10 Putting Tips
[How To Become A Putting Master]
Do you want to improve your short game and are looking for the best putting tips? In this post, we will share the best putting tips and putting drills to help avoid those costly three putts.
Our team of golf enthusiasts have spent hours researching and refining the best putting tips and putting drills so that you can start sinking more putts on a consistent basis.
One of the main differences between PGA tour golfers and scratch golfers is that professional golfers are generally excellent putters. Professional golfers realize how important putting is to their overall game, especially considering that putting accounts for nearly 40 percent of the strokes taken in a given round.
As the legendary player Ben Hogan aptly puts it, “putting is a game within a game.” Hence, you must be excellent at putting to be a great player. Even the best players struggle to putt the ball no matter what the distance.
The secret lies in honing and perfecting your putting technique. Just like how you spend hours practicing your drives and long shots on the golf course, you must give the same amount of time and effort to your putting game.
Most golfers believe that putting is the most challenging aspect of the game, and it can take some players years before they manage to become excellent putters.
So, without further ado, let’s discuss GOLF MAMBA’s best putting tips and putting drills that will help you on your journey to becoming a putting master.
7 Steps to Refine Your Putting Technique
The key to sinking more putts is to work on improving your putting technique. Obviously, this is easier said than done.
Golfers who struggle with their putting are often using the wrong technique.
Below, we’re sharing 7 steps that will help you to refine your putting technique.
Practice Your Short Putts
The easiest putts to make are the short putts, which we’re considering within 10 feet of the hole.
We recommend focusing on sinking putts within 10 feet because these are the shots that can really make a difference to your overall score.
The goal here is to gain confidence in your putting abilities. The more putts you make in practice, the better you will get in sinking putts on the golf course when the pressure is on.
Practice One-Handed Putting
If you want to correct your setup position for putting, you should practice putting with one-hand. It may feel awkward initially, but overtime you will realize the difference it will make to your short game.
If you struggle to putt the ball with one hand, you’re probably setting up in the wrong position. Keep practicing until you can consistently sink putts.
Keep a Square Angle on the Putter
The most integral part of putting is to ensure that your putter is at the right angle. You must strike the ball squarely and cleanly to ensure that it spins and rolls in the direction you want.
If you learn how to keep a square angle on the putter, you will eliminate most putting errors.
Target the Back of the Hole
When you putt the ball, try to target the back of the hole. By targeting the back of the hole, your will increase your chances of sinking your putts.
Let the Shaft of the Putter Dictate
Do you like going through a straight-through motion for your putts, or do you prefer an arching stroke?
Most golfers prefer straight-through motion for their putts as it is the most natural. When using this putting technique, make sure that you let the putter’s shaft dictate the shot – Don’t force it!
Work on the Speed of Your Putts
The key to sinking more putts is finding the right speed. If you are rolling your putt at the wrong speed, the ball won’t go into the hole.
You’re either going to miss short or roll past the hole, which we all know can be extremely frustrating!
Determining the perfect speed can be a very challenging task, especially when you have to take into consideration so many factors that can affect the putt.
Here are some things to keep in mind that may alter the speed of the ball:
– Slope of the green
– Condition of the green (Dry, Damp, recently aerated,etc.)
– Curve of the green
Keep Your Knees Inward
When putting, it’s important to ensure that your body remains as still as possible and in the correct position.
One thing that can help to maintain stability when putting is ensuring that your knees are pointing inwards. This helps to reduce body movement and center your body weight, which allows you to maintain a balanced stance throughout the stroke.
If you watch professional golfers putt, you’ll notice that they remain incredibly still when they are putting.
Putting Tips
As we all know, putting can be one of the most difficult and frustrating aspects of golf. Sinking putts consistently is the key to shooting a low score and impressing all your friends.
Remember, not every golfer is natural at putting! Heck, even PGA tour golfers struggle with putting.
Unfortunately, even if you can drive the ball 300+ yards, those long drives are pointless if you don’t know how to putt. If you want to improve your putting, here are the best putting tips that will help you become a master.
Practice Putting in Pressure Situations
You can’t recreate the pressure of a golf tournament when you are practicing, and it would be naïve to think you can hype yourself up to make putts. However, one method of simulating a high pressure situation is by using the gate drill technique.
Here, you will need to create a gate by taking two golf tees and placing them on both sides of the hole.
The goal here is for you to putt the ball precisely through the middle of the gate and into the hole. This may look and sound easy, but it becomes more and more difficult when you try it in practice.
The challenge here is to see how many times you can putt the ball through the tees without brushing them. With every successful putt, the pressure will grow on you to make the next putt.
