Last year was a 12 months to remember for Luke Donald as he cemented his place as the world’s number one golfer by becoming the first player in history to finish top of both the PGA ($6.68M) and European Tour (€5.23M) money lists.

Over the course of the year Donald competed in a combined 28 events on both Tours, winning four times – WGC Accenture World Matchplay, BMW PGA Championship, the Scottish Open and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic – and finished in the top 10 on a staggering 20 occasions, including at the Masters and the USPGA Championship.

As you would expect Donald led the way one the European Tour charts with some very impressive stats.

He led in five of the nine stat leaderboards with a stroke average of 69.12, driving accuracy of 75.6%, greens in regulation of 77.5%, 1.694 putts per green in regulation (GIR) and a sand save percentage of 78.6%.

Take a look at Donald's complete 2011 European Tour stats by clicking here.

All Hail Luke...

Interestingly though, in driving distance he was way down the pecking in order in 143rd with an average of 282 yards. At a time when there is so much emphasis on distance, Donald has dominated world golf by having a fantastic, consistent all round game that does not rely on incredible power.

When you watch his swing look out for his extremely smooth and consistent tempo, which remains the same for every club in the bag from wedge to driver. When you’re practicing or playing aim for the same rhythm with every club and see your consistency improve.

Watch his swing here >>>

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Drain it like Donald

The US PGA Tour putting stats show that Donald was first in holing out from the key range of 5-10 feet, successfully converting 65%.

Once again the rhythm and tempo of his stroke is always the same regardless of the length of putt.

To achieve this smooth stroke follow these simple tips:
• Hold the putter with a relaxed grip pressure and soft arms
• Allow the elbows to bend gently and feel the upper arms contact your rib cage
• This will encourage a free flowing release of the putter and the putter face will return to a square impact position without manipulation.

Try this drill:
On the practice green set up as described and hit three putts to a hole around 15 feet away. Focus on the smoothness of the stroke and rate out of 10 (10 for Luke Donaldesque). Now repeat the same three putts but this time play with your eyes closed and rate the smoothness. This will give you the feeling for the ideal rhythm in your stroke.