How To Putt: Best Advice And Tips For Better Putting In Golf

Do you know how to putt a better distance? How to putt consistently? If not, we have some tips and advice to make you more adept in putting those precious balls.

Here are some of the tricks, tips, and drills on how to putt better: without the pressure most beginners experience.

6 Steps To Master Putting

What you will need before starting

Draw a line or stripe onto the golf ball and a coin. Do the markings with a permanent marker. You can utilize the stripes in aligning the ball and the coin (as your reference line to the hole).

Step 1: Approach the green

As you come close to the green, look for the ball and its location relative to the ball. You can think for a while about the strategy you may do in putting the golf ball. Then, decide where the ball lies: Is it sloping downward (downhill) or upward (uphill)?

If your ball is lying uphill, lucky for you! Your aggressiveness may provide the needed shot on this spot. Meanwhile, if your ball is downhill, striking the ball with ease (a soft hit, to be exact!) is more appropriate.

Step 2: Make a mark on the ball & calculate your line

Estimate the distance between the ball and hole. Guessing or estimating an imaginary line between them will give you more possibility of a putt. Your estimation need not be accurate because you may adjust more than twice in the succeeding steps.

Step 3: Make a brief study of the green

Hitting the putt should not take long. Utilize your coin with a stripe in calculating where you may think the putt will sink into the hole. Do this by looking at the imaginary line you perceived. After determining the line, you can go to the next step.

Step 4: Discerning and focusing on the ball

Do the following before making a putt:

• Determine where the coin stripe points to.
• Think about the line you imagine before. You should assess the grass surface lying between the ball and the hole. Then, make a final decision on which line you prefer the shot to follow.
• Ensure that the coin stripe points to where it should be. If not, set aside the ball and aim the coin line into the target. The tip of the grass on the fairway typically points where the wind blows. So, you can have a pattern on where the ball might go once hit. Moreover, deformities and flaws on the grass are where you should point the coin stripe. Once you reset the coin marking wait until the other players finish their putt.
• When it is your time putting: lay the ball on the ground while lining up the markings on the ball and the coin. This time, the stripes should point in the direction you desire.

Step 5: Have some practice hitting so you can sense the distance

Step back a foot or more while the ball lies on the green and have some practice strokes. This way, you can feel the range between the ball and the hole. Do some swinging back and forth while looking at the hole. This exercise uses your instinct in calculating your distance from the cup while aligning the shot with the sightline.

Step 6: Putting the ball

Now, it is time you do the putt! Once you organize all the possibilities you have done previously, it is the moment you are waiting!

Concentrate a lot and think that you can do the putt with ease and without pressure. You can do any stroke, like the straight back and straight through; open-to-close; or rounded. There is no definite style of stroke needed for a good putt.

Additionally, we have to tell you a strategy (or a secret for some seasoned golfers). Do not look or take a peek at your putts. They advised that you should not see the golf ball going into the hole. Just wait for the sound as it sinks in.

Layout And Head Gesture

Head movement

Remember not to look at the putt and keep your head motionless during the stroke. Also, keep your eyes on the ball while doing the hit. It is better that your eyes remain still and not look at the ball while it sinks (or not) into the cup.

Set-up and other parts of the body

1. Eyes

Try your best to let your left eye close to the golf ball as possible.

2. Hands

Put your hands in front of the ball when setting up. In this sense, the club shaft must bend forward ahead of the golf ball. But the distance between your hands and the ball is not fixed. It could be a hair strand or a span (about six inches).

The setup may help in keeping the ball forward with no backspin. The ball might not bounce or skid through the green. But if it slides, you may lose the chance of putting the ball.

3. Legs, arms, and shoulders

It is more advisable that you only move your arms & shoulders when doing the putt. The elbow and wrists should not move during the shot, while the head must remain still. You can minimize wrist movement when putting by using a thicker grip like the SuperStroke Traxion Tour Golf Putter Grip | .

How To Make More Short Putts

1. Take fewer breaks and be more aggressive

You can take the ball to sink in or be at least four feet away from the hole when you do the putt. It is hard to do, but being more aggressive with a lot of practice might do the trick.

