Instruction

Master these 3 set-up keys for fewer 3 putts

Published

13 years ago

Oct 14, 2013

It seems that everyone wonders why they do not make more putts. But if you consider the multitude of variables that affect putting, it is a wonder that golfers make any at all.

Identifying the most important factors within the set-up will help you to make more putts on a daily basis. But let’s not forget, putting is a tough task for anyone to master because it places golfers to the side of a golf ball that is sitting on sloped ground. That can alter visual acuity, causing you to see the “incorrect” line, or settle into a posture that makes it much harder to move the putter back and forth consistently.

Within my putting academy, I use many high-tech tools in order to examine putting strokes. This article will feature discussion of the Advanced Motion Measurement’s 3D Analysis System and the SAM PuttLab by Science and Motion Sports. These high-tech tools give instructors a personal MRI of a golfer’s putting stroke and provide the player with research and a treatment value.

The putting research I have done has been benefited greatly by the relationship I have developed with Lanny L. Johnson, M.D. and PGA Tour player Howard Twitty. They have tested more than 150 PGA Tour players’ putting strokes during the last several years on the SAM PuttLab. For this article, I have merged our putting data together and believe that this may be the most accurate analysis to date in regards to alignments, posture and aiming.

The three major categories that players must understand during the set-up position are the following:

1. The Proper Alignments of the Body (Frontal View)

Stance
Grip
Center of gravity (CG) control
Spinal tilt and the “low point” of the stroke
The proper ball position
The ball’s position and its influence on aiming
Illusion of the putter shaft

2. The Proper Posture (Down the Line View)

Putter fitting
The “flowlines” of the body
Rear forearm “on-plane”
The eyes
Head and chin positioning
The proper forward bending of the torso
Your center of gravity

3. Proper Aiming

Address aim and impact aim
Putter geometry
The “best” tested aiming routine

The Proper Alignments of the Body

Body: You must have the ability to understand where your body is in space and have the “feel” to place your body in the proper position consistently.

Grip: Different putting grips have certain positives and negatives based on the different handicap levels; however, once you pick the grip style that best suits your stroke it is important to remember one fundamental. The best putting grips are ones that have the palms facing one another and the thumbs down the center of the grip. With this being said, there are several grip styles that go against this concept (i.e. the claw), but they are used for specific flaws within a player’s game so they match up with what they are trying to do — this is OK. However, most players will find that a palms-facing style will be the easiest to reproduce on a consistent basis.

Stance Width: As with any type of stroke that needs accuracy, it is important that you have a firm base in order to balance your torso during the motion. With putting, it is no different. Studies have shown that narrower stances tend to allow the body to rotate too much on longer putts, while wider stances deliver the most stability and the required “tilting and rocking” of the shoulders. The actual width of the stance is not as important on putts from 15 feet and in, but it is very important on putts outside of this length because of the issues listed above. In fact, putts outside 30 feet (on non-PGA Tour greens) require a harder hit, which changes the mechanics from those in the typical putting stroke.

Testing shows that most players have a stance width between 11 and 14 inches.

Center of gravity (CG) control: Even with the proper stance width, it is important that you have the proper balance from side to side. The proper center of gravity (CG) at address is necessary in order to keep your body stable (not sliding from side to side during the stroke). Most players have their CG between 55 percent left to 55 percent right, depending on where they like to feel their weight. Remember that your CG will influence your stability, as well as the low point of your putting stroke.

The CG Monitor shows this player at just about 50/50 from side to side.

Spinal tilt and the low point of your stroke arc: The lateral (side-to-side) bending of the spine influences the low point of the stroke, and you must make sure your spinal tilt, CG and stance width all correlate. Your grip style also influences the tilting of the spine as well. If you move any of these factors out of position, you will have poor balance and very little control as to where the putter “bottoms-out” during the forward stroke.

Whenever the spine is tilted too much toward or away from the target at address, the “low point” will move and thus the ball’s position must be altered as well.

When the spine tilts toward the target at address (as shown above), the golfer’s CG tends to shift to the left (for a right-handed golfer). It also changes the low point of a golfer’s stroke arc.

