HERE IS SOME PUTTING ADVICE/TIPS I COLLECTED FROM THE NET RECENTLY VIA THE GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE.

SETUP & ALIGNMENT
To check putter position and face alignment: Hit the ball and hold the putter position for 6 sec.

Speed = break. Downhill putts - ball rolls slower resulting in more break per unit distance. Uphill, ball rolls faster resulting in less break per unit distance.

Putting across a slope. 1st half of putt is uphill (therefore there will be less beak). 2nd part is downhill (therefore there will be more break).

Practice short putts with left hand only.

Keep eyes on spot of grass where ball was resting (to keep head down).
Practice 6 ft putts on flat surface, shooting toward a ball marker rather than a hole. (Pros make only 50% of their 6 ft putts!).

Judging sidehill, downhill, uphill putting speeds. Place tees at 3 ft and at 6 ft. Practice hitting tees.

Setup. Play ball off left heel. Hang arms fully extended in Pelz triangle (this requires a 34 inch putter for my 6 ft frame). Hover putter head just above ground.

Stroke routine: 1-2-3-4. 1) slight hand press forward, 2) take putter head straight back, 3) on forward stroke, key on seeing spot on grass that ball was resting on, hold follow thru for 6 seconds without looking up.

Keeping the Putter on Line. Run a string between two pencils on you target line (can use chalk line instead). Make your stroke with the intent to match backstroke length with forward stroke length. Use the line as a reference as to how your putter head travels along their target line. It should remain in-line with the string and move as low to the ground as possible.

Take 10 balls and line up a straight putt of about 4 feet. It is important to practice a straight putt, because then you need only focus on the stroke and not on the break. Obviously, if you miss a straight putt you will know that you made a bad stroke; if you miss a breaking putt, you might have made a good stroke but just had the wrong speed. So it's important to pick a straight putt for this drill. Now, start putting these putts with two objectives: 1. Make sure the putter head is going straight back and straight through. Make sure your putter face is square to your line at all times. This is the most common fault with poor putters and takes the most work and concentration, but will pay off huge if you have the determination to get it right.

Set yourself a goal for the number of putts that you can hole in a row. Gradually increase this goal until you can get up to 50. Remember, if you miss one you have to start at one again!
This teaches you how to putt under pressure, because as you reach 45, 46, 47, 48 - you don't want to start at one again - so you must make a good stroke. The secondary benefit of this practice method is to your subconscious. As you hole putt after putt at this distance, your confidence escalates and you have less and less fear of these putts.
If you don't have time to go to the course, remember - you can practice this at home on the carpet. This drill is a great way to work on your putting stroke.

How To Improve Your Putting Practice Drills. Use the practice green to guage speed and work on distance control. Distance control (sometimes called speed control) should be the focus when practicing putting.
1. Hit your putts at a ball marker, not at a hole, to start with. Don't immediately try to make putts - simply roll the ball toward a ball marker you've put down about six feet away. Think about the stroke and centering the ball on the putter face.
2. Set down distance markers and alternate putting to different distances. Set ball markers, clubs or some other markers at 10-foot intervals, out to 30 feet. Alternate hitting balls to the different distances.
3. Hit from one side of the green to the other to practice long putts. Making a 70-footer is something we're very unlikely to do, it doesn't make sense to aim at the cup. You'll only be disappointed when the ball doesn't go in.
4. Practice making putts, not missing them. Putt from no more than six feet out, and preferably around four feet out. Even the pros make only about half their 6-footers. If you're practicing 15-footers, you're only hurting your confidence.
5. Putt on a flat part of the practice green. On a practice green, you want to practing making putts. That means putting from a short distance - and on a flat part of the green. Short, flat putts are the ones you have to make to get better.
6. Always end your practice session by making short putts. Don't walk off the green on a miss. Force yourselve to make five or six putts in a row to end the session - even if you have to putt from 6 inches to do it.

