A Collection of Putting Tips

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A Quick Putting Warmup

How many times have you gotten to the course with just a few minutes left til your tee time. You rush into pay, then if your lucky over to the range to
hit a few balls. Maybe, you go to the green for about two minutes, then race off to the tee.

That is no way to start a round of golf. But if you only have five minutes to warm up, oh well...

When you are pressed and only have a couple of minutes on the green, the first thing you have to do is realize that spending that time hitting as
many putts as you can will only throw your rhythm off once you get on the course.

Instead, take your time and hit maybe just a few good putts, putting in maximum effort on each. Including a read of the putt. Hit them just as you
would on the course. Go through your entire routine and establish a rhythm for the day before you even get to the first tee.

Over the course of a round, the vast majority of the putts you face will be less than twenty feet. You should keep your "warmup" putts within that
distance as well.

You should hit some of them on a level part of the green, some uphill, and some downhill. Of course, if you have more time, use it for sure. But the
main thing to keep in mind if you are pressed for time before teeing off is to work on establishing your putting rhythm with the precious time you do
have.

The key when time is short is to slow down and make each warmup putt or shot on the range you do get to hit as useful as possible. You can do this
by working to establish your rhythm making a few quality golf shots instead of a bunch of miserable ones.

Make at Least One Putt Every Hole

How many times a round do you either pick up your ball when it is a foot or so away from the hole. Or even worse, have one of the guys in your
group kick the ball back to you saying "that's good"?

Each time you don't hole out on the green you are costing yourself a chance to build confidence. You are depriving yourself of the opportunity to
watch the ball go in the hole.

Putting is greatly influenced by attitude and confidence. Much of this is subconscious. You may not notice an effect if you pick up your "gimmies"
until you have an 18 inch putt that means something. Having had most of them kicked back to you, can you consider them automatic.

Nothing builds your confidence like making putts. Remember the confidence you feel after making a string of not so gimmie putts? Think about how
many strikes you would save if you made every putt you had under ten feet. Think about how easy the game would seem if all you had to do to make
par on a par four is put it within ten feet of the hole in three shots.
The first step in rebuilding lost confidence in putting is to start watching some putts drop. Over the course of a round, you may have four or five
"gimmies". Each of those is a lost chance to see a putt go in when it counts.

Think it doesn't matter if the putt is only two feet and you would be "certain" to make it? Well, if you have been taking (and giving) gimmies for
years, you probably rarely see the ball go in the hole from two feet. What is not filled by confidence and experience will be filled by doubt.

Make a commitment to yourself to make that last putt on every single hole. It may only be a foot away, but the visual reinforcement of seeing the ball
go in the hole off of your putter will build confidence over time.

You will find that five footers become easier once you get used to seeing a putt go in on every hole. You will know if you don't make it you will have
to putt again, not just pick the ball up and put it in your pocket.

In Putting, Speed And Break Are Inseparable

As I frequently say, in putting speed is king. In reality, you cannot properly judge the line of the putt unless the speed you intend to hit it has already
been determined.

How may times have you watched a guy putting downhill under play the break on a shorter putt, miss the hole, and then over play the break on the
putt coming back uphill? I would bet this has happened to you.

Uphill putts, being of slower speed, will break less than a downhill putt of the identical side hill slope. By the same token, putts will always break
more on faster greens than on slower ones.

You will also notice that when faced with longer putts, the tour pros will always pay special attention to what happens in the last five feet or so of the
putt. They know that as the ball slows down near the hole the slope will have maximum effect.

When it comes to putting, speed is king to be sure. But it must always be married to Queen Break if you want your putt to have a chance of going in.
It is imperative you understand that if you have a level putt, an uphill putt, and a downhill putt, all of identical side slope, you will have three
different breaks.

As a general rule, it seems to help a lot of people if they putt with the idea of doubling the break they see on downhill putts, and cutting it in half on
the uphillers. On level putts, play what you see.

As important as speed is to a putt if you want it to stop by the hole (if it doesn't go it), it is even more important for determining the proper amount
of break to play. If you are having difficulty playing the right amount of break, remember the general rule and adjust accordingly.

Open Your Stance When Your Putting Goes Awry

Putting touch can come and go. In other articles I have addressed some possible on the course corrections for when your touch is off on any given
day. But what about when your distance is pretty good, but you can't seem to get the ball started on the right line?

Chances are if you are missing your line consistently one way or the other you are simply misaligned. You can try to make a small adjustment to
correct your alignment, but this is very difficult to do on the course.

