Alright, let me tell you about this whole ‘malnati golfer’ thing I went through. It wasn’t exactly about becoming a pro like Peter Malnati, though I guess seeing guys like him on TV sort of kicked things off in my head.
My golf game, especially my putting, was just dreadful. Seriously awful. I’d hit a decent drive, maybe an okay approach shot, get it somewhere near the green, and then… disaster. Three putts, four putts, sometimes even worse. It was driving me nuts. Felt like I was just throwing away shots constantly.
Getting Serious (Sort Of)
So, one weekend, after another round that made me want to chuck my clubs in the lake, I decided I had to actually do something. I couldn’t just keep complaining. I remembered watching some tournament highlights, saw Peter Malnati putting. He looked steady, you know? Not flashy, just solid. Made me think, okay, maybe I don’t need some magic trick, maybe I just need to actually practice putting.
Usually, I’d go bash balls at the driving range, ’cause that feels more fun. But this time, I forced myself to just go to the practice green. Spent a solid hour just rolling putts.
The Grind
- I started real close. Like, three-foot putts. The kind you should make every time.
- Did about 20 of those. Missed a few, which was annoying.
- Then moved back to six feet. Way harder. Missed a lot more.
- Tried some lag putts from further away, just trying to get the speed right.
Honestly, it was boring at first. And frustrating. You stand there, hitting the same little shot over and over. My mind started wandering. Thinking about work stuff, what I needed to fix around the house, even what I wanted for dinner. Funny enough, Lou Malnati’s pizza popped into my head – maybe because the name was stuck from thinking about the golfer? Chicago deep dish sounded pretty good after missing five six-footers in a row.
The Little Change
Then I realized, that was probably the problem. My focus was shot. I wasn’t thinking about the putt; I was thinking about pizza or emails. So, I tried something different. I forced myself to clear my head before each putt. Took a breath. Looked at the line, looked at the hole, looked back at the ball. Tried to make the stroke smooth, not jerky.
It wasn’t like a miracle happened. I still wasn’t sinking everything. But I started hitting the ball more solidly. The misses weren’t quite as bad. Felt like I had a tiny bit more control.
It’s kind of like this thing we dealt with at my old job. We had this big project, everyone was rushing, trying to add fancy features before we even got the basic stuff working right. I kept arguing we needed to slow down, build a solid foundation first. Management didn’t want to hear it. Guess what? The project was a mess. Took ages to fix the core problems later.
Putting felt the same. I was trying to jump ahead, thinking about the score or the next shot, instead of just focusing on the simple task right in front of me: hit the small ball into the small hole.
So, yeah. That’s my ‘malnati golfer’ practice story. Still working on it. My putting isn’t amazing now, but it’s definitely better than it was. I don’t dread getting to the green quite as much. Maybe one day I’ll be as steady as that guy Malnati. Or at least good enough to earn myself some celebratory pizza after a round.
