Absolute Golf Putting Basics (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
Absolute Golf Putting Basics (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

So, if we look at the real key fundamental differences to what might happen in the putting stroke compared to what might happen in a longer swing or even a chipping stroke. One of the key focus is, is that there is very little wrist hinge or wrist action at all in a putting stroke. So, if I was hitting a full swing, we appreciate that there would be some wrist hinge and some wrist release even if I was chipping and pitching the ball, there would be a little bit of hand action. In a putting stroke we want to keep the hands as quite as possible. So, we work quite hard with the grip of the putter to actually eliminate any wrist hinge, maybe we have one finger down or even two fingers down. Some golfers grip left below right, some golfers use a longer or sort of broom handle putter that’s all designed in some focal way to stop using the hands as much as possible through the stroke, even a longer putt would just rock the shoulders more, we don’t really want to see the hands get too involved in this. So, first fundamental basic of putting is remove the hand action from your stroke.

The second thing that we want to consider is a super stable head position. So, we are going to try and keep this head, really solid and really stable throughout the whole part of the stroke. And particularly noticeable in the follow through, in a traditional golf follow through the head would follow through the right shoulder, in a golf putting stroke, I would rather you are able to hit the putt and then look up, but quite a long time after you have hit the ball, we don’t want to be hitting the ball locking up straight away, generally that will change the nature of your stroke and not in a positive way either. One of the last thing we really want to focus on, is the length of your backswing needs to be super controlled. So, when a normal full swing, we swing the club back until we reach full way which is maybe the 3 0’clock position then hit the ball as hard as we can and we change the club to change the distance. Here we are going to have to change the length of your stroke to change the distance, we don’t have different putters for long and short, we have different putting strokes for long and for short. So, the length that you take that club back, severely effects the distance you hit the putt. And most importantly we have got to bring it back the right distance for the right putt each time. And we don’t know exactly what a 10-foot putt or 20-foot putt looks like, because a 20-foot putt uphill or 20-foot putt downhill are going to be very different. So, we need to be able to read the green, assess how hard we need to hit it, then find the right distance of stroke and then go ahead and hit it positively and confidently. And a lot of these putting stroke basics and fundamentals do come down to good solid practice. So, we have got a stable head position, very little wrist hinge and controlling the length of your backswing and that’s three really great fundamentals for better putting. 2016-04-15

So, if we look at the real key fundamental differences to what might happen in the putting stroke compared to what might happen in a longer swing or even a chipping stroke. One of the key focus is, is that there is very little wrist hinge or wrist action at all in a putting stroke. So, if I was hitting a full swing, we appreciate that there would be some wrist hinge and some wrist release even if I was chipping and pitching the ball, there would be a little bit of hand action. In a putting stroke we want to keep the hands as quite as possible. So, we work quite hard with the grip of the putter to actually eliminate any wrist hinge, maybe we have one finger down or even two fingers down. Some golfers grip left below right, some golfers use a longer or sort of broom handle putter that’s all designed in some focal way to stop using the hands as much as possible through the stroke, even a longer putt would just rock the shoulders more, we don’t really want to see the hands get too involved in this. So, first fundamental basic of putting is remove the hand action from your stroke.

The second thing that we want to consider is a super stable head position. So, we are going to try and keep this head, really solid and really stable throughout the whole part of the stroke. And particularly noticeable in the follow through, in a traditional golf follow through the head would follow through the right shoulder, in a golf putting stroke, I would rather you are able to hit the putt and then look up, but quite a long time after you have hit the ball, we don’t want to be hitting the ball locking up straight away, generally that will change the nature of your stroke and not in a positive way either.

One of the last thing we really want to focus on, is the length of your backswing needs to be super controlled. So, when a normal full swing, we swing the club back until we reach full way which is maybe the 3 0’clock position then hit the ball as hard as we can and we change the club to change the distance. Here we are going to have to change the length of your stroke to change the distance, we don’t have different putters for long and short, we have different putting strokes for long and for short. So, the length that you take that club back, severely effects the distance you hit the putt.

And most importantly we have got to bring it back the right distance for the right putt each time. And we don’t know exactly what a 10-foot putt or 20-foot putt looks like, because a 20-foot putt uphill or 20-foot putt downhill are going to be very different. So, we need to be able to read the green, assess how hard we need to hit it, then find the right distance of stroke and then go ahead and hit it positively and confidently. And a lot of these putting stroke basics and fundamentals do come down to good solid practice. So, we have got a stable head position, very little wrist hinge and controlling the length of your backswing and that’s three really great fundamentals for better putting.