Good putting is where you can improve your golf score the most. It takes practice to improve, but you can with consistent and deliberate practice. To help you get started here are few of the best putting tips to take your game to the next level.
Everyone wants to consistently sink those ten feet and closer putts. Seems simple to do, but we all know it doesn’t work that way. We’ve all missed our share of way less than ten foot putts.
The key to gain more control and consistency with your putter is train within a system using proven techniques and tools.
Best Putting Tips – A System of Improvement
Tip One – Ensure proper set up and alignment.
One of the first steps in improving your putting is to make sure you have the correct set up and alignment.
The proper set up includes the alignment of eyes, shoulders, and putter face to the target line. Our posture needs to be in balance and our nose needs to be over the ball.
It may seem to you that you are properly aligned once you step over the putt. But, very often if you step back off the putt while you are practicing and set a club down to check your alignment, you might be completely surprised to see that you are way off target.
When this happens it may be best to retrain your eyes to aim accurately. One tool we have found to help improve aim and alignment is the Putting Mirror.
Several top pros use this training device to hone their putting stroke.
Current Professional’s using the EyeLine Alignment Mirror Include:
– 16 of the Top 20 Players in the World (OWGR)
– 7 of the Top 10 in “Strokes Gained Putting”
– 9 of the last 12 Major Champions
– 0 is the Number of Players Paid to Use EyeLine
The Putting Alignment Mirror is the perfect way to train yourself to get into the proper alignment.
All you have to do is line the mirror up on your target line, check your setup lines, align your eye postion and GO.
Sink a few putts using the tool and you will build the confidence to know your putter face is aligned and eye position is accurate.
Tip 2 – Use Marks on Your Ball to Guide Your Stoke to the Hole
Most professional golfers use straight lines on their golf ball to aim their golf ball. In fact, many golf balls such as Srixon and Callaway include alignment marks already printed on the ball.
It’s pretty simple to use the line on your ball to aim the ball to the hole. Place the line to left to aim at the left side of the hole. Aim it to the right to hit the right side of the hole. Aiming to either side helps deal with any slope or curve you are reading into the putt.
One caveat to using a line to aim at longer putts, say those 25-30 footers, or putts with major break. It is very hard to properly align the mark to the hole on these lengths of putts so many times it is better to rely on ‘feel’ than use your alignment mark for these putts.
If you want to take the alignment line a step further, we have found a great tool that not only includes the straight line, but another line that helps you line the face of the putter squarely on the ball. It’s called the Impact Ball Liner 3-Pack by Hank Haney.
We’ve used this tool and it works! You’ll feel more confident over the ball and will for sure sink more putts!
Tip 3 – Swing the Putter on the Target Line
It has been found that 25% of the where your putt rolls is determined by the path the putter travels during the stroke. It is important then to make sure your stroke is on the target line for both the back and forward swing.
There is really no reason, especially for shorter putts, to take the putter back more that 3-5″ inches. Make a shorter back stroke allows you stay more on line with the target line.
Your forward stroke (after you hit the ball) should also stay on the target line. We typically recommend your forward batch be about double the back stoke. But, most importantly, stoke on the target line.
Tip 4 – Strive to Stick the Ball in the Center of Your Putter
This is a no brainer, right? But, you’ve surely noticed that you hit the ball off the toe or heel of your putter more often than you like. We all do it!
It is important to know, however, that 75% of where the ball rolls is determined by the aim of the putter face when it impacts the ball. It is vital to hit the center of the ball with the sweet spot of the putter if you want square, straight putts.
It is also important to ensure the putter face is square to the target line. (This largely based on taking the steps noted in Tip 1.)
You’ll know you struck it close on the center of the putter when your ball rolls end-over-end to the cup.
Tip 5 – Practice Various Lengths of Putts Before a Round to Pick Up the Correct Pace of Your Stroke
The best way to warm up your putting before a round is to practice putts of various lengths.
Pick a spot (it doesn’t have to be an actual hole) ten, twenty and thirty feet from you and roll a few putts to those spots.
This will give you a good feel for the greens and hone in your putting stroke for those longer distances.