So, you grab your putter, stand next to the ball, stroke the ball with your putter, & then hope for the best. Virtually everyone has the capability of making putts (& do!) regardless of putting style or athletic ability. But it’s tough to argue convincingly against the fact that those golfers who routinize each part of their putting process will make more putts than those who don’t. Let me illustrate what I mean by a putting routine by describing mine.
First I line up my ball (I mark straight lines on all my balls to make the process easier) on the path consistent with my reading of the green. Next I concentrate on placing my hands on the putter — the markings on my putter grip enable me to do this exactly the same way every time. I now build my stance @12 inches away from the ball, with my feet 6 inches apart (about 1 & a half the length of my putter head), and with the ball position directly under my left eye. I place the putter behind the ball, look at my target, look back at the ball, and then within one second start my stroke. I start my stroke by concentrating on moving the putter head back with my left arm and moving the putter head forward with my right arm. This whole process takes me between 15 to 20 seconds.
My putting process is a sequence of steps that I perform in the same order every time. I never have to think of more than one at a time, with each step naturally leading to the next. Concentrating on the sequence of steps breeds consistency & builds a putting motion that you can repeat time after time.
A huge bonus to concentrating on the putting sequence occurs under pressure — when you have that 4 foot putt to break 90 for the first time or to close out a match. Rather than battling crunch time thoughts about how important the putt is, you will be actively engaging your mind in going through your sequence.
Let me repeat a thought from my last post. The best place to build a repeatable putting stroke is away from the golf course, away from all the distractions of the slope & grain of the green, lag putting, the wind, etc. Your living room rug provides you with the perfect consistency needed for you to groove a repeatable putting stroke. And you never have to worry about the weather either.
Lee Triplett ***
The Frugal Golfer
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i will definetly have to try that,but what happens when i get out on the green adn im back to how i was before
Used Golf Ballin,
Hey, I’m not saying that any of this advice will make you a great putter or even a good one, but it will make you better than you are now! Again, even golfers who have ugly & awful putting strokes can get better if they can successfully make those strokes repeatable. However, most who become good to excellent putters have developed strokes that fall into one of two categories — straight back to straight through or inside to square to inside. I’ll talk about both kind of strokes and how to groove them in future posts.
Meanwhile, if you find after you’ve build a repeatable stroke that you are reverting back to your original form when you get back out on a green, you probably lost your focus. The key will be to concentrate on and adhere to the sequence of steps that you’ve built.
Lee Triplett ***
The Frugal Golfer