A-Z Putting (J): Jason Day’s Set-Up Secrets

Jason Day: The PGA Tour’s star putter last year reveals his set-up secrets

Jason Day might have lost some of the form which took him to world No.1 in 2016, but hasn’t lost his touch on the greens.

On the PGA Tour last year he finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting, and made over 90% of putts from inside 10 feet using his TaylorMade Spider Tour Red.

He believes the quality of putting is determined by the quality of your basics, which is why he’s the perfect man to walk you through what you should be focusing on as you stand to the ball.

Keep It Simple Over The Ball

“One of the things that makes me such a consistently good putter is that my set-up is very simple. I stand to the ball in a standard position with my feet, knees, hips and shoulders parallel to my target line. 

Find A Pure Roll

“The last thing you want is the ball to skid off the face. It’s difficult to judge distance accurately if your ball starts off with a hop. For a truer roll, I play the ball slightly forward of centre in my stance. This helps me hit up on the ball a little.”

Focus On Your Grip Pressure

“I hold the putter with enough strength to prevent it moving once I’ve taken my grip. Even minimal movement can cause the putter to twist in your hands at address or during the stroke. If this happens, it’ll affect your aim and either add to or decrease the loft on the putter face.”

Use A Mirror To Find Optimum Set-Up

“It’s the first thing I do every week on the practice putting green. I make sure my left eye is over the top of the ball and slightly inside the target line. This is the optimum position for me to see the putt without any parallax – the effect where the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions.

“In simple terms, if your head and eyes aren’t in the correct position over the ball, you won’t be able to see a straight line to the hole accurately. You must address the ball in a way that enables you to make a consistent, controlled and repeatable stroke with only minimal compensations.”

Keep Your Wrists Quiet

“To prevent unwanted wrist movement, I’ll often practise with a ball placed between my right wrist and the putter grip. That instantly allows me to feel if there’s any movement in my hands during the stroke. If I get it wrong, my hands will either press harder against the ball, or it will fall to the floor.”

Jason Day’s Top Tip: Be Aggressive

So many amateurs leave putts short because they’re afraid of hitting the ball too hard. But all of the good putters you see on Tour are, generally speaking, aggressive on the greens. But you have to practise a lot to develop this confidence. On a regular week off away from the Tour, I’ll spend two hours a day working on my putting, compared to maybe only an hour or so on my longer clubs.