The putter is golf’s most used club, and whatever standard we play to, we can all improve our putting and benefit from the best putting tips. Even a few minutes a day working on your putting at home can make a big difference, and for those who can find the time to get to the course, practice can still be boring and unproductive if you only ever roll putts at a hole.
In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Katie Dawkins runs through her expert tips, shares a handy technique checklist and introduces a set of 5 putting games which are devised to make practice more effective and fun…
Before you try out any of my putting games, it’s a good idea to make sure your fundamentals are sound by checking that your putter, grip, stance and alignment are not holding you back.
Does Your Putter Sit Flat To The Surface?
The sole of your putter should ideally sit flat to the ground at set-up. If either the heel or toe is up, it can lead to faults in your stroke that you will then have to compensate for. If your putter is poorly fitted and too short, for instance, you will push putts out to the right of the hole. A putter fitting specialist can help pinpoint the right club for your stroke.
Set-Up Fundamentals
Make sure your eyes are over the ball. You can check this by dropping a golf ball from between your eyes – where it lands is where it should be. Anchor your elbows gently into the sides of your body to encourage a pendulum action and prevent the wrists from taking over.
You should be able to draw an imaginary triangle between shoulders and hands to connect them. If you’re standing the right distance away, you should feel neither stretched nor crowded over the ball.
(Image credit: Tom Miles)
Grip
There are a number of ways to hold your putter and it’s really down to the individual, but do experiment with various grips to see which you prefer, whether conventional, left-below-right, or the claw.
The one thing you must never do is hold your putter as you would an iron, because this kind of grip is too much in the fingers and can cause your wrists to get too active and flick at the ball.
Holding the putter so that it runs through the life lines in the palms of your hands will effectively see you putt in a more ‘hands-free’ way. Your hands should adopt a soft hold such that…
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