A Simple Putting Tip

Here's a really simple putting tip. It's not for everyone, but if you have a tendency to move your body during your putting stroke then this putting tip could help you out.

A lot of amateur golfers have a tendency to move their body when they put, which is probably the cause for them missing a lot of their putts. I see them swaying their body with the putting stroke.

If this describes your putting stroke then try this the next time you're on the putting green. Try setting up like Arnold Palmer used to do when he putted. Arnold would point his toes inward so that he was in a pigeon-toed stance.

This may feel awkward at first, but it will definitely help lock your body into position throughout your putting stroke. You really don't have anything to loose by trying this putting stance.

So give this putting tip a try and let me know if it works for you.

Tags: golf, golf tips, golf instruction, golf lesson, putting tip

Having Trouble Lining Up Your Putts?

Here's a really simple putting drill to identify your dominant hand while putting. This putting drill will help you more consistently hit your putts on line.

Place some golf balls about 5 to 6 feet from the hole. Now grip the putter as you normally would and remove just your left hand. Start putting the golf balls towards the hole. The object is to make 6 balls in a row. Repeat this step with your left hand.

After you've completed the putting with your left hand you should have a clear understanding of what hand had more control over the putts. Basically which one did you feel most comfortable putting with. The majority of us golfers dominant hand is the hand that we felt most comfortable putting with.

What we've done is determine which hand should be the controlling hand and which one is the supporting hand. For me my right hand is the controlling hand and I typically address a putt with just my right hand and the putter and looking down the line to line up my putt. I suggest you do the same.

If you found that you non-dominant hand was much weaker than your dominant hand then you should practice this drill until you feel it has more control. See my previous putting drill post to help you out with this.

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Great Putters Master Putts Within 6 Feet

Some putts are more important than others and I believe the most important putts are those inside of 6 feet. If you're making a high percentage of these putts then it means you're stroking the golf ball very well, which builds confidence for the longer putts... and confidence to a golfer means everything. It also means you can go at longer putts aggressively, knowing you can make the comebackers.

I feel the best way to practice short putts is in a competitive situation. I personally like to do putting games on the practice putting green with my golf buddies for a small wager, or you can even use your imagination to simulate a competitive situation. Being challenged is the best way to lessen fear and build confidence.

There are some golfers that don't like to hit short putts before a round. They feel if they miss a few that they'll loose their confidence, which is a real backwards way of thinking. Before I play round I want to know if I'm stroking the 6 footers good or not... and if I'm not then it gives me the opportunity to correct the problem before taking it to the golf course.

Consistently making short putts takes discipline, toughness, concentration, and the right attitude. Never take them for granted.

The next time you're at the practice putting green try putting nothing but 6 footers for at least 30 minutes and do this several times before you play your next round of golf. I guarantee you're putting will dramatically improve from both short and long range.

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Save Strokes With This Lag Putting Drill

A lot of amateur golfers have difficulty with putts from distance that usually cause them a few extra strokes during their round of golf. Here's a putting drill to quickly improve your lag putts.

I've usually seen this drill performed with white kite string, but it can also be done with golf tees. This drill is excellent for uphill, downhill, or flat putts. It is a great putting drill for golfers of any level of play.

The idea behind the drill is to focus entirely on distance control and to not worry about the line or hole. You start off with taking your kite string and cutting it into five 4 foot pieces. Lay the pieces of string down about 3 feet apart. If you don't have string then you can use 2 golf tees to replace each string with the tees representing the ends of the string.

First start off by rolling the first ball just past the first string and try to make it stop between the first and second strings. You then want to roll the second ball over the second string stopping it before the third string, and so on.

Once you've been able to successfully do this for each length of putt from closest to farthest, you then want to mix it up. Putt to the last string, then to the first, then to the third, and so on.

One of the great things about this drill is once you've mastered it to the point of having each ball stop between the strings then the longest second putt you'll have will be 18 inches (imagining the hole located midway between the strings).

You'll be amazed at how good your direction control becomes while doing this drill. Golfers who are line-bound putters have a tendency to have poor distance control. So make sure you take your mind off the line because distance is all we're concerned with during this drill.

