Putting Tips

I think the first step is to stop considering yourself a bad putter. Regardless of it being true or not, think you're a good putter or at least in the process of getting better. Putting is more about confidence than anything else.

Here's an idea you can practice indoors (if you have a rug to putt on) during this pandemic Hughes;take 4 coins. Place the first two, about 6 inches apart, .Take the other two and place them about 2 feet away from the first two,same distance apart. Essentially you have a 2ft box.Imagine there's a hole in the center.Now try and get all your putts in"the box".If you can do that, all your putts are within 1ft of "the hole", either long or short.

Hope this helps.

One way I've improved my speed control over the years is by practicing hitting different length putts. Randomly alternating between long, short & medium length putts helps build better feel for the speed required on putts. I also try to limit my run out distance past the cup to no more than 2 feet (doesn't always happen, but it helps me with putt speed). These two things have helped me and I hope they will help you.

Confidence is key. If speed is what hurts you then 2 things should be focused on: the same putter stance and stroke just wider feet for longer putts...the other is a ladder drill, putt one ball then keep tying to get one a litter further, then further and so on

Something my old swing coach used to have me practice for speed was to have me hit some putts while looking at the cup and not the ball. This is a good feel drill to train your body into how far it needs to take the club away during the putting stroke. I'm all about feel when it comes to short game stuff and have found this to be helpful.

I watched an excellent interview yesterday on the Golf Channel with Xander Schauffele and his putting coach, Derek Uyeda, talks about his hard work. You might find it now with no golf on the TV. Excellent on alignment and pace. Xander is on of the putter on the tour. Also would not hurt going to see a PGA teacher, which would be my first recommendation. Worth you time and money. Learn to practice to play the correct way. With respect.

Hey Hughes,

Check out the Putting tips on our new instruction section too. We've got some of the best teacher's and coaches in the game adding content all of the time. Hope this helps!

www.titleist.com/instructor-video

- Mike

Just saw a great drill for home...put a penny on the ground then a nickel on top. Put to only take the nickel off the penny. Most of us put to high and miss the nickel which misses the sweet spot. Start hitting the nickel start getting more solid shots. I tried and was fun.

If speed is your main issue you should challenge yourself by picking three or four different lengths from where you’re putting the ball. Randomly select one of those different lengths and try and putt the ball to be even with that spot you picked out. Then your next putt pick a different length to putt to. Changing up the lengths of each putt will get you focusing more on your speed and distance control. When you can get back out on to a green you can use a tee and put a few of them in the ground separated by 8 to 10 feet and do the same drill.

Foe keeping my head down and not peeking too soon, I like to place a coin behind the ball under my putter and after the stroke make sure I focus on that coin for a second rather than quickly following the ball. Probably won't help with a speed issue but it helps me!
Also, as Allan stated, be confident! Your brain can fool you and make you believe you're great...it's the power of positive thinking!!!

Allow me to be completely nonconventional. Just as you might toss wads of paper into a waste basket (in fact do that in preparation....) you brain and you biomechanics are wired to do that with a high degree of success as long as you look at the waste basket. Try it without looking, and all of a sudden, range (and direction) become more of an issue. Same principle, throw a ball to someone. Again, you are innately skilled to do that with a fair degree of success of being able to hit the target. Ok, here we go. I want you to try putting looking at the hole...from 1 foot, 3 foot, and five foot lengths. This "exercise" requires a fairly repeatable stroke (....a forgiving mallet putter face helps too), and a bit of trust the you can move the ball to that target. I submit to you that after practicing this for a bit, you will find a degree of success of being able to "get the ball into the neighborhood". Learning how to read the break of greens, will further increase the probability of getting closer to the hole if not in a lot more than what you may currently be experiencing. This is not a new technique, tour players do it on occasion, and I find it to make rounds a lot more fun. Yes, nonconventional, but with a commitment to try it.... you might find a new road to Rome.

This is what i do when i practice and it helps greatly with speed. I also agree that putting has a lot to do with your mentality. If you say to yourself, "I am missing this putt", then guess what? You are going to miss the putt.

A couple suggestions:
- Titleist Instructional videos on this site are good.
- Follow Potters Putting on Instagram (maybe sign up for an online lesson or two).
- Read "The Lost Art of Putting" - best part for me, when walking to the green ask yourself two questions, 1) is it possible for the putt to go in? and 2) what will it take for the putt to go in?
- Focus on speed more than line

Good luck!

The National Club Golfer is posting a series of videos for "Lost Art of Putting" with Gary Nicol. Ignore the subtle advertising in the background: www.youtube.com/watch

One thing that helped me improve so far this season was one simple thing.... a lighter grip pressure! I used to struggle with speed and starting the ball on line, but I have gotten better. Of course once you make a change, the more reps you get in, the bigger (and hopefully better) result you will get! Good luck improving!

I found a good drill to use when warming up / practicing when your speed/pace may be off. I struggled to get the ball to the hole for a long time - my tendency was always to be short.

Easy drill...
From various distances - take your stance, putter behind the ball. Then look at the hole the entire time while taking your stroke. (Like Spieth looks at the hole on short putts).
At first I was way long, then as you do a few more you'll find yourself free-ing up and making a more fluid stroke. I found that I am incredibly accurate this way as well. Every once in awhile, I'll putt like this for maybe 20 putts...then go back to my traditional way. This drill gives you a good feeling of a fluid stroke.

(I actually played an entire round putting this way - it was not bad, but not great either...I thinks it's place is more on the practice green, for me)

The aide I would recommend the most that has helped me during quarantine was the Puttout pressure trainer and mat. I noticed when I just played that I was making so many more putts or leaving a tap in.

What works for one may not work for another. From 2013-2015 I took a break from playing golf and concentrated only on the mechanics of my game. That, of course, included putting. Early in 2013 I stumbled on to something that worked for my putting and have never looked back. I walk from my ball to the hole (or to a ridge, or break point) and count how many paces I am from the target. I return to the ball and take my stance. I always place the ball directly in front of my forward foot (I'm right handed so this is my left foot) but this is personal preference and as I'll explain, it helps me to measure my backswing and follow through. Now, if my pace count was 12 steps, I stand with 12 inches between my feet. However, the tip of my shoes is my focal point. In the backswing and follow through that 12 inches now comes into play. My back swing is now 12 inches back from the forward ball position and the follow through is 12 inches past the forward position. I see this as a mechanical part of my game. Feel is also extremely important. How I feel the swing and pace is simple. I only concentrate on the weight of the putter head and allow gravity to pull the putter back to its original position. The resulting inertia of the pendulum allows the head to go past (forward of) the original ball position by roughly 12 inches. For 12 paces or less, I use mostly a bending of the wrists to maximize the "gravitational or pendulum feel". I use mostly the arms with no wrist action for more than 12 paces. Twelve inches is the max distance between my feet because 12 inches is an easy visual measurement. If it's a 20 pace putt, the backswing is 12 inches plus an additional 8 inches in the backswing. After almost every 1st putt, I'm within two feet (+/-) of the hole. This has worked for me for seven years now and I average about 32 putts per round. I found recently that it's not just me that stumbled onto this putting style:

www.golfpass.com/.../swing-x-tension-putting-technique-with-bryson-dechambeau