You may have the best putting technique in the world, but unfortunately if you aim off line at address, you are going to struggle to turn your great putts into holed putts.
Knowing where to aim when putting is vital. Judging the break and the speed and the contours is very important. Before the shot, make sure you are ready for the shot in hand by firstly judging what speed you plan to hit the putt at. Do you hit it firm and hard or drop the golf ball dead weight into the front of the cup? From this point, you can start to read and judge the contour of the greens. The reason why we work out the speed first is simply because the speed has a huge influence on how much the putt will break. If the ball is travelling fast, the ball will not break as much as if it was travelling at a slower speed. Once you have determined the break and have picked a point where you want the ball to start, it is then very important that you stick to your decision without doubt or hesitation.
Aim in relation to the hole - Once you are sure how the golf ball will break, pick a point that is level with the hole rather than a point on the apex of the break. This way you will hit a straight putt at the point you have picked, rather than trying to hit the ball on a slope.
Use the line on the ball - Each golf ball now has the manufacturers logo or name and the model of the golf ball's logo or name. The best thing about the logo or name is that you can use it to help you hole more putts. Once you have marked the golf ball and cleaned it ready for the shot, plan to place your golf ball down so that it helps you aim at the point you have picked for the golf ball to start.
Aim the putter first - When you come to address the golf ball, make sure you aim your putter in line with the logo or name on the golf ball. Most putters now have alignment tools on them to help you aim correctly so do make sure you use them to help you. Firstly, grip the golf club making sure the face is square, then aim the putter's line with the line or logo of the golf ball straight where you are aiming. From this point, build your stance around your putter so that your feet are square and parallel to the target line.
Key tip - Once you have gone through this procedure, you know you are aiming correctly so you have no reason to second guess or doubt. You only have time to think about getting the speed correct and holing the putt.
Help with Golf Putter Alignment
When you stand over the ball to hit a putt, you need to know a few things for certain. One, you need to know where you are going to aim. You should have picked out your target line in advance, based on your read of the terrain. Two, you need to know how hard you intend to hit the putt. This will be based on your read as well, but also on your feel of the greens for the day. Finally, you will need to know that your putter is properly aligned with the target line that you have selected. It is this last point which will be the focus of this article.
The ability to align your putter at address is a skill just like anything else in this game. To improve your alignment, you are going to have to practice – and you are going to need the right information. We will help with that second part in this article. The first part – the practice – is up to you, of course. With the right knowledge in mind as to how you can dial in your alignment beautifully time after time, you should feel motivated to head to your local putting green and work on your skills.
It is important to align yourself correctly before starting your putting stroke because there is no time to make adjustments once the stroke has begun. Many players try to make such adjustments, but those efforts will fail almost every time. You might get lucky and manage to 'steer' one into the hole now and then, but that should not be considered a viable long-term strategy. Proper alignment at address is the only way to consistently find the bottom of the cup. Take time to work on this point and you will be amazed at the confidence you can feel while standing over the ball.
While it is going to help your putting performance from all areas of the green to improve your alignment, this is a skill that will particularly benefit you from short range. There are fewer variables involved when putting from close to the hole – if you line up properly, and make a solid stroke, the ball should drop in. Many missed short putts are mistakenly blamed on a bad stroke, when it is actually alignment that is to blame. If you can manage to line up correctly before hitting your short putts, you should find that the vast majority of those putts will fall into the center of the hole.
All of the content below is based on a right-handed golfer. If you happen to play left-handed, please take a moment to reverse the directions as necessary.
Alignment Goals
The simple goal with regard to your putting alignment is obvious – to point the putter face in the right direction at address. For example, if you decide that the putt at hand is not going to break at all in either direction, you will want to aim at the middle of the cup. If you are able to position your putter to where the face is pointed directly at the middle of the hole, you will have been successful by that measure.
With that said, there are some other goals you need to keep in mind when it comes to alignment. Like almost everything else in golf, this topic is a little more complicated than it seems at first. Think about the following points as well when trying to decide whether or not you have been able to successfully line up your putter.
