Lesson - 8

Putting. (Changed - 28/05/2011)

This lesson will teach you how to dramatically improve your putting .

The putting stroke is a pendulum action, but the putter remains square to the target line throughout the complete putting action.
Most golfers swing the putter so that the putter face immediately begins to open in relation to the "square to the target line" as soon as the back swing begins and continues to open until the end of the back swing then during the down swing, the putter face gradually returns to the original address position of being square to the target line, but in doing so you bring into the putting action the chances of making more errors.

Therefore the most accurate putting action is based on a simple pendulum movement which moves the putter back and forth on the straight to the target line whilst the putter face is held square to the target line and whilst the head is held in a firm position over the ball.

So in theory the process of putting the golf ball on a well prepared piece of turf should be the easiest part of the game of golf.

Unfortunately golfers as a general rule have never been able to discover a consistent putting style, consequently we all adopt different styles of putting which we use until it develops a few flaws, we then create a "new" putting stroke which works for a while and on and on it goes, therefore we are forever tinkering with the putting method.

However like the other parts of the golf swing, it only requires an understanding of the basic movement of the putting stroke to be able to eliminate a lot of the mistakes that are made, therefore use the pendulum action to your advantage.

Set Up

The stance you should adopt for my technique is almost identical to the stance required for the full golf swing except that the body is arched over the ball so that the eyes look directly down on the target line, but with the left eye positioned slightly behind the ball.

The feet should be placed slightly closer together than the full golf swing stance and the weight of the body should be equally balanced over each leg throughout the putting movement.

However it is the set up of the upper body that is the key to being able to putt well.

Therefore allow the arms to fall freely and grip the putter with a very light grip but keep the upper body in a compact condition so that any shoulder movement will immediately cause the putter head to move.

Therefore it is the light grip that determines whether you are a good putter or not.
The left hand holds the putter very softly, but firmly, so that the club face does not twist out of alignment and the right hand controls the alignment of the putter face.

Therefore during the putting stroke the shoulder movement controls the power of the putting action whilst the right hand controls the alignment of the putter face.

Ball Position.

The ball position should be just left of centre of the stance, but with the left eye directly over the line of the putt but slightly behind the ball position, but importantly, once this position is set, it is vital that the position of the head is held until well after the ball has been struck.

Putting Action.

Therefore simply rotate the compact upper body unit so that as the unit rotates, the putter head moves away from the ball position- but the head remains fixed in a position so that there is no lateral movement of the head.

As the rotational movement of the compact upper body unit moves the putter away from the ball, keep the putter face square to the target line throughout the back swing movement -- and then whilst focusing your eyes on the back of the ball, simply rotate the compact upper body unit towards the target area during the down swing movement so that as the unit rotates, the putter head returns to the back of the ball.

Therefore throughout the back swing and the down swing movement the putter head has only moved because of the compact upper body movement.

Therefore as soon as the putter head makes contact with the ball, continue to rotate the compact upper body unit towards the target area at the same speed as the putter head, thus keeping the putter head square to the target line for that extra few inches as it moves through the contact area but allowing the putter head to immediately lift away from the ground - do not try to keep the putter level with the ground.

Unlike the full swing where the bottom of the swing arc is reached well after the ball has been struck, the putter head makes contact with the ball at the the bottom of the swing arc and it is important to remember this point.

This first video shows how most golfers putt, and although the shoulders are controlling the movement of the arms, there is a slight lack of control of the arms as the putter head moves through the contact area, thus allowing the club face to change its alignment at the precise moment contact is made with the ball -- result - unpredictable.

Now in the second video the the whole upper body unit, including the arms and the putter move as a single unit whilst the putting stroke is performed, with the right hand controlling the alignment of the putter face, but notice how the putter head lifts away from the ground immediately the ball is struck - which is the bottom of the swing arc for the putter.

This action can only be successfully performed by ensuring that the shoulders, the arms and the putter move as a single unit, but with the head held firmly in position without any lateral movement.

Therefore the key to accurate putting is to ensure that you keep the head positioned so that the left eye remains over the line of the putt, but slightly behind the ball, whilst the rotational movement of the compact upper body unit perform the putting action with a pendulum movement but ensure that the right hand controls the alignment of the putter face.

The distance you want hit the ball is determined on the length of the putting stroke.

Once you understand this putting action you will notice a dramatic increase in the accuracy of your putting.

THE PUTTING STROKE.

First of all I concentrate on setting up my stance so that I am looking directly down to the line of the putt.

As I perform the putting stroke, I keep an even tempo of the rotational movement of the compact upper body unit which controls the movement of the arms and the putter during the back swing, the down swing and right through the contact area, but importantly I continue to focus on the ball to such an extent that first of all I actually see the putter make contact with the ball, but I also keep the eyes focused on the spot where the ball was resting so that I can see the ball moving away from this spot.

These are the keys to being able to putt very well:-

1) Gripping the putter very lightly.

2) Rotating the compact upper body unit, the arms and the putter as a single unit.

3) Focusing on the face of the putter to ensure that it is square to the target line.

4) Using the right hand to control the alignment of the putter face.

