It’s nothing new for PGA Tour pros to have a backyard putting green to practice on. After all, these guys literally putt for dough.
Jack Nicklaus had one in his prime, Phil Mickelson has greens running at various speeds, instructor Dave Pelz has the best I’ve ever seen, and Tiger Woods has talked about his from time to time. But for the first time, Tiger gives us a live look at his facility in a pair of videos from his sponsor Golf TV, and it’s real and spectacular.
Given that yours truly, like the rest of the great unwashed, is still waiting for his backyard-BBQ invite, we’ll have to settle for this glimpse into how Tiger preps for majors and stays sharp at home.
As he explains, he focuses his attention on his putting from 6 feet and in before emphasizing his lag putting on greens running around 13 on the Stimpmeter, which he tabbed his baseline putting speed.
“I end up doing a few sets of chalk lines from probably about 6 feet and in. I work on my start line (and) I try and get that dialed in,” he said. “And then I really don’t spend a whole lot of time in the 8-15 foot range.
“Once I get a lot of my dialed-in time on my putting, then I’ll lag putt a lot and start trying to get my feel in my fingers and how I like to release the putter and feel it in my stroke. I like to do designated tee drill, line drill and then lag putt to death.”
Also worth noting: Woods prefers practicing into the wind. He said wind magnifies spin and signals to him where he’s off.
Bunkers, greens, space to hit full wedges amid palm trees and with the Atlantic Ocean in the background, Tiger’s backyard facility has it all. No wonder he likes to practice so much.
