A selection of putting-tips to improve your game

I have decided to put the putting-tips on a separate page, if you are looking for golf tips on driving, iron play or the short game you will find links to these pages here.

So off we go I hope you find something here that helps your game.

Dropping in Those Long Putts When faced with a long putt, carefully study the green for overall slope, individual breaks, grain, wind speed and other factors that may influence your stoke. Having decided on the proper target line, pick a spot along the line a few feet in front of your ball and aim for that. Once your feet and the face of your putter are squared to the target, begin to think in terms of speed and distance. Try to visualize the ball rolling along the desired path and into the hole. Then make your putt with confidence. Putt Like a Pendulum When putting, your hands should always be slightly ahead of the club head and the ball. Your arms and shoulders should form a triangle that moves in unison during your back swing and stroke-much like a pendulum.

Just slide the club back without breaking your wrists and the forward again. Be sure to follow through straight along the line of your putt.

Another putting tip to help you improve your game

Place two clubs parallel to the line towards the cup on either side of the ball. Check to see you are swinging your putter through a straight line.

Place a two by four parallel to the line towards the cub outside of the ball. Check to see you are swinging your putter through in a straight line.

Mark the sweet spot with a piece of tape (a half inch by a half inch should do it). See if you can it the sweet spot with each putt.

Place 6 balls in a circle around the hole about 4 feet away. Putt each one in turn. Can you make all six? Remember to read the green before each.

In order to aim for the center of the hole, Place four tees in front of the hole with enough room for a golf ball to squeak through. Try from two and four feet out.

For long putts, use the distance on the practice green. Start with your short putt routine and then hit three from 20 feet. Then three more. Then three more. Are they getting closer?

Remember 90 percent of long putting is judgement of distance.

Contacting the Ball with the Putter

An important thing to remember when putting is the action of the ball itself. A ball that is struck in the center runs much truer than one struck below or above the center.

The latter reacts to any irregularity of the green, but the ball hit amidships rolls over most green imperfections without losing its line. With this in mind I advise my pupils to modify in their own minds the old rule to keep the putter as low to the ground as possible. If you put a ball down on your living room carpet or on a green and place one of today's narrow-bladed putters behind it, you will notice that the center of the ball is in line with the top of the blade.

Consequently, when you putt, you should make a small adjustment in your stroke and concentrate on bringing the center of the blade through the center of the ball. When you make this kind of contact you'll hear that nice crisp sound all good putters produce.

On uphill putts I think you will find you'll get a helpfully strong over-spin on the ball if you shut the face of putter slightly. Conversely, on downhill putts where delicacy is needed, the face of the putter is "turned uphill," or laid back just a shade.

Great Putting video here

Getting Behind the Putt

In my own case, about a year and a half ago after a stretch of in-and-out work on the green, I adopted a slight change in my usual method of putting which did me a world of good. I altered my stance so that my body and arms were more behind the ball.

Getting more behind the putt enabled me to be much surer about many of the elements that make or break you on the green.

It gave me a better line to the hole. It was much easier on my timing. I could hit the ball more solidly—right below the equator.

To sum it up, this new position produced the picture in my mind that I could rollthe ball smoothly and accurately toward the target.

When a player talks about rolling the ball toward the cup, I realize he is going against the present-day fashion, which would have you rap the ball with a sharp, jabby hit.

I don't think these pop strokes and bop strokes are here to stay.

The game's top players could always stroke their putts, and that's the soundest method in the long run, I believe. In any event, getting behind the putt is easy for anyone to adapt to, and it has produced such good results for me that I recommend it to all golfers who are not natural tappers. You see that hole so much better.

Learn more from Richard

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I used to be an in-and-outer on the greens, but I've been putting very well, I'd say, since adopting Bill’s method. Bill is one of the greatest putters any of us have encountered, and since his method is simplicity itself, I'd like to pass it along to you.

The fact that underlies Bills method is the necessity of keeping the face of the putter square to the hole (or to the point on a rolling green you are aiming at) throughout the stroke. The position of the left hand on the shaft is the key to achieving this. At address, with the clubface square, the back of the left hand must set up so that it is absolutely square to the hole. When you take the club back, as the left wrist breaks, the back of the left hand remains square. On the forward stroke, you simply let the weight of the clubhead strike the ball, with the back of the left hand remaining square to the hole right through to the finish of the stroke. When the back of the left hand is square to the hole, the putter face is also square because they are always at the same angle.

Let me point out again, since it is very important, that on the forward stroke you don't urge the blade on with a deliberate action of the hands. You just let the weight of the clubhead create its own speed. The ball will be struck true and will roll with perfect rotation. All in all, it's a method that enables you to keep your body motionless when you putt and, moreover, it develops touch.

Cut That Slice

It is possible to slice a putt, and golfers who do so usually are hitting with the face of the putter open at impact.

Most likely they’re standing too close to the ball. They take the club back, then as they swing forward to stroke the ball, they realize they cannot swing comfortably at a ball positioned so close to their feet. So they adjust by pulling their hands and wrists closer to the body, and in doing so, they force the heel of the putter to lead the swing, opening the blade.

To cure this, take your stance a little farther from the ball. Soon you’ll be hitting your putts with a square face again.

The Eye Over the Ball in Putting

It doesn't make any difference if you have an unorthodox grip or stance when you putt, but two things are vital: your eye must be directly over the ball, and you must stroke the ball to make it rotate end-over-end.

You have undoubtedly noticed that manufacturers are now making putters more upright. This is to help the golfer keep his eye directly over the ball. Every great putter I have seen does this. In effect, their eyes act in the capacity of eyes for the ball. The ball can only "see" the line when your eyes are directly over it. If they are not, your eyes will see one line while the ball "sees" another, and I don't think I need to go into the results of that.