5) Keeping the head positioned so that the left eye is directly over the straight to the target line, but positioned slightly behind the ball.

Imagine the whole unit comprising the shoulders, the arms, the wrists and the putter welded together as a solid one piece unit and hold it like this throughout the pendulum putting stroke.

An important aspect of the putting stroke is that once you have decided the line of the ball, you must rely on the mechanical movement of the putting stroke and perform the complete putting stroke whilst the head is directly over the target line, the eyes remain fixed on the ball position and the head firmly positioned slightly behind the ball.

This means that once you have fixed your focus on the ball position, despite the fact that the ball will move away from this position as the putter makes contact with the ball, your eyes must not follow the movement of the ball, the eyes must remain fixed on the original ball position so that you see the ball move away from this position.

It is difficult to programme yourself to simply maintain a smooth swinging movement of the putter as it moves into and through the contact area and not allow the eyes to follow the ball after it has been struck, but master these two techniques and you will reap the rewards.

Gripping the Putter.

The grip that I use is a conventional grip where the back of the left hand is facing the target.

The position of the hands is also conventional, for example, overlap grip with the right hand lower than the left hand.

Both hands grip the putter very lightly.

The putter is seen as an extension of the arms.

The main reason why the putter face either "closes" or "opens" at the moment of impact is because the golfer allows the left hand to grip the putter too hard.

Therefore whilst carrying out the putting stroke it is very important that the shoulders, the arms, the hands and the putter move as a single unit, but with the shoulders in total control.

Control the length of the putt by using the rotational movement of the shoulders to control the length of the back swing movement and then using the pendulum action of the compact upper body unit to swing the putter head into the contact area, whilst keeping the putter face square to the target line.

This is where the practice strokes are important, they mentally prepare yourself for the actual process of putting.

Head Position.

To check whether the head position is correct at the address position, if you drop an imaginary plumb line from your left eye down to the ground, two things will indicate the correct position:-

1) The centre of the plumb line weight should be hovering directly over the target line.

2) The plumb line weight should hover over a position about two inches behind the ball position.

It is the rotational movement of the shoulders that causes the arms and the putter head to move back and forth, but importantly it is essential that you watch the ball whilst the putting stroke is performed and maintain the head with "pin point accuracy" about two inches behind the ball to the completion of the putting stroke.

Practice strokes.

Adopt a habit of practising the pendulum putting stroke whilst the whole unit is held together as a solid one piece unit, but importantly focus intensively on the face of the putter.

This practice routine does two things for your putting action, first of all it will program your body with the correct movement, but importantly it allows you to concentrate solely on watching the ball whilst you practice the action of using the right hand to control the alignment of the putter face.

Most golfers allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball as it rolls towards towards the target point.

However if you wish to dramatically improve your putting technique, it is absolutely vital that you totally concentrate focus on the back of the ball as you perform the putting stroke.

This means that despite the fact that the ball will move as soon as the putter makes contact with the ball, you must continue to concentrate on looking at the original ball position so that you actually see the ball move from this position, do not allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball or allow the head to move in a lateral fashion.

As you make your practice strokes, keep your head in the original address position and in the Fixed Frontal condition and totally focus on the ball.

Make about four or five practice movements prior to attempting to strike the ball.

Further, if you are keeping the eyes directly over the target line and rotating the shoulders correctly, you will also notice that the swing path is perfectly straight, and the putter face remains square to the target line, therefore to move the ball on the line you intend, you have to visualise the putter being swung along the target line whilst the putter face is square to the target line.

Once you have decided on the path that your ball will need to take, you must then concentrate all your efforts on using the rotational movement of the shoulders to make a smooth pendulum action swing of the putter, keep your head well behind the ball position and in the Fixed Frontal condition, keep the eyes totally focused on the ball and rely on the mechanical movement of the putting stroke and trust your judgement on the line of the putt.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your eyes totally focused on the ball position as the putting stroke is performed and to continue to keep your eyes focused on the original ball position whilst the putter lift away from the ground as the putter head moves through the contact area, so that you actually see the ball move from this position -- do not allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball.

The value of a single putt is equal to the value of the longest drive.

If you can get on the green in regulation figures, it is essential that the first putt ends up either in, or very close to the hole.

In order to keep the putt on the line that you choose, it is vital that once you have aligned the putter face with the target line, fully focus your eyes on the ball whilst the putter moves into the contact area, but importantly you must continue to maintain this focus on the ball position as the putter moves along the target line, whilst keeping the putter face square to the target line -- The eyes must not be allowed to follow the movement of the ball.

Discipline yourself to focus at the spot that the ball is positioned and hold this focus so that you actually see the ball move from this position and your putting will improve dramatically.

For a different view on how to perform the putting stroke, have a look at the site advertised at the top right hand corner of the page.

Advertising.

If you have a website you would like to broadcast to the world, click on one of the links at the top of the page to sign up and designate which page/lesson would suit your needs.

*** Donation ***

If you find this site beneficial to your game and would like to contribute to the development and maintenance of this free website, you can make a payment via Paypal.

**Many thanks to those who have already contributed.**

Site Map