You're Correct!

Controlling the direction of your forward stroke, through impact and into the finish when putting is crucial if you are to hit accurate putts. One of the most important areas to focus on when making your stroke is directing your putter along the arc whilst keeping your putter face square to the arc.

There are a few ways in which you can move your putter back to the ball in the forward stroke but the most consistent way is to use your lead hand to direct your putter forward into impact and beyond.

Once you have made your smooth backstroke, you need to focus on your lead hand pulling your putter back along the same arc, keeping the same tempo in the forward stroke to ensure that you do not decelerate into impact. If this is something that you do not currently do then you need to make a trip to the practise putting green and spend some time doing the following drill.

Take five balls and drop them around four feet from a hole. Take your set up as if you were going to hit a regular putt. Take your trail hand and place it into your pocket. Make a smooth, controlled backstroke and then keeping the same tempo, pull your lead hand back towards the hole. In your minds eye, you need to see the back of your lead hand and the face of your putter staying at 90 degrees to the arc of your stroke. Repeat the drill with the other balls.

Move back another four feet, so you are now eight feet from the same hole and repeat the drill, taking care to keep the smooth, controlled tempo in your backstroke before you focus on your lead hand directing your putter head towards the hole, keeping your putter face square to the arc. The more you practise this drill, the more control you will have in your lead hand to keep the putter face square to your arc as you swing the putter in the forward stroke and through impact.

In the putting stroke you direct the movement with your lead hand and have the feel in your trail hand. This is due to the fact that in the most part, your dominant hand will be your trailing hand. If you try to push your trail hand through you will only succeed in accelerating your putter head and lose control of your speed, the result will most likely see your ball run way beyond the hole.

If you try to bring the putter towards impact by just turning your chest, it will be almost impossible to keep the face square to the arc, without making some sort of compensatory move with your hands. This will see your ball be pulled off line and you will not hole too many putts this way.

If you want to develop more accuracy in your putting then you really need to reduce the degree of hand and wrist action during your stroke. Using your wrists in a flicking type of motion to move the putter forward towards impact will see you struggle to maintain a high level of accuracy and also lose your ability to control your distance due to a lack of speed control.