Four Tips To Improve Your Putting

Many golfers consider putting a secondary part of the game and spend more time practicing hitting their woods or irons. Yet, if you think about it, putting can determine whether you get a birdie or a boogey on a hole.

For golfers who want to shave strokes off their game, the putting green is one of the best places to do it.

1. Practice: Before hitting the course take some time to practice on the putting green. Practice both long putts (about 10 ft) and short putts (5 ft or less). Your goal should be to hole in those shorter putts. While, realistically, it’ll be much harder to make those longer putts, but it still gives you great practice and will boost your confidence before you go out onto the course. The only way you can get  better at something is if you practice it consistently.
2. Learn to Read the Greens: When you walk up to the putting green the first thing you should immediately do is kneel behind your ball and take a good look at the path from your ball to the hole. Does the green tilt to the left? Are there any rocks or leaves that are in the way? The goal of doing this is to be able to know what speed and direction you want the ball to go.
3. Think Roll, Not Hit: The key to distance control is to roll the ball, not hit it. Think about it this way: if you went bowling and you wanted to get a strike, you wouldn’t throw the ball down the lane, would you? No. You would think about the speed and direction you want the ball to go in and you would roll it down the lane. It’s the same concept with putting. When you make the stroke, keep the putter head low to the ground and follow through. Don’t try to hit up on the ball — whoever told you to do that was wrong, because it makes the ball hop.
4. Don’t Stare at the Ball: If you stare at the ball too long, it’s easy to mess up your focus and hit a bad putt. To avoid this, don’t look directly at the ball. Instead, try looking at the spot in front of your ball on your target line. When you practice your putting, try placing a tee in front of your ball. This will get you thinking about the target line instead of just the stroke.

Note: Use only two golf balls when you are practicing your putting. Some golfers hit their practice putts too quickly if they have too many balls. With two balls, you will be more likely to focus on each individual putt.