There is nothing more frustrating and annoying than missing putts. You have done all the hard work on the hole that you are playing and you have got the ball into a position where you can make a great score, only to miss the putt.
This is where the game of golf is really played, on the putting green and missing putts obviously leads to higher scores. No one ever intends to miss a putt, every golfer is doing their best to make every putt they hit, but if you do miss a putt ensure that it at least rolls past the hole. I’m sure you have heard of the phrase “never up, never in” and this is very true. If you leave your putts short you never have a chance of making them and if you watch the best putters play, they all get the ball up to, or just past, the hole when they don’t make it. No one ever wants to miss a putt, but at least if the ball rolls past the hole you can gain valuable information about the putt that you will be facing next, as you will have just seen the ball roll over the area you now have to putt back across.
Learn to control your reaction when you miss a putt and ensure that you get the ball at least up to the hole, if not past. If you get annoyed with yourself when the ball rolls past the hole and you turn away in disgust, you are missing all of the valuable information that is available to you about the next putt you are going to play. Looking, or turning, away means that you do not see how the ball rolls on the other side of the hole. You need to learn to watch this as the ball is showing you how it is going to react when you putt back at the hole.
Learn to be more neutral with your reaction and your emotions and allow yourself to gather information about the next putt. Watch what happens as the ball rolls past. Learn the break that the ball is showing you, if there is any. If there is no break, the roll of the ball will show you this also. Watch the speed. Is the ball slowing down, or speeding up. Just notice what happens on the other side of the hole and you will find that you make the putt back much more easily, as you will know what is going to happen with it.
Learn to play your putt and then hold your finish. A good rule of thumb to work towards achieving is holding your finish until the ball stops moving. Whilst holding this position, watch exactly what happens to the ball and then if it does not drop into the hole react neutrally. Keep watching the roll of the ball, the speed, the break and then now you will be much more confident in knowing how to make the return putt back and as a result, you will find that you begin making these putts and lower your score.