Try this lag putting drill the next time you're at the practice green and I know your distance control will improve. I bet you'll drop a few strokes from you next round by eliminating those 3-putts from distance.

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Do You Have A Good Putting Tempo?

When golfers think about tempo they usually think about their golf swing, which is a good thing because a good swing tempo means consistent golf and scoring.

There's also putting tempo and not many golfers realize that this is just as important as swing tempo. While alignment and a straight back and straight through putting stroke are important, your tempo or rhythm is probably more important. Your putting stroke tempo will control the speed and distance of your putts. If you have a good putting tempo then your speed and distance will be consistent from putt to putt.

A good putting stroke tempo or rhythm is defined as one that has a constant speed going back and coming back through. Just like the pendulum of a grandfather clock going back and forth at a constant speed. A putting stroke with good tempo is controlled by the arms and shoulders where the backstroke and follow-through move at the same speed and are of equal lengths. The putter just acts as an extension to your arms and is along for the ride.

To see if you have a good putting stroke tempo take your putter and make a putting stroke without a golf ball. Pay attention to the speed going back and coming back through. Also notice the distance you take the putter back and follow-through. If you notice that either the speed or distance are not equal then you know you need a little work. You may need a golf buddy to watch and tell you if your tempo is off. Continue to do this until you feel like both the speed and distance of the takeaway and follow-through are the same.

Then get a few golf balls and try it at home on the carpet or on the practice putting green. It may take a little bit to get used to it, but it will be well worth it. You should see an immediate improvement of your speed and distance control the next time you're on the practice putting green.

Let me know if this putting tip helps you out.

Tags: golf, golf tips, golf instruction, golf lesson

How To Make A Solid Putt Everytime

Here's a really simple, but effective putting tip to help you strike your putts solid and square every time. You'll need two 3 inch nails, about 11 feet of kit string, and a Sharpie. You'll want to perform this on the practice putting green at your local golf course.

1. Find a straight line on the putting green of about 10 feet.

2. Place one of the 3 inch nails on line with direction you'll be putting. When you push the nail into the ground make sure it's high enough for your putter blade to fit under.

3. Place the other 3 inch nail about 10 feet from the other nail in line with the direction you'll be putting.

4. Tie the string to both ends of the nails making sure it's tight enough so that the string doesn't sag.

5. Now draw a straight line completely around the center of your golf ball with a Sharpie. One of those tools for creating a line on your golf ball works best.

6. Next set your golf ball down next to the string near one of the nails with the line on your golf ball parallel to the string.

7. Finally strike the golf ball along the line of the string. This will require your putter head to slide underneath the string to be able to strike the golf ball solidly. If the golf ball wobbles then it means you hit it of center. If the golf ball doesn't wobble, but goes away or into the string then it means your alignment is off.

This drill provides immediate feedback if your not striking the golf ball on the center of the putter face.

You can do one more thing with this drill to help you take the putter straight back. Take 2 golf tees and place them perpendicular to the string at the location where you're striking the golf ball. You want the tees to be barely wide enough for your putter head to fit through. At first you may want to give yourself a little more space for your putter head to fit through, but you should eventually move the tees as close as you can.

It won't take long with this drill to get you striking your putts squarely and solidly every time. Let me know how it works out for you.

Tags: golf, golf tips, golf instruction, golf lesson

An Odd But Effective Putting Drill

Here's a putting drill that I use on occasion while I'm on the practice putting green. The purpose of the putting drill is to work on taking you putter straight back and straight through. It will probably take a few minutes for you to get use to this putting drill, but I guarantee it will keep you steady through the entire putting stroke. The drill works the best with blade type putters like the Scotty Cameron Newport designed putters.

1. Set up to putt a golf ball.
2. Turn the putter head so that the blade part is inline with your putting line. The tip of the putter blade should be right next to the ball.
3. Now attempt to strike the golf ball towards your target. You'll probably need a few attempts before you get the hang of it.

First try this from the 5 foot range with several balls. There's very little margin of error so you'll need to really concentrate and bringing your putter straight back and straight through. After you've made several putts in a row, move on to the 10 foot range. You may get some weird looks on the putting green at first, but they'll soon be amazed at you draining 10 footers with the tip of your putter.