If you are missing your line on both sides, it is a sign of confusion or lack of commitment. There is nothing you can do, physically at least, to become
more committed.

If getting the ball started on line is a problem, you may want to go to a physical extreme. In other words, do something totally different.

If you are out on the course hitting your putts every which way but in the hole, take a drastic step and open your stance A LOT, say 10 to 15 degrees.
This will help you see the line a little better.

Sam Snead used to say "you gotta dance with who ya brung". But if who ya brung ain't dancin right, why get your toes stepped on? You can bet Tiger
doesn't just resign himself to a mediocre day. I'm sure he tries anything and everything to save a shot.

By making a major change to the alignment of your putting stance, you give the stroke a whole new feel. If what you've got is not working,
something totally different may be just what the golf doctor ordered.

You can always work on correcting a minor alignment problem on the putting green after the round, or on the mat at the house. But on the course,
you need to get the ball in the hole right now. Sometimes that requires drastic measures.

Should The Shoulders Turn In The Putting Stroke

You often hear about the turning of the arms through impact in the golf swing. It is referred to as supination, a term that was introduced by Ben
Hogan. Pronation is used to describe the turning of the arms on the backswing.

Before I get into how this relates to putting, I want you to try something. Take a normal grip and address position. Turn your shoulders slowly to 90
degrees, being careful to not let the position of your arms change in relation to the shoulder and chest.
What you will find is that the left arm appears to have rotated in relation to the ball. But is has not changed in relation to the shoulders at address.
The obvious conclusion is that the arms DO NOT rotate on the way back. The turning done by the shoulders in relation to the ball causes the arms to
rotate in relation to it as well. But the arms do not rotate in relation to the shoulders.

This has implications for your putting stroke. If your shoulders turn at all, so will the forearm and putter. You hear a lot of talk these days about
"releasing" the putter. That simply means allowing the forearms to rotate through the putt. But it is the turning of the shoulders that turns the
forearms. They don't do it on their own and you can't make them with any consistency.

There is not really a big issue with allowing your shoulders to turn during the backstroke, as long as you let them turn the same way on the follow
through. But to me, that complicates things.

The important thing to remember is that the arms do not rotate. It is the turn of the shoulders that causes the arms to appear rotated and the club
face open.

You should work to minimize or eliminate any shoulder turn on your short putts. Ideally, you would simply tilt them slightly along the target line.

Alternately, if you don't feel comfortable with keeping the shoulders square while you are stroking a short putt, work on controlling the turn both
back and through the ball. If you allow the shoulders to turn on the way back, you will have to allow them to turn equally on the other side of the
ball.

Finding Your Putting Feel

When it comes to putting, speed is king. Always has been and always will be. If you hit a putt too hard or leave it short, it won't go in even if it is on
line.

Many times, especially if I don't get a few good putts in on the practice green before teeing off, I will find myself out on the course leaving everything
short, or hitting them all way by the hole.

I have found that the best way to adjust and compensate for these days is to work with my grip pressure.

When I am leaving everything short, gripping the club a little tighter and making the same stroke usually does the trick.

When I am ripping my putts the by the hole by four or five feet, I just loosen up my grip a little and again make the same stroke.

This works for me most of the time when my touch is a little off. But sometimes it doesn't. When that happens, what are you supposed to do?

I would suggest adjusting the height you stand over the ball. This has the effect of creating slightly more or less bending in your arms.

If you are hitting the ball too far, get a little lower to the ball and make the stroke. If you are not getting it to the hole, stand a little taller and stroke
with slightly straighter arms.

If all goes well, you will find your feel and start making some putts before the back nine starts, even on the days when nature leaves you guessing.

Selecting a New Putter

Many times when golfers are putting poorly, they will look to their equipment. Whether or not that is the cause of the problem is doubtful. It is more
likely the golfers lack of belief in the putter than it is the club itself.

Now you see PGA Tour players with long putters, belly putters, two ball putters. All kinds of crazy looking putter heads and grips.

Then you also see things like the "claw grip", left hand low, and God knows how many others.

You see these things so frequently because players lose confidence in their ability, not because they are having equipment issues.

When it is time to get a new putter, there are only a few things that really matter. The most important thing is to pick a putter that is easy for you to
line up. Reread that sentence about five times. It is that important.

If you can't line up your putter properly, you can't putt well. Mine has three lines on the top of a fairly small semi mallet head.

Once you have a putter you can line up, you can make the small adjustments required to adapt the new putter to your stance and address.

