What is up Champs and Champettes we are back and we are working on Principle Number Eight which is a very serious situation we're talking about now. This is straddle putt tips and it is allegedly the first day of spring but I am freezing, I am on the edge of death, it doesn't matter we have to get these straddle putts going in because we are missing way too many of them. So let's get into it!

We've got three tips that are going to get more important as they go on. The third tip is more important than the first so let's get into it. The main thing that I see go wrong on course when people are straddle putting is that they are short, left and way too nose up. Essentially they're just not really committed at all. Part of this first tip that we're going to get into is aiming. I think a lot of the time people are just just winging their putts up there kind of not expecting to make it. That is the mentality and let's start working on that.

Let's talk about aim. Let's work on that. As the first step of setting up for our straddle put we got to set up a good aim. So let's just say I'm out here and I end up with a lie like this. I have zero look at the basket. This tree is right in the way and that's all it takes sometimes is a 4 incher like this. So I've got to straddle out and what we're going to do for aiming is what we talked about in our previous Principle video Principle Number Seven where we talked about using the xiphiod process which is this little bone that's under your sternum here as a very good internal aiming device. It's right here right in front of us. We Square it up and then we go all the way back to Principle Number One with painting the pole while we use our xiphiod process, we use the pole, we line them up and we make the putt.

So that is our first tip when it comes to straddle putting. Go back to Principle Number Seven if you haven't seen that. Use your xiphiod process it is a very good internal aiming device that is going to help you hit more straddle putts.

Here's our second problem why you're probably not hitting as many straddle putts as you'd like to hit, and its that you don't practice them! We have a couple different ideas when it comes to practicing straddle putts which are important. You can't go on course end up in a tricky lie and just expect to make a putt that you honestly haven't practiced. So let's start with the first one it's it's really just to practice them. What I like to do is alternate. Hit a stagger, hit a straddle, hit a stagger, hot a straddle. Each time that you alternate like that each of your stances that you're working on is going to get a little bit better, and that is the first step in our practice proposition for you.

But like I said earlier most straddle putts I see are missed high and left, so let's take away the left side chains. Let's practice that way. So what I have set up here is that I just put my bag in the basket. I'm blocking left side chains. You can get our product the Champcap Solo and turn it a little bit to the side so you can essentially block left side chains in a much more elegant way than this, while also dialing your aim on the on the target hole. Blocking the left side chains let's us get used to not having them available which will help us putt more directly at the basket with more confidence and hopefully execute, well not hopefully execute more of them, definitely execute more of your straddle putts.

I think this is a very good tip to help you with your straddle putts to get used to not even seeing those left side chains and not even considering them. 

One thing I forgot to mention earlier when I was filming was that I think it's kind of insane that people don't practice their straddle putting, especially on the East Coast. We end up with woods like this if you get off the rough and I would say it's about 30% of the time that we end up straddle putting. It's actually probably closer to 50%. So it's definitely important to get your straddle putt reps in. We've got our first tip using the xiphiod process to help your aim. We have our second tip which is to actually practice your straddle putts with an extra bonus tip do it with some left side chains blocked.

Let's get into our third tip which is the most important tip and the one that's helped me the most with my straddle putting. It is to adjust our timing and adjust our cadence on our putt. You'll remember in Principle Number Six when we were talking about timing it was a one two three count, and it was a one two on your weight shift backward and a one count going forward to get that pop and drive toward the basket that you need. That is the standard putting cadence most people use. The problem is that this cadence doesn't really work with straddle putting. First of all as you can see there gravity takes over and wants to pull you back. You just don't have the range of motion with your weight shift backward when it comes to the straddle putt, so having a two count back is what I believe causes most of the short left nose up putts when it comes to straddle putting.

This is why you come to PuttConfidently to get the putting tips because we've got a switch for you. In that timing video I mentioned Casey White's putt and that he has a one a one to one cadence. A one count on his weight shift back and then pops really hard toward the basket. So let's get into some examples here of this different timing just to give you guys a visual of it. Switching to the one to one count. One-two painting the pole. One-two. One two. Just nice drive and nice cadence with a nice commitment. You get a lot more pop on it for when you're in a low ceiling type situation.

So that is our main tip when it comes to straddle putting. Try switching up that cadence next time you're practicing, next time you're on course, or next time you're in that situation. Hopefully this helps you with your straddle putting because there are a lot of Strokes left out there when it comes to straddle putting and we start getting more of them back. If you have any questions or if you have any comments please let us know. Until then we are going to catch you later on Principle Number Nine which is going to be talking about our pre-shot routine because there is some fire Sport Science tips we've got for you. There is something the pros are doing in every sport that you are not doing so we will check you later!