Todd Anderson, Zhang’s coach and top-10 ranked Golf Digest teaching professional, says that to practise making longer putts, you should try the 100-foot drill.
To do it, he says to take four balls and set them up around the hole, one at five feet, one at 10 feet, one at 15 and one at 20. Now, try to make each putt.
“Count the footage based on the length of each putt made,” Anderson says.
Once you’ve finished at that hole, move your set up to another hole.
“Hit a total of 20 putts from around five different holes,” says Anderson. “The goal is to make 100 feet of putts.”
By moving to different holes, and hitting puts of different lengths, you’re more closely simulating what it’s like putting on the golf course, instead of just hitting a bunch of 20-footers along the same line.
You’re not going to suddenly become Rose Zhang, but try Anderson’s 100-foot drill and you’ll have a chance to start making more, longer putts.
