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I need a little advice on my putting if you guys can help me out bit...My driving is good and my approach with my irons/wedges will put me on the green. But when it comes time to get out the putter I usually choke because my putting hasnt developed yet. It usually takes me two or maybe more to get it in the hole.(3+ on a bad day, followed by some cussing). I either hit the ball too hard or too short and need another shot reguardless. Do any of you putting guru's have some advice or tips that might help out my putting game? I could really use some help so my game will drop down to where it should be. I am open to try anything if it will be beneficial to me. I also picked up a new Taylor Made Rossa Monza putter and I have heard good things about them so hopefully it will aid me and I can ditch my no-name putter for a nice one. Thanks alot

Putting is very personal and different for everybody, but here's some drills I do.........

* Always take the little flag out - I find it easier to relate to the "on-course" experience if I see the hole as I would on the course.

DISTANCE Control
* Focus on pendulum motion (same distance back/thru)

* Putt balls to various distances, standing in the same place. Sometimes, I focus on how far BACK I take the putter (6" behind right foot, 3" behind right foot, 3" in front of right foot, etc. etc. all the way down to only 3" behind the ball)

* "Calibrating" your distance. After testing the various distances back/thru on your stroke, notice how far the ball will travel on the green after you stroke the ball, and pace off the distance. This will "calibrate" your putting, so you KNOW if a putt is 6" behind your right foot, it will travel a designated, consistent distance. Make sure you "calibrating" uphill, downhill,and flat putts on the practice green, and that will set you up for the round.

* Place 5-6 balls spaced approx 3' from the hole (3', 6', 9', 12', etc. etc.), and putt all the balls to the hole.

TECHNIQUE
* "Push" the ball towards the hole with the putterface. Don't make a stroke, but rather use the putterface to push the ball. Helps alignment.

* String drill. I use two chopsticks with an ~8' string tied to each one. Place one chopstick ~4" behind the hold, align the string through the hole. When you place the ball under the string and are setup, the string should bisect the ball, and align with your alignment mark on your putter. Stroke putts into the hole, this will help your ability for short putts tremendously. From above, it should look something like this:

* Chopstick
- String
O Hole
@ Ball

*----O--------@-------*

* Scatter 5-6 balls approx. 4' from the hole, all around the hole. Putt each one in the hole. This helps your confidence on short putts, as well as your ability to read greens for those shorter putts.

* Left Hand Only - putt with left hand only. Helps your stability tremendously, and grooves your stroke.

* Right Hand only - putt with right hand only. Smooths your stroke out.

i recently started putting my right pointer finger down the shaft of the putter and it has meant wonders to my putting.

it kind of stablelizes the putter and keeps it on line.

try it out! its simple and has worked for me.

(not that im any good or anything, lol)

great !! Thanks for the info guys! I am going to try it out asap and see how it works. I really appreciate your help.
Todd

Practice... A LOT .. I have found that there are hundreds of drills to improve your putting. But if you don't get out there to the green and practice.. or atleast your living room... it is never going to improve at a level you will be happy with

I find the major problem in putting is focussing on the ball rather than the target
Take your stance with a very relaxed left hand next to the ball and take a practice putt. Feel the smooth back and to of the putting stroke. Keep that feeling while looking at the target and address the ball, but keep the feeling of the relaxed left hand while keeping the target in your mind's eye. Rest your eyes on the putters edge until you feel that there is complete relaxation and the putter is aimed correctly, then keeping the feel of the left hand constant take the putter back and through in a rhythmical pendulum motion. Having a tempo phrase such as one-and two is helpful. If you miss the putt it is because your right hand has attempted to 'hit the ball'. Feel that both hands are equal but maintain the original grip sensation in the left hand. I have found that a relaxed left hand always finds the correct line. The tempo of the practice swing must be maintained too with no sense of impact/hit. Hope this helps

Man, there's some good advice here...I especially liked this one

One of my favorite sayings is the secret to making putts is dead hands. Simplified way of saying keep the same grip pressure all the way through the putt. Easy to say, hard to do. Anyway, all the fundamentals of any well-executed golf shot still apply:

feet lined up not at the hole but parallel to the target line
use the big muscles not the little ones
hands in and eye over the ball
good posture - no hunkering

and last but not least...use the pendulum motion, yes, but try to accelerate with the same power through every putt...do this by taking the club back only as far as you must in order to get the ball there...you'd be surprised at how far you can hit it with just a small takeaway.