It is these unique individual adjustments that each new putter requires that spurs on the improvement. It is the result of doing something just a
little different than normal.

Sometimes that's all it takes to get out of a putting funk. But the truth is, it's never the putters fault. Keep that in mind before you go out spend a
bunch of money on something that will probably not help you in the long term.

Putting From Off The Green

Most golf courses that I have played have had little rough around the greens. Many courses use the same machines for cutting areas around the
greens as they do the fairway.

The reason is obvious. Could you imagine playing behind a foursome of hackers on a PGA Tour course? It would take 8 hours to play! No thank you.

The lack of rough around most greens on most golf courses leaves a lot of opportunity to putt from off the green. It is almost like putting over a few
feet of fairway.

The problem that most people have with this shot is that the ball invariably jumps when you hit it. The grass may be fairly low, but it ain't no green.

Too many times I have watched as my fellow golfers have left simple putts, over just a few feet of fairway height grass, way short or way long. They
always say "the ball jumped on me".

Well, of course it did. And it will next time too. And the time after that. That makes one thing obvious:

On putts from fairway high grass, the most important consideration is planning and predicting how the ball will jump of the lie.

Practice it a little bit. Work on controlling how the ball takes off of the putter face. Try different angles of approach. Steeper or more shallow.

Try to find a particular stroke that gets the ball jumping the same way every time.

A putt from off the green is not just a rolling venture. If you don't learn to control the jump of your ball, the jump will control the ball for you
however it sees fit.

Line Up Your Golf Ball To Putt

As simple and obvious thing as it is to do, I still see most average players fail to line up their ball. I don't care if you you use the brand name or make
a line on it, if you don't have your ball lined up you are putting blind.

I, for the life of me can't figure out why it took the world so long to learn this little trick. I mean really, why use an imaginary line that you can't see
when they make Sharpies.

But I didn't have the sense to do it until I saw somebody else doing it on TV. Innovation takes a while to catch on.

You benefit several ways by lining up your golf ball.

1) You create a visual image of the otherwise imaginary line

2) It makes lining up the putter simple. Not only making it square, but also making sure the putter face is in the same relation to the ball on every
stroke.

3) You have a visual reference for lining up your body and feet.

4) You have a real line of reference for your eye alignment

5) It takes the guesswork out of picking your starting line once you get over the ball.

Just one word of caution. You must be totally committed to the alignment of the ball and the shot. If you don't feel right about the line, take a page
from Jim Furyk and step back behind it again. Adjust if necessary.

Being confident in what you are doing is half the battle. If there is doubt, your odds of success have decreased substantially.

How to Find the Right Putting Grip Pressure for You

Just how important is grip pressure when putting?

Look for a moment at the fact there are so many different kinds of grips used by the PGA Tour pros. It makes it quite obvious that the position of the
hands on the club while you are putting is irrelevant.

There are also many different styles of putters out there. Long ones that go all the way up to the golfers chin to those that insert right into the golfers
belly button! Then you have many types of heads on those of more standard length, all combining to prove that the putter is also irrelevant.

With putting, it all comes down to comfort and confidence. If you are comfortable, you will feel more confident. If you are confident you will feel
more comfortable.

What does all of that have to do with putting grip pressure?

Comfort begins with how tightly you hold the club. But at the same time, it is as individual a thing as the grip or the putter itself.

You hear people all the time trying to explain how tightly, or softly, to grip the putter. The fact is, its totally up to you. It is highly individual. What
works best for me would probably just leave you confused.

So now you know why I started out the way I did. The best grip pressure for you is the one that allows you to be the most comfortable and confident
in your stroke. If you are looking for someone else to tell you how tightly to hold the putter, you will never be comfortable with what you end up
with.

Anyone who claims to have the answer is simply trying to tell you what makes them the most comfortable and confident. To find your proper putting
grip pressure, do what makes you comfortable at every part of the stroke, without strain or changing the pressure from address.
Once you find your best (there is no correct) putting grip pressure, you will probably be hard pressed to describe it to someone else.

What is the Perfect Putting Speed

I'll say it one more time. When it comes to putting, speed is King. A putt hit at the perfect speed has the greatest chance of going in.

But what is the perfect speed? Should you hit it 12 inches past the hole? Six inches?

I remember reading Dave Pelzs' Putt Like The Pros. In that book he told how he had discovered the perfect putting speed. I believe it was 17" past
the hole.

