A solid putting stroke can be the difference between an incredibly good round of golf and a horribly bad one. So many amateurs neglect this crucial aspect of the game in their practice... and that needs to change.
Whether you hone your putting stroke on the practice green, or using the best putting drills on a putting mat at home, it's important to keep it at the forefront of your mind when trying to reduce your handicap.
Using the best putting aids is a good place to start, especially if you need that little extra help in convincing the putter to behave itself, but incorporating this expert pre-round routine from Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Andy Gorman is a putting tip all golfers should listen to...
Putting Stroke Tips: A Pre-Round Routine To Putt Like A Pro
Before going out to play, find a level part of the putting green and measure out a 10ft putt (roughly three standard putter lengths). I practise on a green stimping at ten, so I know that a 10in backswing and forward swing will give me a 10ft roll-out.
If practising on slow or fast greens, you will need to adjust things, but this is a great drill to get a feel for the length of the stroke and to give a solid calibration for the speed on the day. Do this for at least six putts – three in both directions.
Move out to 30-35ft and double the backswing length to see how that equates. You’ll need to lengthen the stroke to see what it takes to get it there, but try to keep tempo the same as on the 10ft putt for good rhythm.
Avoid a short backswing then rapid acceleration as that leads to inconsistency – match the stroke back and through. This gets harder from longer range, but will give you a nice feeling of how to hit a 30ft putt.
Finally, focus on what you want to do over a 6ft putt, which will be around two putter lengths. We often miss short putts as we don’t have enough speed on them, so a good feel is to make sure the putter head goes past the big toe on the forward stroke.
This is a great way to commit to the forward stroke and to get the right amount of momentum. It’s also a nice simple thought to remember and feel, as you quite often have a number of things running through your head as you stand over a short putt you really need to make to keep your score ticking over.
