Tyler Wong – Sudden Valley GC

TylerWong Bio: Tyler grew up in Seattle but attended Western Washington University. He turned professional in 2008 and has had a number of top finishes in local chapter PGA events and pro-ams. Of the many roles the club pro plays, Tyler says teaching and running club tournaments are his favorites.

Teaching Philosophy: My approach to teaching is determined by the student’s ability, health, and motivation. I believe certain ‘quick fixes’ can be effective for short-term improvement, but that long-term solutions will have a more lasting effect and improve the player’s abilities. I prefer to work with a student over a long period of time in order to develop a strong working relationship, but I can happily provide short term fixes – whatever the student is looking for. Ultimately, my goal is to improve their enjoyment of the game by enabling them to play to their potential.

Contact: (360) 734-6435

Basic Rate: $45/45 minutes


Good Alignment on the Putting Green

I see a lot of amateur golfers who practice their long game with a club on the ground, showing them where their feet and body are aligned. That’s a great habit to get into. But I hardly ever see them monitoring their alignment on the practice putting green.

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You want to make your putting stance and stroke as simple and repeatable as possible. By adopting a sound address position sub-consciously, you are free to think about the speed and line of the putt. To help ensure your address position is correct every time you set up to a putt, a little work on the practice putting green is necessary.

I like to use a couple of plastic rods to help me align my body correctly. Some very good putters open their feet and shoulders to the target slightly, but I putt my best when my feet, knees, hips and, most importantly, shoulders are aligned parallel to the target line (Image 1). Although opening your shoulders a little is perfectly okay, I have never seen anyone who closes their shoulders to the target become an effective putter (Image 2).

Comfort is of course essential to grooving that repeatable stroke, so experiment a little to find out if you prefer to stand open or square to the target. If, like me, you do better standing square, practice your putting by placing a rod down on the ground (Image 3).

Knowing I am aligned correctly removes a variable from my address position which boosts my confidence on the greens. And good putting is all about confidence. 

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