DISTANCE
As in all strokes in golf, the length of your backswing directly relates to the distance you will move the ball. In other words, the longer the backswing, the farther the ball will travel, provided however, that you complete your stroke by following through correctly.
Develop your sense of pace by starting with light grip pressure in the last three fingers of the left hand. Your overall grip pressure should be as light as possible, while still allowing you to control the force of the stroke you want to make.
An excellent way to relate distance and ball speed to swing pace is to track along the line of the putt with your eyes at the same speed you visualize the ball rolling. Look the ball into the hole, at the speed you want the ball to actually roll there.
Your eyes subconsciously feed back the speed and distance you’ll need, and your mind will direct your muscles to make a stroke of the proper length and speed, as long as you “let it happen”.
Get the feeling of accelerating the club through the ball just enough to make the ball die around the hole. You should always aim one foot pass the cup, you don’t want to have the ball end up short of the hole. You will find it helpful in judging the pace you need for your stroke, to feel the firmness and texture of the putting surface in your feet when walking on the green.
THE STROKE
The putting stroke is like the swing of a pendulum. The stroke is done with the arms. It’s a two sided action, with the left hand and arm dominating, while the right hand rests lightly on the club and stabilizes the stroke. You should feel like you are stroking through the ball with the left wrist stabilized and the left hand and arm remaining in line.
One of the main causes of poor putting is deceleration on the forward stroke because the left forearm doesn’t keep moving toward the target. Stabilizing the left wrist overcomes that problem. The left wrist may be allowed to hinge slightly on the backswing for a longer putt, but it must be firm and unbroken swinging forward. Swing without making any manipulation of the putterhead with your hands. The putterhead will swing inside the target line on the backswing and straight through on line on the follow through on all but the shortest putts. The face will appear to fan open on the backswing returning naturally to square at impact.
Remember, it is fanning open only in relation to your target line, not to the path of your stroke. Any attempt to keep the face square to the line throughout the stroke results in manipulation with the hands. You actually alter the face position by hooding it, which requires a compensating adjustment on the forward stroke.
Try to contact the ball at the bottom of your swing arc. If anything, feel you are tapping down slightly on the ball. All putts skid for a few inches before beginning to roll across the grass, and any attempt to uppercut the ball to put over spin on it results in a less solid blow that gives you a poor roll and distorts your feel for distance. Stroking a putt solidly, which is extremely important, means contacting the ball squarely with the sweet spot of your putter.
Basically, this means you stroke a putt rather than strike it. While acceleration is vital throughout the forward swing, it must be constant acceleration, as in the action of the pendulum, rather than a sudden thrust too often is created by giving the stroke flash speed with the hands. Allow the putter to swing back far enough so you can accelerate smoothly through the ball toward the target without forcing the action of the stroke. As your stroke becomes longer, you will instinctively apply more pressure to control it. The slower the green, of course, the more pressure you must apply.
But no matter how light or how tight your grip pressure, it should remain constant throughout the stroke. Most putts are ruined because the grip pressure changes, often quite violently, during the stroke. This forces the putter face out of the square position and off line. Lightness and lack of tension in your hands help you better feel the weight in the head of the putter and get a kinesthetic sense for the stroke you want to make. As the putt becomes longer, the stroke becomes longer and the putterhead accelerates through the ball farther and farther.
ATTITUDE
In order to be a good putter, you must believe that you are a good putter. Confidence on the green means everything! When you are on the putting green your attitude must be positive at all times. Of course , this is true no matter what you are doing, playing golf on the job, at home, etc.
You must never allow any negative thoughts to enter your mind, if you have doubt or if you see ways to miss a putt, you will almost certainly miss it. Whenever you stand over a putt, short or long, always recall and focus on a similar putt you made sometime in the past. If you don’t fill your mind with good and positive thoughts, you allow doubt and negative suggestions to enter.
Remember, as you think so you become! Knowledge builds confidence, and confidence breeds composure. Having a fundamentally sound putting stroke goes a long way to improve one’s confidence, so practice your putting at least as much or more as you practice the other parts of your game COMBINED!
EQUIPMENT
Before you play your next round of golf, allow yourself some time to visit the Golf Shop at your favorite Golf Course. Pay special attention to the area where all the putters are displayed, and you will see an endless number of designs, styles, shapes, sizes, manufacturers, etc. After seeing the number of different putters available, you are faced with the question, which is the best one? There is no such thing as the best putter, there is however one best putter for you. That is the putter that feels and looks the best to you, you have the best feel with, the most confidence in, and helps you be a very successful putter.
Unfortunately there is no such thing as the perfect putter either. Some players however find a favorite putter early in their career and stay with that putter for a life time. Others continue to search for the right putter for a life time, and they collect hundreds, sometimes thousands of putters.