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- What the heck did Brad Faxon do to his childhood course? + Putting Drills You Need to Steal
What the heck did Brad Faxon do to his childhood course? + Putting Drills You Need to Steal
Plus, Proximity to the Hole After Putts from 30+ Feet By Handicap
Wild Golf
September 20, 2024
Happy Friday all- maybe this is the beginning of the end. The PGA Tour announced on Thursday that LIV players will, in fact, be eligible to participate in the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship moving forward. There was a one-year grace period in effect over the last year, which is what allowed Zach Johnson to choose Brooks Koepka as a Captain’s Pick for the 2023 Ryder Cup. However, that grace period was ending, so this move certainly is a step in the right direction toward a united front. What’s unclear, however, is just how LIV players might qualify. Currently, they are still ineligible to receive qualifying points via LIV events, so who the heck knows how the quote, “points” unquote, might be awarded. But maybe, just maybe, this is a nod toward the future.
In today’s newsletter…
✅ TIPS & DRILLS: Pro putting drills you need to steal. Take these to the practice green immediately.
✅ COURSES: Brad Faxon bought his childhood golf course to save it from collapse, and then promptly sold it to a developer a year later. Read the story below.
✅ STATISTICS: On putts from 30+ feet, how far do you leave your first putt from the hole? Compare yourself to your handicap tier.
✅ TRIVIA: What percentage of putts between 3-5 feet do Scratch golfer make? Answer for a chance to win a HackMotion Core Wrist Sensor Training Aid!
Play well this weekend!
TIPS & DRILLS
Make More Putts with these Pro Drills
Netherlands-based Pro Golfer Dane Cvetkovic Shows Us His Practice Routine
To Recap…
Netherlands-based pro golfer Dane Cvetkovic (@danecvetkovicgolf) is a super-helpful social follow if you haven’t heard of him. Great putting drills are surprisingly hard to find on the internet, but Dane shares some of his favorites here:
TECHNIQUE
-DRILL 1: For a stable body, practice short ~5 foot putts while standing on 1 foot
-DRILL 2: To maintain connection, put a ball between your rear hand and the putting grip, and practice putts from a variety of distances.
SKILL
-DRILL 3: To practice startline, using a putting rail is your ultimate cheat code.
-DRILL 4: To center your strike in the middle of the clubface, place a ball between two tees just slightly wider than the width of the club face, and attempt not to make any contact with the tees.
PERFORMANCE
-DRILL 5: For more consistency on the course, try to make 3 putts in a row from 5 feet, 4 putts in a row from 4 feet, 3 putts in a row from 5 feet, and finish by making a 10 footer. Don’t quit until you’ve completed the full cycle.
COURSES
The Wild History of Brad Faxon’s Childhood Course
Let’s go on a rollercoaster ride together
Met Links
East Providence, RI
If Brad Faxon is known for anything, it’s certainly his putting, but a close 2nd is his commitment to his home state of Rhode Island. The 8-time PGA Tour winner is still heavily involved in the state’s Youth programs. As a kid himself, he won the Rhode Island Junior at age 14. For 23 years, he ran the CVS Caremark Charity Classic along with Billy Andrade, raising $25+ million to support non-profit organizations that assist communities in need across southern New England. Simply put, Faxon is a hero in Rhode Island.
The course where Brad Faxon cut his teeth was Metacomet Country Club, which was founded in 1919 and re-imagined by Donald Ross 5 years later. “You want me to build a course here? It’s on the side of a hill!!,” Ross first said upon seeing the property. But Donald delivered. Metacomet rose to become one of the most sought-after private clubs in the state, known for its fantastic routing and views of the Providence River. But like many historic New England clubs, Metacomet fell on hard times financially in the 2010s due to the moderate local economy and aging member base.
But a savior emerged- Brad Faxon helped lead a group (nicknamed the “Faxon Five”) that purchased the struggling club in 2019. Growing up, Faxon’s father had been a member at Metacomet, and the combo was “lethal at father-son events,” as you might imagine. At first, the membership rejoiced. Who better than Faxon to lead Metacomet back to relevance and financial stability? But a few curious things happened.
In order to keep the club financially solvent, they had to open blocks of tee times to the public. More and more times were offered up as months went by, annoying the long-standing members. There were reports that new applicants for membership couldn’t get in touch with anyone, and the clubhouse restaurant couldn’t fill its staff. In 2020, Faxon’s group put Metacomet up for sale without notice. The new owner was a development group that planned to bulldoze the course and build condos and a supermarket on the property. The plan to revitalize Metacomet was seemingly dead.
But in a last minute u-turn, government officials made public money available to preserve greenspace in the heart of East Providence, and what remains is now a par-34 nine-hole track that’s been renamed “Met Links.” We may ultimately never know what drove Faxon’s group to sell, but one thing is clear. “The Met” is still a special place, even if the Faxon Five weren’t the superheroes to save it.
Rates: $35 for 9 holes, $46 for 18 holes (playing same nine twice)
Check out this overview from @metlinksgolf
STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: Proximity by Handicap After 1st Putt from 30+ Feet
presented by…
The Stat: When putting from 30+ feet, a 0 Handicap will leave their 2nd putt approximately 4.6 feet from the hole, and they consequently hole 88% of putts from this 2nd putt distance. Meanwhile, a 25 Handicap will leave 30+ foot putts ~7.8 feet from the hole on average, but they only hole 31% of putts from this 2nd putt distance.
The Takeaway: In terms of overall game improvement, the ability to shoot lower scores isn’t so much about getting 30+ foot putts super-close to the hole. Rather it’s much more about holing the 2nd putt from the closer distance.
Translation: If you can become REALLY consistent inside 8 feet, you’ll have a leg up on your competition. Focus on speed control from longer distances, but focus on accuracy inside 8 feet.
TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a HackMotion Core Wrist Sensor Training Aid
(1 winner chosen on 9/30/24 across all September trivia entries, 1,000 correct respondents minimum)
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What percentage of putts between 3-5 feet do Scratch golfer make? |
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