Without a doubt, it's essential to set up correctly to hole every makeable putt but not less important than the proper setup is a light grip pressure.

Recreational golfers tend to either grip the putter too tightly from the start or increase its pressure during the stroke. Either way, you have trouble controlling the stroke pace, which is just as critical as the putting line. Your grip pressure needs to be about 5 on a scale of 10.

To aim properly, avoid reading too much break into a makeable putt, unless there's a tremendous amount of slope.

Playing darts, you aim for the bull's eye on the dartboard. You need to approach the short putts the same way. Aim at a more specific target such as a piece of tall grass at the back of the cup or a brown spot on the green rather than aim at the entire hole.

That encourages you to make a firm, aggressive stroke, which makes the ball hold its line. That also creates a great margin for error. Even if you miss your target, the ball still has a good chance of dropping in the cup.

To not only make a firm, solid stroke, but also to keep the putter on path throughout the stroke, you need to keep your head and lower body still during the stroke. To keep your head steady, look at the spot where the ball was for a count of two. A motionless head is a quality shared by all great putters.

Equally crucial to successful putts is to keep the lower body in place during the stroke. Take a normal stance and imagine a rubber ball wedged between your knees. You need to keep it tight throughout the stroke.

That is, be sure that you maintain the gaps between your knees during the stroke. That helps you stabilize your lower body, which is essential for a consistent stroke.

The less you think about the break and your mechanics, the better off you'll be. Aim the putterface at a smaller target, take your stance and then make your stroke with confidence.

Make a shorter backswing than usual and accelerate the putterhead toward the hole, keeping the putter low to the ground. That helps you keep the putterface square at and after impact. That way you'll hit the ball solidly, letting the ball start on line.

Amateur golfers tend to miss short putts as they fail to accelerate the putterhead through the ball. They make too long a backstroke and then slow down to avoid hitting the ball way past the hole. Decelerating throws the putter head off line, causing you to miss the putt left or right of the cup.

On all makeable putts, you need to make a short backstroke so you can accelerate through the ball. That helps get the putterhead and ball on the line, keeping its face square to the target you choose.

A good way to learn to do this is to place a tee a couple of inches behind the ball so it limits the length of the backstroke. That way you won't get the ball to the hole unless you accelerate the putterhead through impact.

Last but not least, spend as much time as possible on the practice green. As far as golf is concerned, there is no secret or shortcut. The only key to success is hard work. Sweat is the only way to get your putting ability to the next level and maintain a competitive edge. Take the somewhat monotonous and tedious process for granted and enjoy it.

For successful short putts, stick a tee in the practice green and see how many times you can hit it from three feet away. Start with 10 in a row and work up to 100. When you can hit a tee 100 consecutive times from three feet, it would be a cinch to hit the hole.