Always something

My new strong grip for everything golf, except putting, is working well. Sometimes, I'm still fading my four iron more than I would like without knowing why. I can only think that perhaps I'm still holding the blade open and trying to steer the ball because I'm afraid of going left, I'm not really sure.

Anyway, I'm driving the ball better and generally hitting my fairway woods well - including the 4-wood I used for a hole-in-one last week. I've gained perhaps 20 meters in driving distance and am giving myself the chance of reaching more greens in regulation.

However, greens are where my trouble starts. I've lost count of the number of 3-putts I've had in past few weeks. A great putting round a few weeks ago has deteriorated into a litany of distance judgement errors, including the ten footers left short in the jaws. I'm also missing the easy 4 to 5 footers, and it's driving me mad.

I can't work out what's going on with my putting. Perhaps because I'm hitting more greens and giving myself more chances in general, and as a consequence I'm inadvertently putting more pressure on myself. Whatever the cause, it is becoming a big problem. I can't afford to be taking 38 or 39 putts per round playing off my current handicap.

So, I'm going to play on Saturday with an old putter, an old Ping that I used to love. It doesn't have the high fangled face insert that gives the soft feel when the ball is struck, you have to hit the ball a bit harder. It's also a blade putter, with a slight mallet back, only slight, but it's much closer to the putters I grew up with and played many a backyard round of golf with. These backyard rounds were when several 'holes in one' from thirty or forty feet were considered mandatory.

I'll persist with my strong grip and Zacky release and just hope that my old putting confidence returns before it's too late and they carry me off in a white jacket.