Tips:
1. Visualize to stay positive. Confidence plays a huge role in putting. As you stand over putts on the practice green, visualize a trough leading from your putter to the cup and imagine hearing the sound of the ball dropping into the cup.
2. Put down a chalk line to practice keeping your putter on-line. You can find a chalk line in a hardware store - it's that string carpenters snap to a surface to leave a chalk imprint.
3. Practice keeping your putter on line and hitting the sweet spot in your living room. Use an alignment tool (a ruler, for instance) and putting aids you can buy to affix to your putter's head that will help
4. with centering the stroke.

Close Your Eyes for this Putting Drill. Touring professionals sometimes practice putting with their eyes closed as a way of developing "feel" in their putting strokes. On rare occasions, a touring pro will even close his or her eyes on some putts during tournament play.
Can recreational golfers learn anything from this technique? First thing to learn: You're not a touring pro, so don't close your eyes on any putt that counts. But yes, recreational golfers can use the eyes-closed method during practice to work on developing their own "feel" on the greens.

Putting with eyes closed.
Step 1
Hit the practice green, drops some balls, and putt them with your eyes closed. You want to feel how the stroke just flows back and forth and there's no grabbing the putter around impact.
Step 2
Now putt with your eyes open - but do not putt to a hole or other target. Just stroke the ball and enjoy the feeling of rolling it across the ground without worrying where it's going.
The key is that over time your real, competition putting stroke should begin to feel exactly like these "putts to nowhere." If not, Gunn says, "then your mind and focus might not be in the same place."

How To Better Read Greens. Reading greens can be a tough concept for novices to grasp. There is no substitute for experience - you have to watch how the ball reacts to the contours of greens. But there are some ways you can improve your odds.
1. The closer you are to the surface of the green, the better you'll see its contours. So squat! Get behind your ball a ways, squat down and take in the slopes of the green.
2. Take a look at the putt from the side, preferably the low side (if there is a low side). This gives you an alternate view, but also helps you see the distance and gauge speed.
3. Look at the putt from the opposite side of the flagstick, for a third view. But a word of advice: Don't hold up play. Cut the routine short if players are waiting in the fairway.
4. Pay attention to your partners' putts or chips toward the hole. As Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot just by watching." Especially if one of your partners has a putt that is on a line similar to yours.
5. Ask for help. Seriously - unless you're playing for money or ego, your partners should be happy to help. That's why the pros use caddies - so they have another pair of eyes to help them around the course.
6. Pay attention to the results! The ball is a golfer's best teacher. Watch how it moves on and reacts to the green. If you misread a green, think about what you did wrong and try to learn from it.

Tips:
1. Reading a break and reading the speed are two different factors that combined amount to "reading a green." Practicing speed is much easier than practicing breaks.
2. Always take a few putts on the practice green. This will give you an idea of the speed of the greens, and sometimes gives you some insight into how the course's greens are designed.

LAG PUTTING

On long putts, walk half way to hole. Look back at the ball to determine the first part of the break. Then look at hole for the second part of the break. Concentrate on the break of the second half of the putt as the slower ball speed will affect the break more.

Lag putting drill. Cut multiple 3 feet lengths of string and place them them 3 ft apart. Practice rolling ball to spots midway between strings (that way the second putt will be no more than 18 in away from hole). Practice on flat, uphill and downhill areas.

"Feel" the length. After determining your line, settle into your putting stance a few inches in front of your ball. Make a few practice strokes while looking at your target. Keep the putter moving back and through. What's happening is that your eyes are sending signals to your brain to move your arms and shoulders at the correct speed to putt the ball the needed distance. If you make practice strokes with your head down, obtaining a feel for distance becomes very difficult.
40 Foot Drill. Unfortunately, success at lag putting has less to do with proper mechanics than any other part of the game. This is not to say that good mechanics do not help, however, the most important factor is having good "touch" or "feel". This makes lag putting a very difficult thing to be taught, rather it must be developed. Any player who has been around the game for a while knows some man or woman in his/her 70's who cannot hit the ball very far yet always seem to produce good scores. This is probably because they have not three-putted since the Nixon Administration. They have outstanding "touch". As was mentioned before "touch" is difficult to teach yet it can be developed through quality practice.

