Augusta National affords us the opportunity each year to see the worlds best trying to maneuver their way around some of the trickiest green complexes in golf. Probably nowhere else do we get to see just how good the short game and putting is among the top players in golf. At the same time, it also exposes how the best can struggle just as much as we can on tricky greens. What can you take from watching the players in the field this week as they tackle the tricky and fast greens at Augusta National? The short answer is plenty.

With Tiger remarkably making his comeback this week (a feat that almost seemed impossible even a few short weeks ago) a lot has been made of the idea of his being prepared, physically, to make his way around the course for 72 holes. For many players, being prepared for this tough test is something that is weeks, and even months, in the making.

In what always seems to be the case, week in and week out, putting is what seals the deal for the professionals of the game. That was definitely the case for Kupcho. It is estimated that 40% of all the shots taken during the course of a round is with the flat stick. The putter is by far the one, single club in your bag that gets the most use. What do the Professionals Practice on the Green?

Scheffler hasn’t always been the best putter, but for the past few months he has really focused on his tempo, and more specifically, in his transition from the end of his backstroke and into his forward stroke. The drill that has helped him become more confident in his putting is simple. He places a quarter on the back of his putter blade and tries to keep it there during his transition. If it falls off, he knows that he got a little too quick.

Anirban Lahiri is the 322nd ranked player in the world and the leader heading into the fourth round of The PLAYERS Championship. In his 15 years as a playing professional, despite close calls, he has no wins on the PGA Tour. “I was hitting my irons horribly before this week,” said Lahiri in a post round chat with Todd Lewis. In asking Anirban, what he might equate his success so far this week to, Lewis got an answer that some may find interesting… “I changed my swing weight in my irons by 1 and ½.”

I feel that most golfers will benefit greatly by focusing on those things that make the best LPGA Tour golfers in the world, like Jin Young Ko, the incredible players that they are…and that is learning to swing within themselves with an eye on proper technique.

In golf, if we keep thinking about a mistake we made on a previous hole, or project how our score will turn out at the end of the round, our minds become filled with images of the past or future. It’s as if we’re daydreaming. Lacking mindfulness of the task at hand leads to poor decision-making before the shot and distracts us while we’re swinging.

Golfers are obsessed with distance. Everyone wants to know how to hit the ball further. Some of the best ways to train yourself to hit the ball further is by working on and honing your primary fundamentals, such as posture, grip, and alignment, as well as creating a good understanding of what a sound golf swing should look like. This can all be accomplished by taking professional instruction from a PGA Coach. Another component to hitting the ball further is being able to learn how to increase the speed at which you swing the club. This is much easier said than done. For this, the combination of working with a PGA Coach, as well as a golf specific fitness coach, can help you in reaching your speed goals.

30 years after his PGA Tour debut, soon to be Hall of Famer, Tiger Woods, is still the golfer that moves the needle in golf and is still the golfer that shines as an example of moving the golf ball with speed and power.

Over the past 20 years, golf has seen a dramatic increase in the number of professionals starting to pay attention to fitness, nutrition, and other areas of wellness. In short, the modern golf professional has become an athlete. Is bulking up like Bryson Dechambeau to improve your game, really an avenue worth exploring?

As much as we talk about golf being largely a mental game, it is obvious that your body plays the biggest role in the actual playing of the sport. With any sport comes the risk of injury. Golf is no different in that respect. The positions and movements we put our bodies through to find some sense of success while hitting a golf ball with a full swing, or even down to setting up to practice and groove our putting stroke, can lead to potential physical issues. Especially after years and years of playing the game.