Here we look at a number of strategies you can employ in order to improve your golf putting.

1. The Foot Method

Get a golf ball, alongside your other equipment of course – golf accessories and so on – and go to your local green. Place the golf ball one foot away from the hole and try to sink the putt in one. If you succeed, well done; if you don’t, then keep trying. Once you have mastered the art of repeatedly putting the ball from one foot away, move it two feet away from the hole. If you miss, go back to one foot, if it goes in, practice again from two feet before moving the ball three feet away. Start at one foot again if you miss from three. Then two feet, then three again. If you practice and practice this, then pretty soon you’ll be successfully putting from four feet away. Each time you putt – or miss – you are learning about angles, trajectory and working on your muscle memory too.

2. X Marks the Spot

If you don’t want to pay money on a putting course, you can still practice your putting without the need for a hole. Simply use a ball marker and focus on your stroke and centering the ball on the putter face. Practice from six feet away before trying longer or shorter shots. Vary the distance.

3. Positioning and Backstroke

Look at your grip. You should be gripping the club with both of your thumbs on the flat of the putter. Your palms should be facing each other and at right angles to the line. Then get well over the ball so you seem face down as this improves your posture and gives you a better chance of swinging the putter in plane and down the line of the putt. Working your shoulders up and down also ensures your arms, hands and club stays in plane throughout the stroke.

4. Roll Don’t Hit

Make sure your stance is open with your weight favoring your left side and your putter shaft leaning toward the target. This open stance not only makes it easier for you to feel your left hand going out and down toward the target line but it off sets the desired four degrees of loft and helps the ball to roll more smoothly. When you go to make the stroke, keep the putter head low to the ground. Don’t try to hit it up as this will make the ball hop.

5. Do Not Look at the Ball

Or to be more precise, focus on a spot just in front of the ball on the target line and visualize rolling the ball over that spot. Too much ball staring can lead to bad putts. Be mindful of both the target line as well as your stroke when you go to putt.

So there you have it, five methods that you can incorporate to improve your putting. Try them, see which work for you – and let us know.

(Cover Photo Credit)

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