Players can develop their "touch" using the 40 Foot Drill. To do the 40 Foot Drill you will need a practice putting green, two tees and 20-25 golf balls (preferably the same kind you use on the course).
1. The player places the two tees 40 feet apart on the practice green.
2. Putting from one of the tees, the player then tries to stroke as many balls as he/she can between the two tees.
3. Sounds easy, however, there is one catch. Each ball must roll beyond the ball previously stroked. Once a ball fails to roll beyond the previous ball or rolls past the second tee the player must start over.
To be successful with this drill the player must leave small intervals between each putt. The better your "touch" the better your results will be. This drill should be performed on both uphill and downhill putts as well as on lines that break in both directions. Good results are relative to your own past performance. The idea is to improve your own touch; therefore, a player should always strive to produce his/her personal best. However, a little friendly competition with a buddy can be a lot of fun. The beauty of this drill is that it helps a player develop his/her ability to putt beyond a particular point. In this case it is the previous putt, on the golf course it is the hole. It also helps the player to feel how much extra force must be exerted upon the ball to have it roll only a couple of extra feet. It develops not only a lag putting touch but also a medium-range touch. Players of all abilities cannot help but see their touch improve and their scores drop when they spend some time with the 40 Foot Drill.

Drill to improve both feel for putting stroke and distance control on the greens.
Step 1. On the practice green, place three balls 10 feet from the cup, three more 20 feet out, three more at 30 feet, 40 feet and 50 feet from the hole.
Step 2. From 10 feet, putt the first ball as normal, with your eyes open.
Step 3. Line up the second putt as normal with your eyes open, then close your eyes just before you make your stroke. Focus on the feel of the putter head during the stroke and try to guess where the ball will end up when it stops rolling.
Step 4. Putt the third ball from 10 feet just as you did in step three, closing your eyes just before making the stroke.
Repeat this procedure at each three-ball station out to 50 feet. If you incorporate this putting drill into your practice routine, you should begin to develop a better feel on the greens.

How To Become a Better Lag Putter. How many putts do you have in a round of golf? Can you accurately tell yourself? Most players don't realize that the fastest way to reduce your score is to take fewer putts. Approximately 40 percent of your strokes are made on the putting green. The fastest way to take fewer putts is to get your first putt closer to the hole so that your second putt is a tap in.

Lag putting is a skill that can greatly benefit many aspect of your game. For example Jack Nicklaus was an exceptional lag putter. Being a phenomenal lag putter allowed Jack's course management to put him head and shoulders above the field when it came to very difficult major championship type courses. Jack would play to the center of the green and away from any deep bunkers or hazards that could potentially produce a big number. Setting up an easy two putt for par. As you know par is a great number when playing in major championships like the US Open. With exceptional ability to lag the ball to the hole he was always confident that no matter how far he was from the hole he would still two putt for his par.

Most amateurs, unlike professionals, are typically poor at both lag putting and course management. The first of which is caused most commonly by poor technique and a lack of proper practice. The latter is caused by trying to play very low percentage shots. Lets work on the lag putting first and we can come back to course management later.

When it comes to technique there are two things we want to focus on. Number one is using the correct body parts and number two is the length of the putting stroke. These two have a direct correlation. Most amateurs use their hands during the putting stroke. Using the hands too much in the putting stroke typically causes the putter to swing back way too far and the follow through to be too short. This makes it incredibly difficult to maintain a consistent pace of the putter head during impact. The speed of the putter head through the ball is vital when it comes to controlling the distance you are trying to lag the ball.

In the full swing the hands provide a great deal of power. In the putting stroke our goal is not power. Our goal becomes control of power. Power is much easier to control by eliminating extra lever systems (Lever systems being the hands, elbows and any other extra body motion). The most consistent way to do that is by utilizing the bigger muscles of the body, in particular the shoulders. If we use the big muscles of our shoulders to rock back and forth creating a pendulum motion, we eliminate inefficient motions.

