Diamond Author
The golf swing is hard, with all its twists and turns, while the putting stroke is simple--just back and forth. It might take you years to learn how to swing the club reliably well, but you can learn to putt in no time if you know what you're doing. And since a putt counts as much as a drive, there's every reason to know.
Every golf stroke is built around angles and planes. That might sound complicated, but it's not. It means that before you make the stroke, you set up so the only way you can move is the correct way. Like a well-hung door that swings easily on its hinges and effortlessly latches shut, when your setup to the ball is correct, all you have to do is turn back and through for the ball to go right where you're aiming it.
We'll say you've picked out the line you want the ball to start out on. Set your putter down behind the ball with the putter face square to that line. Now step into a stance with your feet parallel to that line. You will be bent slightly from the hips, with your arms hanging straight down, and your eyes will be directly above the ball.
Keep your upper arms close in. They can touch your torso lightly, but they do not need to be pressed against it. Your hands must hold the putter lightly. They should grip the putter only as much as it takes to keep the handle from wiggling inside your hands when you swing it back and forth.
To make the stroke, gently rock your shoulders back and forth. Let your hands and arms move with your shoulders all in one piece. Your head will stay still, as will your lower body.
Practice that stroke in this way. Get twenty golf balls and putt each one to a hole three feet away with only your right hand on the club (left hand for left-handed golfers). Make whatever adjustments are needed for all the putts go in the hole. Then repeat with both hands on the club, and using the same feeling of the one-handed stroke. This exercise teaches you to hit the ball straight.
How hard you hit the putt is of considerable importance, perhaps more so than which direction. More putts finish by more distance short than to the right or left.
Lay a club on the ground eighteen inches behind the hole, so the club shaft and the line of your putt make a T. Practice hitting putts that deliberately miss the hole, but just come to rest against the club shaft. This is the speed at which putts should approach the hole so they have the best chance to go in.
Do this exercise with different lengths of putt, uphill putts, downhill putts, and sidehill putts. Get used to having the ball approach the hole at a consistent speed.
You will be amazed at how much these three tips will improve your putting.
About this Author
Bob Jones is a golf researcher who can show you the reason why you don't strike the ball as consistently as you would like to. It's a little thing, and anyone learn to do it right, in just minutes, right at home. Find out what it is right here.
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