- Matching your body alignment with the putter head. Getting the putter head in the right spot is a good start, but that alone is not going to allow you to make putts. In order for your stroke to move in the right direction, you also need to make sure your body matches up nicely with the putter. That means that the lines you create with your stance should be parallel to the selected target line you are using. For example, a line drawn along your toes should run parallel with your target line, as should a line drawn across your knees. With everything as square as possible, it will be easier to roll the ball in the proper direction time after time. Countless amateur golfers struggle with body positioning when getting ready to putt, and the putter doesn't swing down the proper line as a result. You will continue to fight against your own putting stroke until you learn how to build a square stance.
- Eliminate the need for adjustments. Another goal you should have in mind on this point is to take your stance in the right position on the first try. This might not happen every time, but you do need to be as consistent as possible. If you are constantly having to 'mess' with your alignment while standing over the ball, there is no way to be confident in what you are doing. Even if you do wind up on the right line when all is said and done, you will still have some doubts in the back of your mind. Later in this article, we will offer you a simple procedure which should help you find the right position on your very first try.
- Comfortable head position. With your putter and the rest of your body set nicely and ready to hit the putt, you need to make sure that your head is in a good spot as well. As you already know, it is important to keep your head still while the putting stroke is in progress. You'll only be able to maintain that stability if you start out in a good, comfortable position. It should be easy to look down at the ball when your head is in the right spot, and you shouldn't feel like you are tilted off to the side in either direction. When your head is in a good place, your chin will be up away from your chest and your eyes will be staring straight down at the ball.
To make putts consistently, you need to make your stroke and your overall process as simple and straightforward as possible. If anything in your putting process is unnecessarily complicated, you will be placing a hurdle between yourself and positive results. That is not good news for the outcomes you will experience. Yes, you need to align the putter properly with your selected target line, but you also need to check off the other points listed above. Golfers who experience success on the greens will have no doubt about their ability to get into a great position before hitting a putt. Work on this simple but important part of your short game to experience improvements in both the short- and long-term.
It's All About the Process
In this section, we are going to help you build a process that should result in the putter face pointing perfectly down your target line on nearly every occasion. It is important to note that you should feel free to adjust this method slightly to suit your needs. We think that this general framework will function nicely for the majority of golfers, but don't be afraid to tweak it until you are comfortable with the process. After all, at the end of the day, you are the golfer and you need to have confidence in your methods.
The step-by-step process listed below begins when you walk onto the green, and ends with you (hopefully) pulling the ball out of the cup.
- Everything starts, of course, with the read. You need to take the time to read the green accurately, evaluating your putt from a number of angles. To avoid slowing down the pace of play, you will want to do as much of your green reading as possible while other players are hitting their putts. It is not good enough to just think in general terms – like this putt is going to break 'a little bit right' – you need to be as specific as possible.
- Once you have gathered all the data you need, it will be necessary to confirm your line before you walk up to the ball. Many players get this wrong, as they just sort of wander up to the ball while still thinking about where they are going to aim. Don't make this kind of mistake. While standing behind your ball, pick out a spot on the green to use as your aim point. For instance, if the putt is going to break left, you might find a spot a few inches to the right of the cup that you think will work well for a target line. Zero in on a target spot and then focus your efforts on aligning the putter perfectly with that spot when you take your stance.
- With your target spot in mind, you can now walk up to the ball and set the putter head down on the ground. This is a critical point in the process. To give yourself the best possible chance to align the putter head correctly, you need to set the putter head before you set your feet. Walk up and stand casually next to the ball, without actually settling into a stance. With the putter in your right hand, carefully place the club head behind the ball and make any adjustments that are necessary in order to point the face directly at your target. Then, once the club head is in the right spot, go ahead and build the rest of your stance. It is crucial that you don't allow the putter head to move around while setting your feet in position. With your feet set, add your left hand to complete the grip.
- If you've done everything correctly up to this point, the only thing left to do is take one last look at the hole and hit the putt. You don't want to stand too long over the ball, as tension can build up and you may struggle to get your stroke started smoothly. With practice, you should be able to get into a nice rhythm with this part of the routine. You set your stance, take one last look up toward the hole, look back down, and hit the putt.
This is a simple routine, but it can be quite effective. Specifically, you need to work on building your stance in the proper order, with the putter head being set into place before the rest of your stance is established. Once you get comfortable with this method, you may decide to use it on the rest of your shots as well.
During your next trip to the practice putting green, resist the temptation to just hit as many putts as possible, firing them off one after the next. Instead, take your time to go through this routine prior to every putt. You won't hit as many putts in total, but the putts you do hit should be far more useful in terms of improving your performance.
