Particularly useful for erratic putters

Like all professional golfers, I have tried to work out a set of fundamental procedures for keeping my putting strokes as consistent and as reliable as I can make them. Staying with these fundamentals has helped me a good deal, particularly in holing the short ones—those crucial four-footers that make or break a golf round more than any other shot in the game.

As regards the grip, I've discovered that I have a much better touch if my right hand rides high on the shaft. Besides eliminating the tendency to pull the putt, it helps me to get a uniform, unvarying speed on the ball. As far as address goes, I find it valuable to use a slight forward press of the hands before taking the blade back. Too much of a forward press can be bad because a golfer then tends to jab the ball down into the grass. A slight forward press makes it easier for the left hand to go through the ball after contact, to move a little more out toward the hole. This, I find, enables you to get the slow speed on the ball that's so desirable. As for my right hand, I like to feel that the right palm is moving straight along the line of the putt to the hole.

MIKE SOUCHAK, Grossinger, N.Y.

ILLUSTRATION

The slight forward press at address

ILLUSTRATION

The left hand continues through the ball

TWO PHOTOS

NEXT WEEK'S PRO: PATTY BERG ON THE RIGHT HIP