Once we have developed the proper mechanics we can now begin to control the length of the putting stroke. This is secondary only because it is difficult to be consistent with the length of the stroke if we use our hands. Now we can effectively learn how to lag the ball with more accuracy. The best way to practice lag putting is to groove the proper length stroke with training aids. One of the better aids is a putting track. This can be purchased or made with parallel 2x4s. Each board must have perpendicular lines drawn an inch apart. This is a great reference point to check how far you are taking the putter head back and through. Quite simply, the length of the stroke will determine the length of the putt. The greater the distance you take the putter back and through, the farther the ball will travel. The lines will help to calibrate how far each putt will go. Obviously the speed of the greens may vary from course to course. This will require some adjusting of stroke length, but with some practice the adjustments will become second nature.

Once your mechanics are in order, there are some great drills to help you get away from being a mechanical putter. One of my favorites is the "Look at the Hole Drill". Place five balls 25 feet from the hole. Stroke each of the five balls while looking at the hole. You are trying to get a FEEL for the proper distance with a smooth stroke. If you get all five within 2 1/2 feet of the hole, move back 10 feet. Repeat the process. This will really help develop the proper FEEL on long putts. If you are still struggling with your lag putting come see the GolfTEC Professional nearest you. Denver Tech Center (303) 770-5951, Westminster (303) 426-6600, Cherry Creek (303) 388-4832, Colorado Ski & Golf (303) 337-1734.

Lag Putting Tip From Paul Azinger. If you were lucky enough to watch and listen to the ABC broadcast of The Open Championship contested at Carnoustie (Scotland), you may or may not have caught the quick lag putting tip that Paul Azinger casually threw out there for us.
I think it was during one of Sergio’s many, many 30-40 foot birdie putts that Paul mentioned that when he’s faced with a long lag putt, he envisions a five gallon bucket over the hole and tries to roll the ball up there with enough speed to gently tap the bucket.
What a great visual that is ! Even I, an admitted poor lag putter, can use that the next time I’m 30-50 feet from the hole and only want to get down in two. Think about a generously sized, white, plastic five gallon bucket and roll the ball up with just enough speed to make it go ‘thunk’.
I’ll let you know how it works for me and you do the same.

Lag putting. Many players have difficulty judging the speed on medium to long putts. Speed and distance control are keys to good lag putting. Before your stroke, pick a target. Then, while behind the ball and looking at the target, do a few practice strokes. This will allow the mind's eye to feel the required effort. Repeat that feel during the actual stroke, and your ball should end up close to the hole.

Save Strokes With This Lag Putting Drill. A lot of amateur golfers have difficulty with putts from distance that usually cause them a few extra strokes during their round of golf. Here's a putting drill to quickly improve your lag putts.

I've usually seen this drill performed with white kite string, but it can also be done with golf tees. This drill is excellent for uphill, downhill, or flat putts. It is a great putting drill for golfers of any level of play.

The idea behind the drill is to focus entirely on distance control and to not worry about the line or hole. You start off with taking your kite string and cutting it into five 4 foot pieces. Lay the pieces of string down about 3 feet apart. If you don't have string then you can use 2 golf tees to replace each string with the tees representing the ends of the string.

First start off by rolling the first ball just past the first string and try to make it stop between the first and second strings. You then want to roll the second ball over the second string stopping it before the third string, and so on.

Once you've been able to successfully do this for each length of putt from closest to farthest, you then want to mix it up. Putt to the last string, then to the first, then to the third, and so on.

One of the great things about this drill is once you've mastered it to the point of having each ball stop between the strings then the longest second putt you'll have will be 18 inches (imagining the hole located midway between the strings).

You'll be amazed at how good your direction control becomes while doing this drill. Golfers who are line-bound putters have a tendency to have poor distance control. So make sure you take your mind off the line because distance is all we're concerned with during this drill.

Try this lag putting drill the next time you're at the practice green and I know your distance control will improve. I bet you'll drop a few strokes from you next round by eliminating those 3-putts from distance.