SamT's string drill is an excellent one. Even if you don't go to the trouble to set it up that way at least spend a good deal of time putting straight in putts of various lengths in order to learn about distance control without having to worry so much about break. I still play a game of progressive where I must make 3 in a row before moving to the next distance. Develop a stroke you can take to any surface. Once you do that you can begin to concentrate on how to read greens with confidence in your killer stroke.

Shade

There is a whole lot of great information on mechanics in this thread but nothing on the most important portion of putting...mental. ALWAYS be confident when you are lining up your put that it will go in. All of the experienced players on here will agree that if you are lining up your 4th 3-footer after missing a couple on previous holes, there is some doubt that creeps in and the "stroke" becomes a "hit." Visualize the 100's of putts you have made when lining up one on the course rather than any you have missed (not as easy as it sounds).

One very good drill I like is to putt from no longer than 20 feet while looking AT THE HOLE. Focus on the target rather than the ball (after you have lined up, of course). You'd be surprised at how smooth your stroke becomes when you focus on rolling the ball to the hole rather than the 1000 mechanical things we sometimes focus on on HOW to roll the ball. A great illustration of this is to hand a 5/6 year old a putter and a ball and simply tell him/her to roll the ball in the hole. After just a short time, that child will be able to make more long putts than any tour player because they are not thinking about how to do it but what they are supposed to do...the old paralysis by analysis.

Maybe it's obvious, but I didn't see the most important thing that improved my putting. No peeking... keep your head down & still until well after you strike the ball. That and a light/softer grip has helped me go from about 2 per hole to 31-32 a round this year.

my latest little putting fix has been to choke up (or is it choke down?) on the club an inch or two. It's seemed to give me a little better feel. It seems to have helped me control the putter more. I like the 'dead hands' feeling. And loosening the grip, that's a big one for me......I'm a pretty big fan of 'whatever works for you' type of golf advice. Good luck.

I think the only answer to lag putting is lots of practice, however when it comes to the short putts thats when most golfers feel the pressure, as with any golf instruction it is a matter of perception, waz has good advice, when ever I have been asked for putting help I say- on short putts =6 ft in= you should always try to 'hear' the putt go in and not see it. Try it and you might be surprised how soon you start expecting to hear that sweet sound

wow thanks guys for SO much info!! I have so many new things to try, I am going to hit up my local range practice green to try em out. Thanks again!

I hate how everyone says to keep your head down while you're putting. I guess it works for most people, but if I keep my head down as and after I stroke the ball, I never get the speed right. I keep my eye on the ball the whole way, watching it like a hawk from the second my backswing starts to the second it drops into the hole. I pride myself on my putting. I rarely ever 3-putt, and I often 1-putt.

You know what they say........Whatever works works. Dont fix what aint broken.

The most important thing in putting is feel. Having your head down does improve your chances because your hands never react to your body twisting to the hole. But if it works keep it up.
I believe your eyes should be over your ball at all times. I usually like to think about a 4-5 foot putt and try not to lift my head until I can hear the ball in the hole. On longer putts, my thought is, as long as my head is down for the first 4-5 ft, my line is usually bang on. Getting it to drop is another matter.

For the record - 11 handicap and I average about 30-31 putts a round.

Putting is the most individual part of the game. The few things ALL great putters do...

1. Line up with their eyes directly over the line of putt (if you are going to err here, your eyes should be INSIDE the line of putt, NEVER outside of it)
2. Set a solid stance when lining up...no swaying. On a flat green every inch of sway toward the target adds about a foot to the final distance...6 inch sway toward the target = 6 feet past.
3. Head stays quiet. "Listen for the ball to go in the hole."
4. Hands oppose each other so neither takes control of the stroke. This allows you to make your arms swing utilizing only your shoulder muscles (Pendulum swing).
5. Positive thinking.

Now go make some putts. The above are in no particular order.