He said he had called a friend of his on tour and told him about it. The guy went out the next day and tried to hit the ball 17" past the hole every putt.
Needless to say, he had a miserable day.

Pelz has since corrected his error. It is far more correct to say there is no one distance you can hit the ball past the hole to maximize your chance of
making it.

The only thing for certain is that a putt that doesn't get to the hole will not go in. As for the how far past the hole to hit it debate, there are simply too
many variables for the answer at my course to matter for you at yours.

It matters whether the greens are fast or slow. If the putt is uphill or downhill. Smooth or bumpy. How the holes are cut.

As you can see, trying to find the perfect, one size fits all distance is futile.

To me, the perfect speed is the one that reaches the hole and leaves a tap-in if it doesn't go in. Even from longer range, I would rather leave it a foot
short than four feet past the hole.

I always like to keep putting simple. While speed is definitely king, perfection is not attainable or necessary.

Going to a New Length for Better Putting

When it comes to putters, there is no shortage for designs. If you can imagine a design in your mind, somebody has probably made something pretty
close to it. There is a perfect looking putter head for everybody.

But most golfers stop at that. They buy these off the rack putters with expensive names on them. They have a choice of one length and one grip.

I know from personal experience that a simple change in the shaft length can make all the difference in the world. So next time you want to get a
new putter, just shorten one of your old ones by cutting a couple of inches off the shaft and putting a new grip on it.

If you think about it, a new putter only works because it feels different from the one you have lost confidence in. Technology has done wonders for
distance, but when you get close to the hole its a different game, literally.

When you are having trouble putting and have lost confidence, it seems as if you will never make another putt. Any change you make is like a first
step towards restoring confidence.

If it happens to you, don't limit yourself to getting a new putter. You should try different shaft lengths as well. It is a lot easier to cut two inches off
an already installed shaft than it is to add the two inches.

A new putter grip cost about $4. Add a little masking tape you probably already have along with any solvent and you have totally changed the
characteristics of your old putter without changing the visual appeal that lead you to buy it in the first place.

If you don't like what you have, you can always go out a buy that new putter. Just remember, it is still you doing the putting.

Master One Distance for Better Putting

When I first started playing golf, I was all about power. As I got a little older, I realized that golf was not all about power. In fact, uncontrolled power
is a disadvantage.

Eventually, I realized that it was better to hit a seven iron ten feet away from the hole than a nine iron to thirty feet.

Then a while later, I realized the importance of the 100 yard marker. I found that by laying up to 100 yards left me with a lot of shots that were very
similar.

In time, my wedge play from 100 yards got to be pretty good. It still is.

Well, the benefit of hitting as many shots as possible from a specific distance is that you are hitting the same shot a lot. What if you are 110 yards
out? You know exactly what it takes to hit the first hundred, so you have a known reference. That being your 100 yard swing. It makes the
adjustment to hit it 110 yards a lot easier.

But how does that apply to putting?

If you spend some of your practice time mastering one distance, say 15 feet, it makes adjusting for different length putts a whole lot easier.

Instead of trying to figure out how hard to hit the ball to make it go 20 feet, you will know you have to hit it slightly harder than the 15 foot stroke
you have mastered.

If you can roll the ball a specific distance every time, you will need to make smaller adjustments than the guy who has to start every putt from
scratch.

It is best to keep golf simple, and one way to do that is to learn specific shots that give you a reference point for playing all the rest.

The Last Putting Tip You Will Ever Need

I am talking about Target Putting. I believe in it with fiber of my being and I know that it will help you putt better and get more enjoyment out of
your next round of golf.

I made the discovery by accident while I wasn't even playing golf. What am I supposed to do when I know something the entire golfing world has
failed to see, when it is so obvious. And it is very easy to prove my discovery is the correct way to putt and the rest of the non Target Putting world is
simply wrong.

All I know is it has worked for everyone who has ever tried it. I have personally seen it work for the real, honest to goodness average golfers I have
shown it to. And in almost five years, I have never had a refund request.

I ask that you give Target Putting a fair chance. I charge only $27 for it, and I have an iron-clad money back guarantee.

Lets face it. If I gave the book away you would value it at exactly what you paid for it. Nothing. On the other hand, just about every other golf book
on the internet is $47 or more. But I think that's too much.

I settled on the $27 price because that is what my local PGA Professional charges for a half hour putting lesson. That is pretty much what Target
Putting is. So the only difference between my half hour lesson and that of a local professional is that I will give your money back if I don't deliver the
results you want.

You have nothing to lose.

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