1 Putter, 1 Wedge, 1 Ball
Day 4 rereading “Harvey Penick's Little Red Book"
The Golf Book Club: Every day, we share a mental game lesson inspired by great golf books—stories and strategies to help you think better so you can play better.
Ben couldn’t buy a putt.
Ben Crenshaw has a confession. He says, “Everyone talks about my putting. But Harvey Penick said I was an average putter.”
And yet, under Harvey’s guidance, Ben evolved from average to great.
Here’s how sportswriter Rick Riley described Ben’s performance at the 1995 Masters. Rick said, “The best putting stroke in history started pouring golf balls into holes like little white rivers.”
Ben won his second green jacket that weekend. But here’s another confession:
Going into the 1995 Masters, Ben couldn’t buy a putt. After missing the cut at three of his last four tournaments, he was ranked 69th in the PGA’s putting statistics.
“The reality of playing golf.”
A week before the Masters, Ben visited his old teacher. Harvey was bedridden, near the end of a long, blessed life. He told Ben to trust himself on the green.
That was Harvey’s last putting lesson—and it flashed Ben back to his first lesson when he was six years old.
Every afternoon, his father and a few friends held a putting match on the practice green. 25 cents a hole. One of those old guys always carried a glass of lemonade. Another used a golf ball he had practiced with so long that the dimples had worn smooth.
Ben says, “It was a game, and Harvey thought people learned golf by playing games. If he saw you putt the same putt ten times, he would say, ‘Every putt you hit from now until the day you die is different. So why not hit different putts?’”
Six-year-old Ben became Harvey’s student. Most golfers practiced by taking a dozen balls to the green. But Harvey said, “That does not teach the reality of playing golf, which is: you have to pay for your mistakes.”
He gave Ben a wedge, a putter, and a golf ball. He said, “Ben, use one ball, chip it at the hole, then go putt it. That’s how you learn to score.”
The old-timers invited Ben to play in their putting matches. Harvey says, “Ben was developing the touch and stroke that made him one of the finest putters in history. It wasn’t long before he was winning quarters from the grownups.”
Flash forward to 1995.
With trust and a playful attitude, Ben sank clutch putts on 13, 16 and 17 to take a two-stroke lead. Then he allowed himself a gentle bogey on 18 to win the Masters.
The poet Diane Ackerman said, “Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”
How did Ben evolve from average to great? By playing games and by trusting himself. We can start that journey this weekend.
Grab some friends and play the same game: one wedge, one putter, one ball. Start from off the green, pick a hole, chip to it, then putt until the ball is in the cup. That’s how you, me, and Ben Crenshaw learn to score. It’s a more realistic way to practice, and a lot more fun.
That’s all for now. Until next time, keep imagining what’s possible.
GOLF PHOTO OF THE DAY
Golf-de-Chantilly, France (Hole #4)
