PUTTING BASICS: FOCUS ON STABILITY AND FLUIDITY

• The yips first showed up about four years after Glover won the 2009 U.S. Open. “I would equate it to a panic attack,” he says. “Your heart is racing; you’re not feeling like your motor functions are working. Something you’ve been doing your whole life, now you feel like you can’t move the putter.” The shorter the putt, the more his hands and wrists would tense up, leading to a very quick backstroke and poor speed control. To counter that, the 45-inch broomstick-style putter forced Glover to radically change his setup and stroke.

By separating his hands on the grip, he now stands much wider and further away from the ball, which helps stabilise his lower body. He’s also more bent over the ball, which makes it easier to set the lead arm parallel to his target line and get his eyes more over the ball.

“If you stabilise the lower body, the upper body can be freer, and I think that’s what helped Lucas,” Baile says. “It’s called disassociation. When you create something stable, the next piece—in this case Lucas’ shoulders—can be more mobile. That’s a good tip for amateurs, regardless of what putter you use—putt with a stable lower body, a mobile upper body and very still eyes.”

Glover found a way to distract himself from the initial putter movement by focusing entirely on the connection he feels when the putter meets the ball. It’s like closing his eyes, and it promotes more freedom in the stroke. It also helps Glover to stay in constant motion, as evidenced by his unusual pre-shot routine. Glover will stretch his trail hand away from the bottom grip, but as soon as the hand rejoins the shaft, he starts the backstroke (photos, above). “It feels really smooth,” he says.