The secret to holing more putts comes down to what you do before you actually hit the putt.<

The pre-shot routine and the preparation before the shot can dramatically improve your chances to hole more putts. Many times a golfer will underestimate how important the preparation beforehand is and how much is involved before the shots that can help you hole more. Many golfers rush the preparation and this can have terrible effects on the outcome of the shot. This tip has been designed to include everything you need for a successful pre-shot routine. The best pre-shot routines include confidence building, aim, visualization, judging the speed and the slope.

Pre-shot routine - 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 that 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.

Practice behind the golf ball - The best place to practice is directly behind the line of the putt about four feet behind the ball. This way you are practicing the line of the putt and practicing slightly behind helps with making sure the ball goes past the hole.

Visualization and confidence building - When you are practicing behind the golf ball, visualize the golf ball in front of you as if it is rolling towards the hole, taking on the break and slope then going straight into the middle of the hole. This is a great way of building confidence ahead of the shot you are about to play.

Execution - Once you have confidently judged the slope and speed of the putt, you have practiced the stroke and visualized the golf ball going into the hole to build confidence, and you are now ready to execute. Aim to pull the trigger of the shot as soon after the last practice stroke as you can. When setting up to the ball, keep reminding yourself of the last visualization of the golf ball going straight into the middle. This will fill you with one last boost of confidence ready for the shot.

Top tip - Do not hesitate over the golf ball. Look at the hole, look back at the golf ball and then pull the trigger instantly for the best results.

Hearing the sound of the ball falling into the cup is one of the most rewarding experiences in golf.

Even on a relatively short putt, there is something both exciting and relieving about hearing the ball rattle around in the bottom of the hole as you walk up to retrieve it. When you hear that wonderful noise, you know that your putt has been successful and you have avoided adding another stroke to your score – which would have been the case if you had missed.

Of course, the question that every golfer would like to answer is this – how can I make more putts? From the total beginner to the experienced professional, everyone who plays this game would like to make more putts from round to round. Generally speaking, this is the area of the game that provides the greatest opportunity for improvement. While most amateurs spend countless hours on the driving range trying to find the perfect swing, the practice putting green is waiting just a few steps away, offering impressive returns on your practice investment. If you are serious about playing better golf, you need to get serious about improving your putting.

In this article, we are going to highlight a number of ways you can pursue the goal of holing more putts. Some of these tips may work beautifully for you – and some won't work at all. It's your job to consider the advice we have offered below and use what is relevant to your game. Most likely, you already do some things well in your putting stroke, while you struggle with other pieces of the puzzle. If you are willing to work on your weaknesses while maintaining your strengths, impressive results may be right around the corner.

One thing that is often overlooked when talking about putting is the effect that this part of the game can have on everything else you do on the course. In other words, becoming a better putter can actually make you better from tee to green, as well. When you know that you have great putting in your back pocket to get yourself out of trouble, much of the pressure will be taken off of your other shots. Hit a poor approach and need to two-putt from all the way across the green? No problem – your solid putting performance is ready to help. Miss the green and need to deal with a tricky chip? Again, no worries. As long as you hit a decent chip shot, your putter will be ready to finish the job.

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.

The Importance of Proper Practice

We are going to assume that you already understand how important practice is when trying to improve any part of your game. If you don't, let's put it this way – you aren't going to get better if you don't practice. Golf is a hard game, and no amount of reading is going to allow you to improve without any further action. Instructional articles like this one are only beneficial if you get out and put what you have learned into action.

Unfortunately, even golfers who do spend time practicing their putting often waste that time due to poor practice habits. You need to practice the right way if you are going to get anywhere on the greens. The following tips should help you get the most out of your practice putting time.