Ball: Testing has shown that there is no ideal ball position for all golfers. The ball’s position should be just after the low point of the putting stroke arc, and it should match up with a golfer’s frontal posture. The best way to figure out this correlation is to set up in front of a mirror (shown below) and see if everything looks balanced and “centered.” Then, you will be able to adjust your ball position to match up with the low point of your stroke and its needs.

Ball position and its influence on impact aiming:

In order to understand your correct ball position, you must first have your torso alignments and postures correct. Then you must match your ball position with the size of your arc. The SAM can measure your arc size (as you can see from the above player), as the size of the arc increases the importance of ball position in your stance. If the player above placed the ball too far back in his stance, the ball would tend to hang out to the right unless compensations were made by the hands.

I would suggest finding an instructor with a SAM unit in order to help you determine the “exact” ball position for your arc size. The only other way to do this would be to experiment with a video camera looking down at the ball from outside the line.

Illusion of the puttershaft

In the picture above, you will notice that the putter shaft is perpendicular to the ground, however, as this player looks down the shaft will appear to be backward leaning (photo below).

Though the putter shaft appears to be leaning from the players’ view, it is basically perpendicular (the club shaft is only leaning 0.2 degrees forward). Make sure that you understand this visual “illusion” so you can set your putter perpendicular to the ground at address.

The Proper Posture

Putter Fitting: If you pick up just about any putter off the rack in your local golf shop, you will find that most are about the same length and lie (34 inches and 71 degrees). This is because manufactures build putters in bulk. The cost of customizing each putter before shipment would make putter sales way too slow and expensive for the average player, and this is what we have to contend with as golfers.

My suggestion is to pick a putter that you like the look of and have it custom fit by your local professional or club repair technician. If you do this, you will have a fighting chance to make more putts than you did without the proper putter fitting. In fact, the putter has the least margin for error of any club in your bag. However, less than five percent of the golfers today get fit correctly!

The “flowlines” of the body: 3D and SAM testing has shown that when your body’s “flowlines” are all aligned and pointing in the same direction, most players have a better chance of making a more consistent stroke.

Over time, instructors have seen great putters align themselves “open” or left of their target line with their body because they said they could “see the line” better. However, with the advent of 3D-motion analysis and the SAM Putt Lab, instructors now know that this is a very inefficient way to set up to the ball because it causes the shoulders to point too far left, which means the putter path will follow suit. Doing this almost necessitates a physical compensation within the putting stroke in order to not begin the ball too far left of the line you have chosen. Over time, the body will physically compensate for your faulty alignment, because instructors have come to learn that the body is smarter than the brain.

Setting up “open” will cause your flowlines and visual perception to be altered.

Your stroke path will compensate as well, producing an out-to-in path, UNLESS an intentional physical manipulation is made during the stroke!

Rear forearm on-plane: One of the most forgotten fundamentals of putting is to keep your rear forearm on plane with the club shaft at address. If you draw a line up from the club shaft, it should bisect the rear forearm. This ensures that the rear arm can power the stroke down the line that a golfer chooses. It is this very reason why “the claw” and the cross-handed grips work for so many golfers.

When the rear forearm rides “high” it can stem from several sources:

Your rear-hand grip could be in an overly weak position (too much on top of the club shaft).
Your shoulders could be open to your intended target line.
Your spine could be leaning too much toward the target at address. A “cross-handed” grip can solve this problem, and has been the solution of choice for many players who fight a high rear forearm.

As you can see with the stick-figure above, this player’s rear forearm is above the plane of the shaft. This causes an out-to-in stroke path, which result in pushes and pulls.

The Eyes: The brain sees a target most accurately with the dominant eye. Eye dominance is not dissimilar to hand or foot dominance.The brain favors only one of the two eyes to define the body’s relation to the target in terms of direction, and habitually uses only that eye to target objects and locations in space in terms of direction. Over time, the vision yielded by the other eye is ignored by the brain, so effectively when we sight targets we use only our dominant eye. Trying to target only with the non-dominant eye is a little like trying to sign your name with the wrong hand: it can be done, but not gracefully.

