Putting

Control is key when it comes to perfect putting. From setup positions to the latest and greatest equipment, improve your game with the putting instruction articles below.

Knock It!

Practice makes perfect with this simple drill

Here’s another easy tip to apply the next time you’re on the putting green. Simply place a golf ball about six inches behind your ball and make a stroke. If you miss the ball (swinging either above it or to the side), then your backswing path is offline or too steep. Take a look at the illustration, and you’ll see that I actually knock the second ball as my putter swings back.

Putting Problems

The top 5 mistakes you should avoid in your putting game

If you look at any great player, he or she has a routine for every shot. And when it comes to putting, better players know that sticking to a routine is necessary for making consistent strokes. Now, what kind of routine should you have? That’s up to you. Just try and incorporate what I’m doing here, which is looking at the putt from behind the ball, about halfway down the putting line and one more look from behind the hole. This helps to get a clear picture of the slope and speed. All that’s left here is for me to make a couple practice strokes and hit the ball. Just remember, this is my routine because it happens to work well for me.

Keep It Stable!

Why solid putting demands a stable base.

If you want to become a better putter, you have to learn to stabilize the lower body as much as possible. All great putters have a rock-steady lower half and swing the putter from above the waist. Now, deciding whether you’re a hands-driven putter or a shoulder-driven putter (or both!) is a matter of personal style, but one thing is for sure: No matter how you choose to swing with the upper body, the lower body must stay as still as possible.

Short Putts

The three simple keys to consistently sinking short putts are: making contact with the center of the putterface, making contact with a square putterface that’s on-line to the target and accelerating the clubhead through impact. If you learn to do these three things, your short putting, and overall putting, will improve quickly and should stay solid for good.

Cure Your Yips!

Can't knock it in from five feet? My tips will cure your yips!

Why do people get the yips? From a lack of confidence they feel after missing short putts and from anticipating poor impact.

Knee Knockers

Down the stretch, the last thing you want is to find yourself uncomfortable over a short putt. In most cases, the yips comes from the golfer decelerating, the putter then strays offline and well, there you have a missed putt!

Show Me The Money!

Unlike the full swing, putting requires the utmost in limited and controlled movements. Any swaying, lifting or sliding can cause you to miss putts. The same holds true for your eyes. Any deviation from the golf ball through impact can lead to a variety of mis-hits that affect not only your aim but your distance control as well.

One Hand Control

In everyday life, we rarely use both hands to accomplish a motor task. This is one of the reasons why putting with just one hand on the handle can yield positive results.

Set Up Like A Pro

Unlike the golf swing, there are almost no centrifugal forces at work in the putting stroke. Therefore, whatever you do at address pretty much determines what you’ll do with the putter during the stroke. In studying the best players on Tour, it’s easy to find common denominators in both their setup positions and strokes. Obviously, there are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part, common traits run rampant in the setup positions of great putters. Specifically, they establish four key setup lines.

Putt In Rhythm

A square putterface and a straight-back, straight-through path are crucial fundamentals for a solid stroke. These two elements control direction, which is undeniably one of the two most important aspects of good putting. However, perhaps the most important fundamental, rhythm, is often overlooked. Rhythm establishes the steadiness of the putting stroke and is the main factor in controlling distance and speed. Rhythm is the heartbeat of a good stroke, and is at least as important, if not more so, than any other aspect of successful putting.

Try The Triple Grip

The putting grip best represents the individuality of golf. On Tour, if there are 160 golfers playing in an event, you’ll find no less than 160 different putting grips.