You have options when deciding which clubs to include in your bag for a round of golf but one club which is always present is the putter. You cannot play a round of golf without your putter, it’s as simple as that.
However, many beginner golfers will only pull out their putter when the ball is safely on the green but the putter is not confined to use only on the putting surface. There are no rules in golf which state the ball must be on the green for the putter to be used and this opens some interesting possibilities.
If you have played your approach shot and the ball has landed just off the green, on the fringe, the temptation may be to go for a short iron or wedge. In fact, this position can be a great opportunity to get out the putter.
The length of grass on the fringe will be longer than the green but the distance the ball will travel on the fringe is likely to be less than the green, so the putter becomes a serious option. The first thing to note is any hazards in the path of the ball and the green because clearly, if there is a bunker blocking the path of the ball, using the putter is not going to work.
If the path is clear, you will need to play the putt with more force than you would from the same distance on the green because the grass on the fringe is longer and will slow down the pace of the ball. However, playing a shot from the fringe of the green with a putter is still easier than playing it using a wedge.
Some golf courses will have areas of short grass near the green called ‘chipping areas’ but this does not mean you must play a chip shot from this position.
If the ball is close enough to the green and there is nothing blocking the path of the ball, you can use a putter from this position.
Even if your ball is in a green-side bunker, that does not completely rule out the use of the putter. If the sand is very compact and there is no lip to the bunker, you can play the shot using the putter and get the ball on the green and close to the hole.
You may have a few puzzled looks as you walk to your ball with the putter in hand but if the conditions are right, it is easier to use the putter than a wedge, even from the bunker.
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