You're Correct!

Improving your putting is the one thing that any golfer of any age and ability can do. The question is knowing what to practise to make the improvements and then spending the time to become a better putter.

Nowhere is it more important than holing more short putts, and if you can improve the number of putts you hole from five feet and closer then you will become a better golfer. There are a couple of key things that good putters have that poor putters dont have - good focus, solid impact and a stable body.

Good focus - you need to dial in!

One of the biggest problems with having a short putt is that you can see the hole in your peripheral vision. If your putt breaks, there is a possibility that you would try to steer the ball to the hole. This can cause you to push or pull your putt, the result is you need to putt again. So when you pick your line you really do have to trust it no matter what. Take your set up and square your putter face to the line you picked. Now you really have to dial in your focus so that your putt starts on this line. If you pick a spot that is on your line and four inches in front of your ball, you need focus on hitting your putt and watching it roll over this spot.

Solid impact for a pure roll

If you strike your putts in the sweet spot, you will hit putts which are predictable in their roll and are more likely to stay on the line that they start on. You will also be able to control the speed of your putts better too. A quick test for you to practise hitting the sweet spot more is to wrap an elastic band around your putter head, half inch either side of the centre, and hit some putts. If you hit the ball off centre then you will hit the elastic band. This will give you instant feedback on your impact.

Whilst you practise the drills, make sure you keep your eyes looking down at your four inch spot and your lower half still. The more stable you keep your body, the more you will start your putts on your intended line.

The more active and wristy your putting stroke is, the more inconsistent you will be. So if you want to hole more putts, either from short, mid or long range then you need to have less wrist action in your putting stroke.

You only want to allow more break as the ball gets nearer the hole on longer putts. This is because as your putt runs out of speed it will start to take more of the break. As your putt wont have all that much speed from five feet or less, you need to allow for a little break but not too much.

This is something that you see many tour players do, or so it may seem. In fact, they might hit their putts with a little more speed and a little less break but not to the extent that you are lead to believe. If the speed is too fast, the chance of you holing your putt is very low.