When your eyes are over the ball, you have a much better chance of stroking it accurately and imparting end-over-end-rotation. End-over-end rotation means that the ball is contacted so squarely that it rolls "over itself," on the same vertical axis, there being no side-spin as there inevitably will be when the ball is cut or pulled or mis-putted in some other manner. If a putt stroked with end-over-end rotation hits a corner of the cup, it will not spin off and will usually drop. Some people use a little gadget and draws a circle around their putting balls so they can check exactly how the ball is rotating. Just like using a range ball for putting.

EYES WIDE SHUT

An great way in which to perfect your putting stroke is to practice with your eyes shut. This drill will shift your attention away from the mechanics of the stroke and force you to concentrate on feel. The urge to lift your head too soon to see where the ball is going will vanish. The net result will be less anxiety on putts of all distances.

Practice this drill:

Hit a series of 10-foot putts with your eyes closed. Make sure you are settled in correctly. Then, simply concentrate on hitting the putt solidly with an accelerating motion on the forward stroke, utilizing an ultra-smooth stroke (see tip below on how to get that!)

Remember, the goal is to two putt. One putting is icing on the cake. Always think of a two foot perimeter around the hole. If you are 15 feet or further away, try to sink in one, but ultimately, the best course of action for a weekend golfer is to shoot within that two foot perimeter.

The secrets to judging speed and break

This is one of the toughest parts of the golf game to improve...and usually it takes practice and experience to make any significant change. However, there are some things you can do to help you improve your consistency on the greens and help you to sink more putts.

First, keep the following in your mind when judging your putts or chips.

1. Examine the "Grain:" The term 'grain' is simply the direction is which the grass grows.

This can be determined by looking for the 'shine' or 'sheen' of the putting surface.

When the green reflects the sun and appears brighter, you are looking down grain.

Putts down grain, or with the grain, will run faster.

Another method of determining grain is to stroke your putter in the fringe just off the putting surface (make sure you are on the fringe and not on the actually green).

Fringe grass usually has the same grain as the green.

2. Read the Contour: When waking to the green, study the general slope of the land.

Remember, most greens are built higher at the back and lower toward the front. This will definitely impact how you play a shot on the green...or even as you approach the green.

When you are putting from the front of the green (assuming that it slopes downward from back to front), the putt will be uphill. When you are putting from the back, downhill.

Any putt across such a green will usually break toward the front lower portion of the surface.

These are simply good "general" rules to keep in mind as you approach the green.

Now, think about these 2 elements (Contour and Grain) together.

- Putts running with the grain will tend to "run" faster.

- When you are putting cross-slope and your putts are running with the grain they will break more.

- And likewise, if you are putting cross-slope against the grain, your putt with break less.

- When you putt against the grain...give it a little "more." Your putts will tend to run slower so you may leave it short more often if you aren't careful.

- When you putt downhill, with the grain, you putts will not only run faster but they will break more.

- And the opposite is also true. If you are putting uphill, against the grain, expect your putts to run slower and break less.

By keeping these very simple "rules" in mind and reading the greens as you approach you should be able to improve your consistency on the greens and sink more putts.

Plus, everyone knows...you drive for show and putt for dough...

Here's another good putting drill for you to work on ideally in front of a mirror at home.

Trap the shaft of a club underneath your arms, across your chest, and address the ball as normal.

As you putt, make sure the shaft remains firmly in place against your chest.

This will help you maintain the necessary shoulders and arms triangle formation, which is essential to a solid, repeating putting stroke.

You will find a great selection of putters here

If you cant find what you are looking for, why not try Google Search!

Judging the Speed of a Putt

You can learn something about the pace of your putt simply by studying the putting surface. Look at the striped patterns left by the mower. The darker strip is cut against the grain and the lighter strip is cut with the grain.

The darker strip grass will be standing more upright and will provide more resistance to the ball. On the other hand the lighter grass is lying flatter which will allow the ball to run with less resistance, producing a faster putt.

Plumb Bobbing!

The rule of thumb when judging a break, and the size of the break, is to use plumb bobbing. Yes, that's a real word ( or words!)

First, you need to find your dominant eye. Make a circle with your thumb and forefinger, and with both eyes open, place an object in the middle (i.e. a lamp, a flag, a picture, etc). Now alternately close the left eye, and the right. Whichever eye "keeps" the object in the middle is your dominant eye.

Now, take this to the golf course. Line up your putter, hanging freely, behind your ball so that it matches up with the flag pin. With your dominant eye open, you will see that the ball is to the left, right, or straight on. Straight on, no break. If to the left, the putt will generally break right to left. Conversely, it will break left to right if the pin is to the right. The distance between the ball and pin/hole is GENERALLY the amount of break.

This is not an exact science, but it will help you immensely if you can't read greens at all (like me).

A handy little gadget to practice your putting when you are not on the course is a homemade putting tool. Rather than explain in detail, go to

more information

to see how $5.00 in hardware store parts will greatly enhance your putting, and how you can use it anywhere!!. It's a GREAT tool. (I would actually give it to you, but my purchase does not allow for free distribution. I believe it sells for $3 or $4.00

Putting on the Up

If your putting is on perfect line but is stopping six inches short of the hole, resist the temptation to condemn your putter to the darkest corner of the attack and to try a new one.

The set-up may be to blame. If the ball is hit with the putter moving slightly on the downswing, a certain amount of backspin is imparted so that it will sometimes actually check, or skid slightly before it begins to roll. It may not travel as far as you anticipated.

However when the ball is struck slightly on the upswing, overspin is created and the ball tends to run a little more smoothly and travels further. By moving the ball towards your left foot you will be able to strike the ball slightly on the upswing.