Putting can be the difference between you breaking 100, 90, 80 or even 70. These 5 putting tips have helped me at times and many of my friends.
I have tried many different drills, tips, techniques and more, but these are my favorite.
- The Grip Variation
- Alignment
- Keeping Your Eyes Still
- The Perfect Strike
- Speed Drill
Let’s dive into the details of these below.
1. The Grip Variation
Your hands are what connects you to the putter, the hands are often the most common part of putting that breaks down.
For the most part we are taught to have our right wrist and back of our left hand facing the target (right handed player). I believe this allows too much rotation in your wrist, causing the putter face to open and close without much control.
I prefer to have your palms facing slightly upwards. This prevents your wrists from rotating as much, and almost locks your wrists into place.
To do this you need to move your left wrist in a slightly ‘weak’ position and your right hand in a slightly ‘strong’ position. In other words slightly underneath the grip, see images below.
This will also tuck your elbows in and help you rock your shoulders, promoting a more consistent stroke.
2. Alignment
Aligning yourself incorrectly can influence your stroke. For example if you have a right to left putt that needs to start one ball to the right, and you actually aim at the left edge, if you putt currently you will miss your putt to the left, so subconsciously you will have to push your putt to get it in the hole.
The issue is that most of the time you won’t realize that you are doing this, and that pushy stroke you make can cause inconsistencies , which will make you miss more putts than you make.
To fix this you need a buddy or anyone on the putting green, pick an 8 foot putt and decide on the break. Take your aim and ask your buddy if you have aimed correctly. If you are right, well done. If you are aiming incorrectly, place an alignment stick down on the correct line and practice the putt until your stroke adjusts and you start making the putt.
3. Keeping Your Eyes Still
I am sure you have heard about keeping your head still when you putt, but have you ever heard of keeping your eyes still?
You can keep your head still, but your eyes can still move. I have found this to cause you to either push or pull your putts especially under pressure situations.
The next time you are on the putting green or course try focusing on keeping your eyes still as well as your head. To help with this draw a dot on the ball with a sharpie, this will help you maintain focus and keep your eyes still.
4. The Perfect Strike
Striking the ball out the middle of the putter will help with starting line, speed and roll. This drill will also help with getting your putting stroke on a good path. Tiger Woods often does this drill before his round, just to make sure his stroke is on point.
Pick a 6 foot putt preferably straight. Aim your putter directly at the hole and place two tees roughly 3mm either side, the better you get the closer you can move the tees to your putter. From here all you need to do is putt the ball. If you hit the tees you can clearly see your stroke is off. Practice a few times without the ball and try to miss the tees, after a few goes your stroke should be more consistent and you should be missing the tees.
5. The Speed Drill
Getting the right speed on your long putts can save your loads of shots. If your speed is off you will often have 3 to 6 foot putts left, which can be difficult to make. Leaving yourself within 2 feet can almost guarantee you a two putt.
Most golfers do this drill by placing a few tees 2 feet behind the hole, however I like to place a few to the side and in front to make a 2 foot circle around the hole. Being positive when you putt is important, but if you are slightly short but it guarantees you a two putt, that is great in my books. The drill works as follows.
The idea is obviously to make all the putts, but focusing on the speed is also important. Place tees starting from 8 feet away from the hole every foot until 12 to 14 feet or however far back you want to go. From there make a putt from each distance trying to leave the ball within the 2 foot circle you created around the hole, if the ball doesn’t stop within the circle you need to start from the beginning.
Conclusion
Improving your grip, eye movement, alignment, speed and strike can all help improve your putting.
Shaving just a few putts off your round can be the difference between you breaking 90, 80 or shooting your best round. I hope these tips help as they have for my and my friends.
