How to Hole More Putts

To sink more putts you need to learn to make a consistent, solid contact on the sweetspot of the putterhead.

Hold the putter without tension, which inhibits the free-flowing shoulder stroke. Crucial to reducing tension is to avoid squeezing the putter tightly. Don't even grip it. Just put it on the ground and tighten it up slightly on the backswing, just enough to take the putter away from the ball.

Set up comfortably so you can see the putting line. Avoid placing the ball too far away from you, as it causes you to open or close the putterface during the stroke. Position the ball below your dominant eye.

Be sure that your shoulders are aligned square to the ball-target line. As far as you keep your shoulders dead square, it is not a serious problem to set up open or closed to the ball-target line with your feet and hips. The putter swings along your shoulder line, not your foot or hip line.

Open shoulders make you pull the putts to the left of the target and closed shoulders results in pushing the putts to the right of the target.

Solid contact is rare without reducing the number of moving parts in the stroke. During the stroke, move your shoulders back and forth freely in an up-and-down fashion.

On longer putts, you tend to move your body superfluously to get more power but that makes it hard to control distance.

Keep the upper part of your left arm pressed tightly against the side of your chest during the entire stroke as you do with your full shots. Keeping your left arm tightly pressed against the side of your chest helps you stay still over the ball. That also gets the putter to move low and along the ball-target line, promoting a solid stroke and a natural release of the putterhead.

Also, try to take the exact same amount of time on each putt, from the moment you finish your reading the putt to the moment the ball leaves the putter. To be more successful you need a constant pre-stroke routine.

Hold your finish until the ball stops rolling or disappears into the cup. That promotes a smooth, flowing stroke.

Even when you make a perfect read and stroke a putt right on line, you cannot make it if you allow the ball to take a big hop off the putter at impact as it brings about the loss of speed and accuracy.

Hitting your putts with the putter shaft angled backward at impact causes the ball to hop. A putt is not different from other normal shot you hit. Keep your hands moving ahead of the putterhead through the ball. That gets the ball to roll more consistently and predictably.

To improve your aim and better zero in on breaking putts aim at a more precise target such as a tiny dead grass instead of the entire hole.

Flipping the right hand through the ball is a common fault novice and average golfers tend to commit during the stroke. That causes you to miss your putts long and left.

To avoid this tendency you need to focus on keeping the angle created at address on your right wrist throughout the stroke.

Also, keep your backstroke as short as you can on every putt, long or short. That helps you accelerate through the ball, squaring the putterface to the target.

Your last thought before starting your putting stroke needs to be positive. If a negative thought creeps into your mind at the last second, step back and take a deep breath. Positive attitude and confidence are more important than proper putting mechanics.