Putting: 2 Great Tips For Stress Free Putting

Putting is THE most crucial element of our golf game. On average, the number of putts we take per round will fluctuate from 28 for the pros to 40 and over for the higher handicap golfer. Generally, that equates to about a third of all our shots being putts. How many of us use a third of our practice time on the putting green?

For all of you out there who struggle with your putting and even for those who don't, here are some very helpful tips which I guarantee will take shots off your score in a very short period of time. These tips have helped me get over the "yips" and have made a marked improvement in my putting. By improving your putting by only 10%, you can expect to take at least 2 to 4 shots per round off your score.

Many preofessional golfers currently, like Tiger Woods, score their golf balls with a black or colored line. Clearly the golfers do this to help with their aim while putting. The main benefit of doing this, is to have one less thing to think about while making a putt. I'll explain in a moment but in short, the less we have to think about while putting, the less can go wrong. The more positive and relaxed we can be, the more putts we will make.

Golfers tend to miss putts because they are not convinced that they have aimed correctly or will have the proper speed. The doubt that this creates causes all sorts of problems namely:-

* Lifting your head or peeking too soon to see if you have made the putt. Generally, this causes a putt to be pushed because the shoulders have opened up slightly.
* Manoeuvering the putter head to compensate for a perceived error in your aim. Our subconscious believes there is a problem with either aim or speed so tries to adjust our stroke to compensate even though there may be no need to in the first place. This is how the dreaded yips begin.

So to remove both these faults, the first thing to do is mark a black line on half the circumference of the golf ball. (ball marking kits can be bought very cheaply and many balls already have a line on them). How do we make use of this line? Line up your putts as normal and decide how much break there is. Point the line on your ball along the line you have decided to putt along. Once you have done this forget about the line of the putt. You must, however, completely believe you have got your aim correct.

Concentrate now on your ball speed. Stand over your ball and make a few imaginery strokes as normal. While doing so look at the hole not at your ball.Try and FEEL how hard you need to hit the ball to make the putt. Picture if you can that you can see the ball rolling to the cup and falling in.Take as many practice strokes as you feel are necessary to get the feeling of the correct weight of stroke. Make sure you remember this feeling .

Once you are happy with your speed, stand ove rthe ball and make your stroke. Trust it. You must never doubt that you have the proper speed and aim. Never doubt that you have the correct line and proper weight.

All we have to do now is make a good putting stroke.

. You can forget about the line because you have already decided that it is correct. You have already decided what weight of stroke you will use, so you can forget about that. All we need to do now is make a stroke with our putter; straight back and straight through.

We can also get significant feedback from our line on the ball. If the line is wobbling alot as the ball makes its way to the cup then we have not put a good stroke on it. If the line rolls flawlessly end over end and appears to be a continuous line, we have put a great stroke on it. This will give us something else to work on at a later date.

By eliminating most of the processes associated with putting, both mechanical and psychological, we have greatly improved our chances of making the putt.