Putting is arguably the most crucial area of the game, but without the right putting tips and practice drills you might not be reaching your full potential on the green. Every putt you face on the course can be broken down into three fundamentals – the line, the speed and the read.
To put it simply, you have to read the putt to accurately identify your desired line and speed, and you need to be able to start the ball on your intended line, with a ball speed that matches your intention.
This article, from Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach James Jankowski, outlines some great ways to improve your putting…
Start The Ball On Line
Changing your eye position (over the ball, inside or outside) and head position (head tilt and neck bend) can change your perception of what is straight. For many, left eye over the ball, head tilted square and eyes looking directly at the ball is a good position.
Aim is crucial to consistently holing short putts and you can check this with alignment sticks. Place one stick aiming at the dead centre of the hole and position another perpendicular to that.
(Image credit: Future)
Now take your set up and set your putter head right up against the stick square to target. If it feels open or closed, that will show you what a square putter face should look like.
Are there any references on the putter that look square? The leading edge? The lines? Pay attention to them. If you want to hit putts, simply replace the stick with some tees to reference square and fire away.
Strike location and face control will also influence the line your ball starts on. A good drill to ensure you’re striking the ball out of the centre of the clubface is to set up a gate with two tees just slightly wider than the width of your putter head and hit the ball from the middle of the gate (image below).
(Image credit: Future)
Put a mark or push a tee right into the ground in the dead centre of the gate so the ball is always in the right place. If the putter head passes through the gate, the ball will come out the centre of the clubface.
Dr Paul Hurrion’s research has shown that when the putter has the centre of gravity further from the face (a mallet), an off-centre strike will have more impact on direction but less on speed. If the centre of gravity is closer to the face (a blade), an…
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