Natalie Adams – PGA Teaching Pro

If you’re looking to improve your Putting strokes, then here is three great tips just to help you improve and really start holing a lot more Putts. First of all, I’d make sure that your eyes are directly over the ball just on the inside for the optimum position to hit your Putts from. So, when you set up, just work on setting up to the ball and then noticing where your eyes are relative to that ball. And a great tip to be able to do that, is just take a golf ball, place it on the bridge of your nose, so directly between your eyes and then just release the ball. And it should drop just on the inside of the ball that you’re going to putt.

So now I’ve got your eyes set in the correct position and it’s going to allow you to make a really good backswing and approach back to the ball. You’ll swing the Putter in a much straighter line. If your eyes are directly over the ball and too far this way, you’ll tend to swing the putter across the target line, rather than along it. So check you eye position to start with.

My second tip to you would be to maintain your head position when you hit the putt. A lot of amateur golfers tend to follow the ball with their eyes, and what happens is that following the ball with their eyes, so you would hit the Putt and turn to follow it and you can see your body is rotating and turning so that your shoulders are actually aiming to the left of the target rather than maintaining their alignment. As that happens you’ll tend to pull the Putter head over to the left and now you’re going to have accuracy issues with your Putting. If your club faces point in left, you’ll hit the ball left, otherwise you’ve got to steer the ball into the hole by turning the club face and it’s not a consistent way to putt.

So a really good tip for doing this is, when you set up to hit the ball, just close your eyes. And as you close your eyes you won’t follow the ball. If your eyes are open you’ll tend to follow it and you’ll get a lot of body rotation. So set up, close your eyes and then hit the Putt. And if you keep your eyes closed, you’ll maintain your head position and your body won’t turn through the shots.

And finally, my final tip for you to become a better Putter would be to reduce the use of your wrist. A lot of golfers tend to keep their arms very quiet during the Putting stroke and just move their wrist, but it’s a much more consistent way to Putt if you move from your shoulders and have very little wrist movement, so much more of this stroke. And a good way to practice doing that, I would hold down the handle, a good three to four inches, and then just place the golf ball between your left wrist and the handle if you’re a right-handed golfer. That’s now going to really keep your wrists in position and get you moving as a unit and from the shoulders rather than from the wrist. Because if you do become wristy and you flip your wrist or you move your wrist too much, you’ll drop the golf ball and it’s a great indicator that you’re using your wrist too much.

So there are my three basic tips to help you become a better putter.