To Determine Your Eye Dominance: Try holding both hands out at arm’s length, thumbs up side by side like a gun sight. Use the sight to target a distant object with both eyes open. Close the right eye. If the object jumps to the left, you are right-eye dominant. Confirm this by opening both eyes, re-sighting, and then closing the left eye. The object will remain in the sight. You are left-eye dominant if when you close the right eye the object remains sighted, and when you use only the right eye, the object jumps to the right of the sight.

Two-eyed vision is necessary for depth perception, one of many distance clues, but it has little to do with locating the proper direction sighting. Here, only the dominant eye matters. And you must place the dominant eye on the line that extends from the target back to the ball and extending to you, so if you face directly toward the target, looking at the ball and the line, your dominant eye will be on the line and your nose and center of your body will be just to the side of the line. You also need to stand square to the line: that is, parallel/horizontal lines across your eyes, ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles should all be perpendicular to the line of the putt, as stated on “The Putting Zone” in an article by Geoff Mangum.

Head position: In studies done by Howard Twitty and Dr. Lanny Johnson on the PGA Tour have found that in order to place your eyes in the most advantageous position for interpreting the truth in alignment, it is necessary for you to optimize the position of your head relative to the ground.

Moving the head down from the usual “chin-up” position so that your chin and eyes are in the same plan provides the best look down the line. The chin-up position that most players possess will erroneously look to the left (for a right-handed golfer). The “level-headed” position will allow the brain to better code the information given by your eyes. The easiest way to ensure your head is in the correct position is to make sure that the plane “drawn” through your chin and forehead are parallel to the ground.

Ninety-nine percent of the golfers will have their chin “up” slightly, causing the eyes to actually look downward in their sockets in order to see the ball’s line. This, along with the dominant eye information from above, helps you to understand how easy it would be to move your eyes and body your of the proper alignment. The unsuspected error of looking left with the head up is best illustrated with a training aid called “The Pro-Aim Glasses” that can be found on www.golftrainingstuff.com.

The incorrect head position causes the eyes to look “out and down” in order to see the ball’s target line. This will alter the flowlines of your body, which requires a mental and physical compensation.

The Proper Forward Bending of the Torso:

When the putter is correctly fit for the player in regards to its length and lie, you will find that the eyes will be over the ball, and the proper forward bending of the spine will happen naturally. The proper forward bending of the spine for most players is between 33 to 37 degrees at address. If you get much more or much less bending, you will find that you will have a hard time keeping your arms free from your body and your eyes over the ball. In order to have the proper forward bending at address, you MUST have your putter fit to your body. Do NOT try and accommodate the putter’s length and lie by setting up differently than you do naturally!

Center of Gravity: When the body has the proper alignment (flow lines to the fitting of your putter) the last step is to make sure you are in balance from back to front in regards to your feet. This balance is also important as stated above with your side-to-side balance. Thus, if you are out of balance in any way you will have trouble staying still!

As you can in the CG monitor analysis above, this player is balanced from side-to-side, but he is also balanced from back-to-front. This is shown by the percentage of weight on each portion of the foot on the lower left of the CG Screen. This dynamic balance helps golfers remain stable during the putting stroke and will ensure a solid centered impact of the putter with the ball.

Proper Aiming

Address Aim and Impact Aim: The “alignment aim” of the putter head relative to your chosen targetline is your address aim, while the direction your putter face is pointing at impact is called the impact aim. The impact aim is the more important concept of the two.

Alignment of the face at impact is the most important factor in determining what direction the ball leaves the blade, and it is the benchmark for your body to understand. In fact, impact aim accounts for 83 percent of ball error! If you are one degree off at impact, the ball will be 3 inches off your intended target line at 15 feet. This one degree of error is more than enough to miss your intended 15 footer!

Most consistent putters have the putter aligned at address between 0 and 0.5 degrees at address, and they return their putter at impact within the same range. However, there are some exceptions. One top putter on the PGA Tour aligns his blade 2.2 degrees to the right very consistently yet returns the blade to impact on the line he originally determined. While this is not the best way to putt, it can be said that if you consistently aim in the same manner (open or closed), the body can adjust to this to some degree. This is best illustrated by the golfer who unknowingly lines up to the right of a target with a 7 iron. While performing the shot, his body will respond by pulling the shot back on line. Although a golfer may perceive that they are aligned correctly intellectually, their body knows better and will often make the appropriate correction during the golf swing. This happens with the putter on a daily basis as well.

