Becoming A Perfect Putter Will Make You A Better Golfer
All right, so let’s be a little realistic – there’s no such thing as perfect putting. But the good news is that you can probably putt a lot better than you do right now. Here are some useful ideas to get your started.
Your Golf Stance And Proper Grip
It’s important that your grip is correct. Keep your hands light and relaxed – there’s no need for your squeeze the club as though you’re trying to break it in half. Check the location of your pinky – it needs to be on the club, not overlapped or interlocked with your other fingers. When you close your fingers together, make sure the club is straight, not on an angle. Address the ball squarely and most importantly – RELAX!
The ball needs to be centered between your shoulders, and placed towards the front of your stance. Make sure your hands are up near the top of the grip. Keep your eyes focused directly over the ball. Your goal is to hit the ball squarely along the target line. Imagine a big line going straight through the middle of your body, and then add a second line directly perpendicular, or at a 90 degree angle. This is your target line. You need to have a relaxed pendulum stroke along the target line.
Make sure the face of the putter is perpendicular to the target line, and if you’re right handed, lock in your left hand. Reverse that if you’re left handed. When you lean over the ball, your eyes should be directly parallel with the target line.
Keep your feet at the same width as your hips, with the weight balanced slightly towards the inside of the left heel.
Golf Ball Placement
Place the ball approximately half way between your left instep and the center of your stance. It’s important to do this so that the path and club head are square prior to impact. It also means that if there’s any angle on approach, it has time to level out, resulting in a good follow through.
Your Golf Stroke
Your stroke will vary a little depending on how far you need to putt. If you only need to tap the ball, your stroke needs to be centered. For a sweeping stroke, you normally are positioned slightly left. Aim to hit the ball right on the sweet spot, or the center, unless you’re putting down a slope. In that situation, it’s better to hit slightly closer to the toe of the putter. This helps to lessen the force used, and helps to avoid overshooting the hole. Relax, and make a smooth back stroke, followed by a forward stroke in the same plane. For right-handers, the left hand holds, the right hand strokes. Reverse that if you’re left handed.
Practicing Makes Perfect
Take a close look at your golf balls, and you’ll probably find there’s a line around the middle where there’s no dimples. The ideal golf ball has equal weight on any line through the center, and so is perfectly balanced. Unfortunately not all golf balls are well constructed. A good manufacturer will ensure the core materials are of a uniform density, and the cover is the same thickness all around.
If you want to test out your golf balls, find a flat, dry and level practice green. Line up the line on the ball with the target line toward the hole. Starting around 3-6 feet from the hole, make a few putts. Then move out to 10 feet from the hole. Watch the ball to see if there’s any tendency to veer one way or the other. Be honest about whether or not your own errors in stance or stroke are contributing!
Place a bunch of markers at various distances from the hole. You could use strings or quarters, for example. Vary the distance, too, so have one foot, four feet, seven feet, 10 feet etc. Practice your putting, not by shooting for the hole, but by consistently aiming to place the ball within the markers. This helps you to gauge how hard an impact at what angle will cause the ball to roll a certain way.
Change the distances between the markers, making the gaps smaller, and keep practicing until you can put the ball wherever you chose to. Maybe you can be a perfect putter after all!
