“Putting’s the name of the game,” Mike Hicks, developer of The Big Putt says.
“Think of any great player in the game and you can remember a big putt he made to
win a major—whether it’s Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson or Jack Nicklaus or any of
them”. The Big Putt is a new training aid he and fellow entrepreneur and noted amateur
golfer Danny Gurley have developed to help golfers make more big putts of their
own.
“The putting green is the fastest way to lower scores,” says Hicks, who caddied
for Payne Stewart for 12 years. “Anyone can improve their putting. Someone might
not be physically capable of hitting it 10 more yards. But they can make more putts.”
Nearly 50 percent of the game is played on the putting green, so an investment of
practice time or new equipment dollars is far more productive with the putting component
of the game.
The Big Putt is a golf ball constructed of standard materials that 35 percent
larger than regulation (The Big Putt is 1.95 inches in diameter compared to a regulation
ball of 1.68 inches). By practicing putts from two to eight feet with the oversize
ball, a golfer develops confidence that carries over to the golf course when using
the smaller regulation ball. The oversize ball also entices the golfer into accelerating
through the putt and reducing the chances of missing short putts by decelerating
at the ball. Despite its larger size, The Big Putt has the same feel leaving the
putter face as a regulation ball.
Former U.S. Open champion and Ryder Cup veteran Jim Furyk is among top professionals
who have added The Big Putt to their practice regimens. Furyk can remember as a
junior golfer a drill where he used a tennis ball on the putting green. The idea
was that if you can develop precision with an oversize ball, then the hole appears
to have increased in size when you return to a regulation ball. “It’s great practice,”
Furyk says. “The hole shrinks down and it makes you concentrate more. I think it’s
a good tool. If you use it for five or 10 minutes a day I think it’s going to really
help your putting.”
Included in your Big Putt pack
- 3 Big Putt golf balls
- Carrying pouch
- Alignment aid
- Golf ball marker pen
- Instructional DVD