That will help you become more precise with your putts when you are in pressure situations. You can also use it as a warmup routine before you head out on the golf course.
Keep Your Head Firmly Over the Ball
There needs to be as little movement as possible when you are putting. If you’re unable to maintain proper body posture and your head is moving all over the place, your putts will roll wide.
When watching golf professionals putt, you’ll notice how still they remain. There is essentially no movement, which allows them to make seemingly impossible putts a breeze.
Focus on keeping your upper body still when making putts can prove to be a challenge!
Just remember that a large majority of putting errors occur when the head is not positioned firmly over the ball.
One way to ensure you’re keeping your head directly over the ball is to place a marker beside the ball and keep your eyes fixated on the marker.
MAMBA TIP: When you make the putt, keep on your eyes focused on the marker, even though it may be tempting to look at the ball.
When you remain still and position your head firmly over the ball, you will sink putts on a much more consistent basis.
Be Aware of Your Weaknesses
To become a putting master, it’s important to be aware of your weaknesses and then improve upon them.
There are many golf training aids, devices, and apps on the market that allow you to easily monitor your performance. We recommend using these types of devices when you’re practicing your putting skills.
These devices often provide real time feedback so that you’re aware of what mistakes you are making and how you can eradicate them from your game.
The more aware you are about your weaknesses, the more power you have over your golf game.
When putting, take notes of your misses. Work on sinking putts from different distances to identify which ones you can make comfortably.
This will help you to focus on your weaknesses and ensure that you become a better all-around golfer and putting master.
Putting Drills
The Clock Drill
Skills Improved: Pace-of-play, Distance Control
Equipment Needed: Putter, 12 golf balls, Timer
Space Required: Putting green
Difficulty Level: Medium
To practice the clock drill you take three balls and place them in a straight line at a distance of 3 feet, 6 feet, and 9 feet apart from the hole. They should be placed in the pattern of a clock’s 3, 6, 9, and 12 positions.
Your goal here is to make all twelve putts in a row without missing any in under 2 minutes. This will help with the speed of your putts as well as ensure that you’re maintaining a decent pace-of-play.
If you miss, you’ll need to place the balls back in their positions and start again.
The Ladder Drill
Skills Improved: Distance Control
Equipment Needed: Putter, 4 golf balls, 4 golf tees
Space Required: Putting green
Difficulty Level: Medium
For the ladder drill you start by placing golf tees in a straight line at a distance of 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet, and 40 feet apart.
The goal of this drill is to help you practice controlling the distance of your putts.
You start by putting to the tee at the 10 foot marker. Then follow that by hitting the 20 foot, 30 foot, and 40 foot putts, while trying to stop the ball as close to each tee as possible.
Once you have completed the ladder, you need to repeat the drill from the other direction.
Continue practicing this drill to improve your distance control.
The Path Drill
Skills Improved: Uphill and downhill putting control
Equipment Needed: Putter, 2 additional clubs or alignment rods
Space Required: Putting green
Difficulty Level: Easy
The path drill is designed to help you make uphill and downhill putts more frequently. When practicing this drill, you can consistently develop a path for the ball and ensure it goes into the hole.
Start by taking two clubs or alignment rods and place them 3-4 inches apart, leaving just enough space for you to make a putt safely. Now, practice swinging your putter between the clubs.
If you’re hitting the clubs or the alignment rods, this means that you’re not following a straight path with your putt and will struggle to make uphill or downhill putts.
The Golf Box Drill
Skills Improved: Accuracy, Distance Control
Equipment Needed: Putter, 5 golf balls, small cardboard box
Space Required: Putting green
Difficulty Level: Easy
The golf box putting drill is designed to help you make putts on uneven greens.
Start by forming a small box to surround the hole. Attempt putts 5 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, and 25 feet from the hole.
Your goal is to place the ball inside the box surrounding the hole – You get extra points if you manage to putt the ball into the hole. Keep practicing until all the balls make it into the box and start over if you miss the box entirely.
Final Thoughts
If you have ambitions of playing at the next level or just want to improve your golf game, it’s critical that you put the time and effort into perfecting your putting technique. Use the putting tips and putting drills discussed throughout this article.
The more time you spend practicing putting, the better you will get on the golf course.
If you want to lower your score and impress your friends, you must be willing to fix those simple putting errors and take advantage of putting tips to take your game to the next level.
We have shared the best putting tips and putting drills that will help you improve your game and turn you into a putting master. Good luck with your putting, and make sure that you put in the hours to hone your putting technique and skills.
Feel free to contact us and provide your own putting tips and putting drills so that we can share them with our readers.
If you enjoyed this article, checkout our in depth guide on How To Hit A Draw!
