Tips to improve your putting

Step One

Line Up Your Golf Ball

Tiger Woods does it. And the only reason Jack Nicklaus never did it is because nobody had thought of it yet. I don't know who first thought of it, but they are a genius.

Think about like this. If you do not use a line on the ball to line up on your target line, there is no other visual reference. The line doesn't exist and you are left to a mental picture that is vague at best.

Fortunately, most ball makers are putting a line of sorts on their balls. But still, the more visible the line, the better it is. So get out your Sharpie and put something on that ball that really jumps out at you.

And it will help if you practiced lining up the ball a little bit. You don't have to be at the golf course. Just point it at something on the carpet at the house. But don't let the word practice scare you. I just mean work on it for about five or ten minutes and you will have it mastered and ready for use at the golf course.

If you are missing a lot of putts to one side or the other once you start lining the ball up, you may need to adjust your aim a little.

And, this is important, if you are not comfortable with the alignment of the ball once you get over the putt, back off a look at it again. Nobody is going to care and it only takes 10 seconds to do it. And most likely by the time you stand back up to the putt it will look right. If it still doesn't look right, then it is wrong and you should realign the ball.

There is nothing that will improve your putting quicker than to create a physical visible reference to what has, up until now, been an imaginary line.

Step Two

Focus on the Speed

Speed is KING! Put it in its proper place.

I work at a golf course and play with players of all levels. I myself shoot in the mid 70's. In my experience, speed is the biggest problem for most players when it comes to putting. The same players who spend a lot of time on the line hit the ball way to hard or too easy.

You should think hard about the speed and make a couple of practice strokes while you are standing behind the ball. I also find it helpful to look at the hole as I do this.

It is a matter of feeling the arm stroke required to get the ball into the hole. And you have to get feeling for the speed before you ever step over the putt. If you are trying to figure out the speed after you step over the putt, it is too late.

You have to commit to the speed before you get over the ball, and then establish the feel for the speed from your putting position with two or three practice strokes. Don't make the mistake of worrying about the path or anything else on your practice strokes. They are only for the speed.

Always remember that speed is crucial and should be your primary concern. You can't really read a putt if you don't have an idea of the speed to base the read on. And that's just another reason for speed to be on the top of your list of putting concerns.

Step Three

Follow the Line

You have lined up your golf ball, and committed to your speed. Now it is time to approach the ball and get set up to hit the putt. Most people just waste the approach to the ball, when it can ,really be a beneficial few seconds.

The only thing that comes close to speed in importance is line, and it is a close second. By the time you have gotten behind the ball for a final look at the read, you should be comfortable and committed to the speed. As you take that final look at the read, follow the line on the ball for a final visual check.

You will likely have a few little steps to make as you walk up to take you stance. As you do, follow the line on the ball out to the area directly in front of the ball for a foot or so. Do this repeatedly until it is time to get lined up.

When line up time comes, you will be very familiar with the line in front of the ball that it will eventually roll over on the way to the hole. It reinforces your perception of the line on the ball by extending that line in your minds eye.

It also allows you get comfortable with the line so you will not have to second guess yourself while you are aiming the putter.

Basic Rules of Putting

I have chosen to add this section because it seems that most golfers are unaware of something that seem common knowledge to me.

1) Faster greens break more than slower greens.

2) Downhill putts break more than uphill putts.

3) If in doubt, play more breaks.

Most players miss short putts by underplaying the break when going downhill and overplaying it going uphill. If that describes you, next time you play double the break you play on your downhill puts and cut it in half for uphillers.

Conclusion

Putting is the most challenging part of golf. It makes all the difference in the world as far as your score is concerned.

To me, it is also the best part of my game. I rarely miss a putt inside of five feet, and I make more than my share in the 5 to 10 foot range. I have many days when I don't miss at all inside of ten feet.

I am not telling you that to brag about my putting. I am just illustrating what a chronic

yipper that can't make a three footer to save their life can achieve if they forget about making a stroke and start looking at the things that will help them make putts. I was once that chronic yipper.

Almost all putting instruction I see is pure BS. Putting is not a science. It is a game. More specifically, it is a target game. Focusing on technique will never help you get better as a putter. If you want to work on your stroke, do it on the practice green.

And if you want to make more putts on the course forget about making a good stroke.

Good putting doesn't take a good stroke. It takes a stroke that consistently hits the ball on the correct line at the correct speed. And I have seen some pretty shaky looking strokes that made a lot of putts.

I have given some valuable insight that will help you putt better because it will remove your mind from the physical stroke and focus on what is really important. Line and speed.

If you would like to learn how to apply the fundamentals of every other target game to your putting so hitting the ball on line will be as instinctive as throwing a ball, I recommend you look at Target Putting. You can do that right now by clicking on the book cover below.

It will change the way you look at putting and make you a significantly better putter within about 15 minutes.

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