• Use one ball. Commonly, players will drop a handful of golf balls on the green when setting up for a practice putting session. While this is okay in some situations, we would argue that the better approach is to use just a single ball. Why? Simple – you only use one ball when out on the course. You don't get to hit the same putt over and over again during your rounds, so don't get into that habit in practice. When you use just one ball, you'll be more likely to pay careful attention to each putt. The rapid-fire practice putting style used by most amateurs simply isn't that beneficial in the end. Use just one ball, take your time, and make each putt count. The notable exception to this tip is when you are working on something specific within the mechanics of your stroke. When trying to correct a technical flaw, you need to rack up as many repetitions as possible – so go ahead and use several golf balls to increase your volume of putts.
• Read your putts. Reading the green properly is a huge part of holing more putts, yet most golfers completely ignore this skill during practice. Yes, it is important to practice your physical technique, but it is just as important to practice the ability to read the slope of the green. Take a moment to read each practice putt, pick out a specific line and speed, and then make your stroke. This is a good habit for all of your practice putting sessions, but it is even more important when getting ready to play a round for the first time on a new course. If you aren't familiar with a course and its greens, read all of your warmup putts and make adjustments as necessary before the round begins.
• Don't ignore speed problems. Another bad habit which is commonly seen on practice greens is allowing the ball to race past the hole time after time. Speed control is hugely important in putting, so don't become so obsessed with hitting the line that you forget about matching that line with great speed. Your putts aren't going to fall in if they are travelling way to fast anyway, and those comeback putts are never any fun. You should be just as concerned with speed as you are with line, both in practice and on the course. In fact, it could easily be argued that the skill which sets great putters apart from the rest of the pack is the ability to roll the ball the right distance time after time.
• Take your time and pay attention. Being mentally present for your putting practice is another important key. This is not a time to just 'check out' and go through the motions. If you find that you are thinking about other things while practicing, you may as well stop the practice session right then and there. You are only going to get a benefit from this process if you are actually thinking about what you are doing with each putt. Take these putts just as seriously as you take your putts on the course. The mental side of golf has a lot to do with your success or failure, so taking it for granted in practice would be a mistake.

Good practice habits are a huge step in the right direction with regard to your performance on the greens. If you don't practice properly, you'll be doing nothing but wasting your valuable time. In addition to the tips provided in this section, feel free to develop your own practice habits which you feel will help your performance when you head out for a round. As long as what you do in practice is a close replica of what you'll be doing on the course, it's likely that you will make steady progress.

Iron Out Mechanical Issues

You aren't going to consistently hole putts if you fail to iron out any mechanical problems which may be present in your stroke. It isn't necessary to have a 'perfect' stroke, if such a thing even exists. What is necessary, however, is to avoid the kinds of major mistakes that will make it important to send the ball in the right direction time after time. In this section, we are going to discuss three of the biggest mechanical putting flaws seen in the amateur game. If you are currently making any of these mistakes, you'll need to find a way to break that habit before you can expect more putts to start falling in.

• Head movement. If we had to identify just one putting stroke flaw which is to blame for the largest share of missed putts in the amateur world, this would be it. Simply put, amateur golfers have a hard time keeping their head still. Head movement during any part of the stroke is a problem, but it is particularly problematic when it occurs just prior to impact. As the putter swings forward, you need to resist the temptation to look up early in the direction of the hole. Keep your head down, keep your eyes on the ball, and trust that the putt is going to roll in the proper direction. To make progress on this issue, try hitting some practice putts with your eyes closed. Without the ability to see either the ball or the hole, you'll have no reason to look up early – so you will be left to simply make your stroke and hope for the best. If you hit at least a few putts during each practice session with your eyes closed, you may find that the temptation to look up early gradually fades over time.
• Active right hand. This is another issue which plagues many amateurs – and even some professionals. During the putting stroke, you want to keep your hands quiet and out of the action. It should be your shoulders which are in charge of the stroke, moving the putter back and through in a smooth and controlled fashion. Keeping your left hand out of the stroke really isn't much of a problem for most golfers, but the right hand can cause trouble. Specifically, your right hand may want to take over the stroke on the way through, pushing the putter head toward the ball prematurely. If you get too aggressive with this action, you will be venturing into 'yips' territory. As you might suspect, one of the best ways to work on correcting this fault is to simply take your right hand off the club. Spend some practice time rolling one-handed putts, keeping your left hand on the grip while your right hand is in your pocket (or behind your back). One-handed putting is going to feel awkward at first, but you'll get more and more comfortable as you go. Pretty soon, you will realize that your right hand really isn't necessary to produce a smooth, reliable stroke. You'll still want to keep your right hand on the putter for stability during actual rounds of golf, but practicing with only your left should help you break the bad habit of using too much right hand action in the stroke.
• Uneven tempo. Speed control is the name of the game when putting. You need to get the ball on line too, of course, but even the best line in the world isn't going to help you if the speed is off. Learn to dial in your distance control and putting will suddenly become a much easier task. A big part of controlling the speed of your putts is swinging the putter with the same pace back and through time after time. If the tempo of your stroke is inconsistent, it will be nearly impossible to manage your distance successfully. Some players like to swing the putter quickly, while others like to use a more leisurely pace – both of these options are just fine, as long as they are consistent. You need to find a putting tempo that works for you, and then repeat that tempo to the best of your ability.

The pace of your putting stroke needs to be reliable if you are going to hole out on a regular basis. You also need to avoid using too much right hand action, and you need to keep your head stable from start to finish. Putting can seem complicated, but your best results are likely to come when you keep things simple. Master the basics of solid putting technique and your results are sure to improve over time.