Perform this drill for about 10 to 15 minutes and then go back to your normal putting. You should find yourself extremely accurate on all your putts.

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Do You Have a Pre-Putt Routine?

If you've been keeping up on my putting tips you know how much I stress the importance of a good putting game. There are many parts to making a putt and one of the most important parts is the pre-putt routine. I'm sure you have a pre-shot routine for your golf shots and if you don't you should, but you should also have one for your putting.

Consistency is something that you should have throughout your entire golf game... and consistency starts with your pre-putt and pre-shot routines. You should be doing the same things over and over every time without exception when it comes to your pre-putt routine. This routine will help to get you into a rhythm, which should help with your entire golf game.

If you're not sure what your pre-putt routine should be then think about how you go about putting today when you're on the course. Write the steps down on a piece of paper and take it to the practice putting green to work on a pre-putt routine. If you don't have one then watch the PGA Tour pros pre-putt routine to see if one of them fits your style of play.

Remember that putting accounts for nearly half of all the golf shots you make during a round of golf so it makes sense to become very proficient with the putter... it will be where you'll cut the most strokes off of you score.

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Tried And True Putting Drill

There's a putting drill that I've been using for 20+ years that has never failed me. I don't remember where I read it, but all I know is it does wonders for my putting stroke. There are probably variations on this putting drill that you may have come across in some of the golf magazines.

The drill is performed with 6 or more golf balls from 5 and 10 foot distances:

1. First grip your putter like you normally do and remove your left hand from the putter and start putting with just your right hand. You want to be sure and keep your same putting stroke using only your right hand. Putt at 5 feet from the hole until you've made all 6 balls in a row. Repeat this for 10 feet.

2. Now grip you putter like you normally do and remove your right hand from the putter. Start putting with just your left hand making sure to keep your same putting stroke with only your left hand. This is the most awkward part of the drill for me because my left arm isn't as strong as my right and I feel a little more clumsy. Putt at 5 feet from the hole until you've made all 6 balls in a row. Repeat this for 10 feet.

3. Now grip your putter with your left hand choking down to the end of the grip with the putter grip resting on the inside of your left arm. You want the putter handle to be inline with your left arm so that the putter is an extension of your left arm. Now take your right hand and grip your left forearm at the top of putter. The palm of your right hand will have the putter underneath it with your fingers gripping on to your left forearm. Putt at 5 feet from the hole until you've made all 6 balls in a row. Repeat this for 10 feet.

4. Finally take your normal putting grip and start putting. Putt at 5 feet from the hole until you've made all 6 balls in a row. Repeat this for 10 feet.

This is an easy putting drill to remember and it will really get you putting with a lot of confidence and consistency. I sometimes perform this putting drill in my home when I'm not able to get to the golf course practice putting green.

I recommend this putting drill to any golfer from beginner to scratch. If your in search of a good putting drill as part of your golf practice routine then you should definitely tuck this one into your golf bag.

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Long Putts Are A Breeze

I know for most of us long putts are not a breeze, but there's a drill you can do to make those long putts a breeze.

The key to being good at long putts is knowing the speed/distance to hit the putt. Probably 95 times out of a hundred the average golfer isn't going to make a putt from 30+ feet so to improve on our speed/distance is all we have to insure no 3-putts.

Now to consistently hit good speed/distance you need to be able to hit the putt on the center of the putter face. Hitting a putt outside of the center on the heel or toe will make the putt fall well short on those long putts.

So here's what you can do to help in hitting those long putts solid on the center of the putter face. Take two bandaids and wrap them around the putter face on the inside and outside of the centerline leaving a 1/2 inch gap between the bandaids. Make sure the soft cushy part of the bandaid is on the face of the putter. Now take a few golf balls from the 30+ foot range and start stoking them towards the hole. If you hit the putt off the bandaid you'll know it immediately because of the sound, but more importantly it will fall well short of the hole.

The reason why the bandaids are important is so you know when you miss hit a putt because it will give you immediate feedback. When you're putting from distance on the putting green you may not know that the reason a ball fell 8 feet short was because it hit on outside the centerline area.

Perform this drill when ever you're struggling with your long putts... and when 3-putts from 30+ feet are becoming the norm instead of the exception.
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