If you have no alignment consistency at address, then your body must make a different compensatory adjustment each time at impact. This will not allow you to have the same impact aim either, which is represented by the image above. This player cannot aim the putter at address the same way twice, giving him a consistency score of 13 percent and a face-at-impact score of 17 percent.

Putter geometry: Studies with SAM have also showed that a putter with a rectangle somewhere on the top and perpendicular aiming lines help most players line up more effectively at address. Using such rectangle-shaped putters and a ball with an aim line drawn on it has proven to be the most effective way to line up a putt at address for the average player. Putters with curved, circle or half-moon designs give players the most trouble with alignment.

Two points to consider:

“Square” geometry provides the best opportunity for the player to bring the putter face back to square at impact.
“Rounded” geometry is otherwise confusing to the brain, and gives no inherent hint of direction.

This does not mean that you must only use “blocky” types of putters, however, if you choose to use “rounded” putter head designs it is more challenging from a psychomotor standpoint. In this case, we recommend reading off the face of the putter itself. Thus, if you consistently have alignment issues, then you might need to adopt a more “blocky” putter design due to the facts above.

The “best” tested aiming routine: The best alignment routine I have seen to date and used personally comes from the Tour testing done by Dr. Lanny Johnson and Howard Twitty. This aiming technique uses the golfer’s innate ability to understand his own spatial relationship and his natural skills to place the putter in the correct position naturally.

The player stands behind the ball and views the intended target line. Consider for a moment how you would aim a rifle. You put the rifle up and look down the barrel — you don’t stand to the side and aim it this way.The best way to aim a gun and a putt is looking from down the line only.
Next, approach the ball from behind with the putter in the dominant hand, walking toward the ball. The instant that you turn and look down at the ball, rest the putter head on the ground immediately behind the ball.
Without looking up, assume your stance and grip the putter with your other hand.
From there, look once at the hole to identify the distance and go. Do NOT try and re-aim the putter again. You have already set the alignment you need from behind the ball.

Amazingly, SAM testing confirms that in two to three attempts the golfer who previously had alignment problems is almost perfectly on line using this method. This is an example of the “body being smarter than the brain.” One of the best putters on the PGA Tour, Aaron Baddeley, has been observed to use features of this method. Over the ball, he looks at the hole to confirm its position and quickly strikes the ball. We believe this is why he one of the Tour’s best putters consistently.

The Conclusion

Serious golfers must take the time to understand the three set-up issues that control their overall consistency on the greens: alignments, posture and aiming. Use the subsections of each category to analyze your current stroke and see if you are deficient in any of the area discussed above. If so, you will find that putting inconsistently is a byproduct of your set-up position, not your stroke itself.

Instruction

How to play your best golf when the temperature drops

Published

3 months ago

Feb 3, 2026

Brendon Elliott

The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.

“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.

If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.

Understand What Cold Does to Your Game

Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.

Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.

Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.

Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing

Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.

Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.

Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.

Take More Club Than You Think You Need

This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.

The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.

Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.

Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens

Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.

Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.

Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.

Embrace the Mental Challenge

Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”

That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.

Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.

Warm Up Longer and Smarter

This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.

World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.

Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.

The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.

PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.

Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!

Instruction

3 lessons from Brooks Koepka that’ll actually lower your score

Published

3 months ago

Feb 2, 2026

Brendon Elliott

Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.

What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.

So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.

Stop Overthinking Every Shot

Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.

This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.

How to actually do this:

On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.

Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.

If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.

This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.

Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)

Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.

Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:

Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.

Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.

Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.

Save Your Best for When It Counts

Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.

How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.

Here’s what actually works:

Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.

Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.

Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.

The Bottom Line

Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.

You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.

Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.

Instruction

What we can learn from Blades Brown’s impressive American Express performance

Published

3 months ago

Jan 29, 2026

Brendon Elliott

Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.

Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.

Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee

Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.

Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.

Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.

The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.

Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens

This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.

How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.

Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.

Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.

When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.

Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient

Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.

He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.

Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.

Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.

Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.

PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.