Picture the scene – You have managed to get onto the par 4 green in 2 and now have a chance for a Birdie. You coolly walk onto the green and mark your ball and repair that pitch mark with pride. Then you consider your next shot and you realise you have no idea how to get that ball into the hole in one shot. You do not know how to putt a golf ball.
They don’t teach you putting in a driving range. The putting practice areas are never the same surface as the greens on the course. So you are faced with this great opportunity to win a hole in your golf match and yet you do not have a strategy for giving it your best shot. Now I am not guaranteeing that these tips will make you the next Padraig Harrington but for beginners they will help you learn how to putt a golf ball.
Putting Tip 1. Aim straight at the hole
For 95% of your shots you should be aiming straight at the hole. As a beginner you will not have all the skills and experience to read the greens so why all the pretence. I outrage my playing partners on the golf course by simply looking at my putting shot from a standing position and getting a general view of it. I am more likely to be thinking about the pace of the ball and whether it is downhill or uphill rather than any sideways slopes. If it is blindingly obvious that you are putting across a sideways slope then make an adjustment – this is for the 5% of shots. But for most of them go straight for the hole.
Putting Tip 2. – Imagine the hole is a metre wide.
To get the pace right you should be trying to get your first putt to within a metre of the hole. By imagining such a large area as your target you will reduce your 3 putts and make a lot of them 2 putts. Most golfers would reckon they could get the ball into a 2 metre wide hole. So do that.
Putting Tip 3. – See the ball into the hole
Before I strike the ball I imagine its route of travel across the putting surface into the hole. I consider the pace that I will need to strike the golf ball in particular.
Putting Tip 4. – Hold your breath
So you know where you are aiming and you know how hard you are going to hit the golf ball. When you are about to hit the golf ball, hold your breath – or at least do not breathe deeply. I address the ball and do 2 practice shots. Then I line up my real shot aiming for the hole and assess how I can get it into a 2 metres wide hole. Then I take a conscious breath in and out, wait 2 or 3 seconds and strike the ball. My focus is completely on striking the ball cleanly and at the correct pace. Because I am not breathing (so to speak) or moving in any other way my bodies focus is on the putt completely.
Count up your putting strikes next round and then practice these tips. See if you can reduce your putts by 9 in the next 3 months
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