Putting

Putting is the part of the game most amateur golfers practice the least, yet it is arguably the most important. You have to remember a 2 and half foot putt counts the same as a 250 yard drive. Its a fact that putting accounts for 43% of all the shots played in a round of golf thats nearly half. Yet the time spent practicing the putting stroke compared to the rest of the game is less than 10%. Another mostly unknown point is that putting is a rare skill in sport, in that a player no matter gender, strength, physique or speed can be as good and even better than a more acomplished player.

The five main fundamentals to putting well are Grip, Posture, Set up, Alignment and Stroke.

Grip:

It is not the same as in other clubs. Grip the putter using the palms of your hands facing towards each other with your right hand slightly lower than
your left ( for right handed golfers ).

Posture:

Like the grip the posture is different from our full swing posture. Unlike the full swing when our posture has the
straight spine angle, This would make it very difficult to get the putter face square through the ball consistently.
Therefore address the ball trying to get the top half of the spine to be as flat as possible, this will allow the
shoulders to rock back and forward through the putt, At the same time ensuring your head and therefore eyes are
directly over the ball helping the lining up of the putt. ( see alignment later ).

Setup:

A solid base from which there is very little movement is the key to a good putting stroke.
To create this balanced position stand with your feet a shoulder width apart. The ball should be positioned 2 to 3
inches forward of your belt buckle or belly button, this will help stroke the ball in an upward motion thus achieving
the desired action of the ball rolling end over end as soon as possible and not jumping as it leaves the putter head.
The hands should be level or slightly ahead of the ball to give you the feeling of pulling the putter head and not
pushing it. It is a scientific fact that something pulled along stays straighter than something that is pushed.

Alignment:

This is obviously very important if you want to hole more putts.
To do this you should make sure your shoulders, Hips and forearms are square to and parallel to the target line.
Add this to a square putter face to target line then you stand a greater chance of holing those putts.

Stroke:

Now that you have a good grip, comfortable posture, sound and solid setup, an accurate alignment, all you have to
do is make the putting motion ie ( Stroke ).
All that you should feel through the putting stroke is the rocking back and forward of your shoulders. Everything
you have done in your preparation is designed to make your shoulders not your wrists or arms control the stroke
making your putting stroke more consistent.

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