The first thing a player should do on a putting green before a round is hit a half dozen or dozen lag putts to get a feel for the speed of the green. Making them is great, but concentrate more on the speed of the putt and getting the ball to stop hole high.

"On longer putts," says Chi Chi, "I open up my stance a little bit, stand a little farther from the ball, and loosen my grip on the club a little bit. These little changes can make a big difference because on a lag putt what you want is to free the arms and shoulders up to swing back farther and come through harder and give the ball a good strong rap without pulling it off line. A good tip for reading long putts is to go halfway between your ball and the hole, and look both ways. You should be able to see the slope, if there is any, clearly from that spot."

An old and excellent guide for lag puts is to try to hit them into a washtub instead of the hole. Aiming at the bigger target will ensure no more than a two- or three-foot second putt; if the ball does go in the hole — bonus. Do try, though, to make at least one no-brainer before heading to the tee because no sensation (not to mention confidence boost) quite matches the Lag-nificent feeling of canning an unlikely long putt.

"From Chi Chi's Golf Games You Gotta Play by Chi Chi Rodriguez and John Anderson. Copyright 2003 by Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. Excerpted by permission of Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Available in bookstores or by calling 1-800-747-4457 or visiting www.HumanKinetics.com. $17.95 plus shipping/handling."