2. Short putt drill to hit the back of the cup

Doing the putt, you can have three aims: the center, edge, or outside the hole. When doing a putt, go more than a cup outside the hole. Decide on your aim point and nail it down by focusing on hitting the line.

3. How to stroke a short putt

Always keep your head down during the putt shot and wait for the rattle. Aggressiveness counts a lot! Also, it is a good thing that you utilized a backswing: with a long follow-through.

4. Spot-the-spot

You can have a bad putt when staring at the ball for too long. Confusion on your part is also a possibility when staring at the ball persistently at the address. The best thing to do is look for the spot in front of the golf ball within the target line. Then, roll the ball along this line.

3 Effortless Putting Drills For Beginners

1. Train Tracks

Beginners and seasoned players should go straight back and straight through putting styles when doing the putt. It is also better to allow the first three to four inches backstroke with a follow-through.

2. Prayer Grip

Better putting may sometimes be the result of good rhythm. The practice leads to consistent stroke while controlling the distance. Use a two-finger grip as a putting practice while utilizing your shoulders in stroking the putt.

3. Two-Putt Speed Drill

Beginners should have speed in putting on the green. But with caution! Many beginners have difficulty tackling the short putt with a 3-putt in each round. Practicing the 2-putt speed drill will help you get rid of fearful 3-putt.

How To Putt – Controlling The Pace For Advanced Golfers

Many seasoned golfers might be more proficient when putting. But there are more ways and strategies to do it better. For one, you can speed up your hands and the putter head by way of impact. It has something to do with physics.

Such is the conservation of momentum. The hands usually begin to decelerate after impact. But you can counteract this phenomenon to enable your putter head to go on by flexing your left wrist slightly.

Read more:How To Measure Putter Length Without Special Tools

How To Putt Straight?

The line that you desire should hold more putts. Your markings on the surface, putter, and the ball will have a big role in putting straight.

Moreover, the markings will give you an idea of whether you will go right or left. It is more practical than curving the putt, which may miss the hole.

How To Putt With A Mallet Putter? 

Here are three tips for putting with a mallet putter.

1. No. 1 tip: Make use of gravity and your club

Gravity may provide you with a better deal in sinking those putts. Combined with your clubhead, gravity does the needed momentum once you strike the ball. The ball will roll further along the hitting line providing distance until it reaches the cup.

2. No.2 tip: Straight back & straight through (SBST)

Pick the best stroke that fits your skill. The SBST is one such stroke.

3. No. 3 tip: Make use of the mallet design

Once you see the shape of the mallet, you can already figure out how it behaves on the putt. Many golfers visualize a mallet putter to know where to aim and desire the ball path. Consequently, gravity will take over in allowing the weight of the golf club to swing freely.

How To Putt Mini Golf?

Putting in a mini-golf course may be easier than a regular golf course for some. In mastering the golf course, navigate each hole in one precisely placed shot. Moreover, you can get a hole-in-one off the tee or do the putt in just two.

Here is a quick view on how to putt on mini-golf:

How To Putt Straight Back And Through? 

Step 1: Stand with your feet at least a foot apart. Your body parts like the shoulders, arms, knees, toes, and hips should lie on the same vertical plane.

Step 2: Allow your arms to hang loosely. Then, grip the putter club on which your hands take hold.

Step 3: Allow your head, hands, wrists, and arms still. When making a shot, keep a rhythmic motion while grasping the putter solidly. Also, let your shoulders do the movement when striking the ball.

Drills To Help You Putt Better

Here are two of the most popular putting drills.

1. Drill 1: 1-2-3 Putting Drill

At three, six, and nine feet from the hole, set the golf balls in a straight line. Hit the balls one at a time and see if you can sink them all with a minimal time interval. Do the drill repeatedly.

2. Drill 2: Gate Putting Drill

Set up six tee pegs (three each on one line) a little bit wider than your putter head. Put the golf ball in the middle of the lined or gate pegs. Grab your putter and stand like you are doing a putt next to the lined pegs. You can swing or strike the ball in the middle of the pegs. With every strike: see if the putter’s head goes through the gate without hitting the pegs.

Conclusion

Putting may not be the easiest shot in golf, but it is one of the most challenging. Putting is also the turning point in the game where you can have a low or high score. Learning how to putt better makes a lot of difference.