Doc and Roll

Dr. Craig Farnsworth, PGA Tour putting guru and the author of See It and Sink It, prescribes another solution for mastering the

By Bob Russo

You’re watching CBS’s recent broadcast of the Byron Nelson Championship when analyst Nick Faldo, a six-time Major winner, connects on-camera with Scott McCarron, who just fired an eight-under-par 62 for a top-four finish.
   
“Putting was a major key to your success,” Faldo says, “and I know you’ve worked with my good friend, Dr. Craig Farnsworth.”
   
“Yes, I’ve worked with the Putt Doctor this year and he has helped me quite a bit.”
   
Okay, now I’ve heard everything—a Putt Doctor?
  
Dr. Farnsworth is a former Denver optometrist who diagnoses illnesses of the “flat stick” variety and prescribes treatments that bring smiles to the faces of Tour players, elite amateurs and budding youngsters.
   
And a lot of his “patients” do call him “the Putt Doctor.” Or, for short, “Doc.”
   
In 1998, Dr. Farnsworth sold his highly successful optometry practice to become a full-time “putting guru” for PGA and LPGA Tour pros, plus top amateurs.
   
Doc has been doing the guru thing for about a dozen years now. To ensure a steady supply of students, he relocated with his wife, Mary Ann, to the California desert golf mecca of La Quinta. Although he works out of the private practice facility at The Palms Golf Club, which boasts more than 45 professionals and 50 plus-handicap amateurs on its membership roster, Farnsworth also travels the world of professional golf tournaments, collegiate practice sessions, summer clinics, speaking engagements and the like—all focused on one objective: to help people make more putts!
   
“As we all know,” says Dr. Farnsworth, “making more putts is critical to winning golf tournaments.” And, obviously, it’s critical to continuing to be a popular, trusted putting adviser to more than 125 Tour pros, many of whom are driven mildly crazy by the simple act of rolling a ball on a green.
   
Craig was hooked on golf from the moment his father Dode, a respected club pro, put a putter in his hands at age 14 in Sullivan, Ind. But despite the fact he was a regular competitor in local golf tourneys, both in Indiana and Colorado, he got his start as a “sports vision expert” by helping professionals like Nuggets forward Kiki Vandeweghe, Broncos running back Tony Dorsett (yes, a short stint in Denver) and shooter Bob Fogh. And, he even helped train classified military commandos (that wasn’t sports).
   
His big break came in 1995 after he delivered a keynote address at the National Sports Medicine Congress in Indianapolis, Ind. An audience member told legendary golf instructor David Leadbetter about Craig’s innovative testing and training methods to maximize vision accuracy.
   
Leadbetter began sending his players—starting with Bernhard Langer and Faldo—to Farnsworth for diagnostic evaluation and remediation. The doctor has been up and running almost exclusively as a golf instructor ever since.
   
Farnsworth’s crowning achievement came in 1996 when he helped Faldo win the Masters. Soon after, he published his first book, See It & Sink It, which changed the face of putting. Since then, more than 90 percent of PGA Tour players have adopted his method of alignment, including Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson.
   
Starting in 2004, Farnsworth went high-tech. He acquired a proprietary computer diagnostic system to analyze scientifically virtually every aspect of a putting stroke.
   
The computer measures aim at address, path angle, path arc, toe/heel impact, aim at impact, acceleration, rhythm and backstroke-length to forward-stroke length.
   
Listen to Farnsworth’s analysis of Faldo’s putting stroke during a recent lesson:
   
“Nick, as you can see, your putter face is slightly closed at address. Your path angle, from the backstroke, through impact to the finish is ideal. You have a slight toe-hit, which in part is because of your setup position. And, there is a slight loop to your  stroke. However, you have good acceleration through impact. Your tempo is very good and your backstroke length to forward stroke length is ideal.
   
“Now look at the next stroke, where we recommended you move the ball back in your stance one-half ball: Your aim at address is perfect and your aim at impact was perfect, too. Plus, you reduced the amount of loop in your stroke to practically zero by just changing your grip pressure.”.
   
Faldo, privately a first-rate comedian, quips, “Knew that.”
   
After Doc analyzes the patient’s putting stroke, he offers prescriptions to fine-tune their setup position, alignment, tempo, path, speed, green-reading, etc.
   
Yes, it’s a lot of painfully detailed instruction. Nonetheless, it’s worth its weight in gold for pros like McCarron, Brad Faxon, Annika Sorenstam, Steve Elkington, SeRi Pak, Harrison Frazar, and so many others who make a living making putts.
   
“Of course, every student has a unique stroke,” says Dr. Farnsworth. “So, it would be counter-productive to make everyone putt exactly the same way. Instead, I help each player build a stroke that is natural for them, which can be repeated time after time, especially under tournament pressure.”
   
Over the years, Doc has discovered, based upon his computer analysis, that many of his prescriptions apply to just about every golfer. For example, he advocates that players swing their putter on an arced path rather than straight-back and straight-through. He also wants players to make strokes that are equal or longer on the backstroke than on the forward stroke.
   
Now, any golfer can take advantage of Dr. Farnsworth’s scientific breakthroughs, all of which are contained in his new, just-released book entitled The Putting Prescription – the Putt Doctor’s Proven Method for a Better Stroke.
   
In it, Doc includes hundred of diagnostic tests and step-by-step prescriptions to help any golfer build the right grip, develop a reliable putting stroke, correct mistakes like pulling or pushing putts, improve aim, take advantage of a dominant eye, control speed, green-read—even beat the yips, plus much more.
   
“I’ve had the honor to work with the leading putting coaches in the world and Dr. Farnsworth is the best of the best,” says Mike Adams, a Golf Digest Top-50 Instructor.
  
“As a veteran PGA Tour player, I’ve studied many golf books and listened to more than my share of instructors,” says McCarron. “Dr. Farnsworth’s putting method is the most complete and thorough I’ve read.”
   
As Doc says, “good luck and good putting!”

To learn more about Dr. Farnsworth and his availability for private or group instruction, check out his website at www.puttdoctor.com.
   

A Sneak Peak Inside “The Putting Prescription”

A Putt Doctor’s Diagnostic Test

Stand erect with your putter held at waist height, arms fully extended. Very quickly, you’ll realize you cannot maintain this position. You will instinctively bring your arms closer to your body and bend your elbows slightly to brace your arms against your trunk. What does this tell you? You need to keep your arms closer to your body to prevent overactive hands that can ruin your putting stroke. Adjust your setup so your elbows are positioned nearer to your body, so your upper arms feel more connected to your trunk. This connection is essential to promote big-muscle control during your putting stroke.