ORLANDO, Fla. – The type of question that keeps Scott Hamilton awake at nights led to a creative, and so far successful, putting aid for Boo Weekley.
Weekley, one of the PGA Tour’s top ball-strikers who has struggled in his career on the greens, met with Hamilton before this month’s Honda Classic and the longtime swing coach analyzed the two-time Tour winner’s swing using the Science & Motion (SAM) PuttLab.
“I showed him how a putter works. The arch of the speed of the putter,” Hamilton said this week at Bay Hill. “For a guy like Loren Roberts, for example, there is an extended plateau where the putter is moving the fastest. With Boo, there would be a speed increase and just after he made contact (with the golf ball) there would be a spike (in putter head speed).”
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To help improve Weekley’s feel, Hamilton cut down the grip of a putter so only his left hand was on the grip while the right hand was on the steel shaft during drills. He also had Weekley hit putts while looking at the hole during practice.
“The minute he does that he has perfect speed,” Hamilton said.
The results have been unmistakable. Weekley tied for 25th at the Honda Classic for his best finish of the season and has improved each week since with a tie for eighth at the Puerto Rico Open and a runner-up showing at last week’s Tampa Bay Championship, where he closed with a round-of-the-week 63.
Even more encouraging for Hamilton was Weekley’s tie for 16th in total putts at Innisbrook. By comparison, he ranked 189th in total putts last season.
“I tried to make it athletic and when he’s putting well he’s pretty tough,” Hamilton said.