How To Improve Your Putting

Go ahead and think about your last round of golf and count up all the silly putts you missed. Now imagine if they all had of went in, you would be looking at a completely different scorecard.

That was thinking about the silly ones you knew you shouldn’t have missed and not about how many strokes you could drop if you locked in your overall putting game or listened to your golf instructor. This could be the difference in breaking 90, 100, or even 80.

Putting is hard until it isn’t, and by the end of this article, you should have all you need to become a demon on the greens and separate yourself from being an average golfer.

But before we get into the meat and potatoes on how to improve your putting, we will assume that you have a good setup and the correct putter for your style.

Your Setup Is Correct

It all starts with your setup. If your setup is crap, then your putting will be too. 

Try to find a setup that works for you that you can replicate every time. 

The main aspects of a good setup are to have your shoulders square, arms relaxed, strong base, have your eyes directly over the ball, and rock your arms as if they are stuck on a pendulum.

You Have The Right Putter

Putters are like the rest of the clubs in your bag in the sense that your clubs might not suit your golf buddy’s swing and vice versa. 

This is why it’s vital that before you go and buy a putter because it looks cool, you make sure it suits your particular putting stroke and build.

The reason why there are so many shapes of putters and putter shafts is for more than just design purposes. It’s because they complement different kinds of putting strokes.

If you find yourself in the market for a new putter, find a local store or facility that will asses what putter and putter face suits you. Some stores offer this service for free, depending on how much you’re willing to spend. 

But typically, this service will cost a few bucks.

If you wouldn’t mindlessly buy a driver without testing it, don’t go blind with a putter, either.

Reading The Greens

If you’re a golfer who struggles to read greens, your hopes of shooting low scores are small.

Reading greens comes naturally to some golfers and is more rooted in following your natural intuition than being an exact science. This means you can leave your geometry set at home!

This doesn’t mean you can’t get better at it if you are not one of these golfers who can see imaginary grid lines like in PGA 2K22. The kind that can see a straight line to the hole.

Follow these simple steps to improve your golf game, and you’ll sink putts in no time.

Always Read Your Putt From The Lower Side

You may find reading putts going uphill harder when compared to putts when the hole is below your golf ball.

There is a scientific or technical explanation for why this is, but we will not get into it because science is for nerds… just kidding. Still, it’s unnecessary information, and it’s better to keep things simple.

All you need to know is that reading putts from the low side of your putt is easier than the other way around. 

Always Read Your Putt From Side To Side

If you read putts while standing, you’re doomed to miss a bunch of putts every round. 

When you’re down low, you will become better at judging breaks. This will help you gauge how far left or right you should aim from the hole.

It’s essential to remember the only part of the green that’s important to you is the stretch of green between the golf ball and the hole that affects your putt.

Narrow your focus and zone in on your putt.

Cupping my hands around my face to block out anything outside my putt to the hole led me to get better lines.

Read Your Putt From Different Angles

The best putters in the world also look at their putts from different perspectives on the green… even if it’s a short putt.

If you’re in a position where you don’t have to worry about the speed of play, don’t be afraid to view your putt from multiple angles. 

Sometimes our eyes can deceive us, and what we thought was a little left to right was a dead straight putt… it happens. 

However, you should always favor your read from directly behind the ball or hole.

Know Your Distance

You must ensure you give it the right touch to get it there.

Like all golfers, you’ve had 20, 15, and 10-foot putts that have either come up very short or almost ended up on the next tee box. 

You’re in trouble if you can’t judge your distances and how firm your putting stroke needs to be.

It’s important to consider how far the hole is and how the shape of the green will affect it. 

That being said, once you get more confident reading greens figuring out the distance will become easy.

Don’t worry. Later in the article, I’ll reveal some putting drills that will help you become better at distance control.

Visualize And Set Your Line To The Cup

You must see your golf ball go to the hole before you begin the putting stroke. If you can’t see it in your mind, then it won’t go in.

Even though this step primarily happens in your head, it still requires practice. It would help if you pictured the path and how the golf ball will react.

In most of these golf video games, when you get to the green, you can use a putt preview, and your game shows you the path your current setup will follow.

It would help to see that in your head while on the golf course. Once you can see the path to the hole, set your target line and get ready to drain a putt.

Don’t Stand Over Your Putt For Too Long

Once you’ve made your read and picked your line. You should step up to the golf ball, make a couple of small practice strokes and then roll it toward the hole.

Do this, and you will begin draining more and more putts during your next round.

The longer you stand there over your shot slope will start to become steeper, and the hole will begin to look like it’s getting further away… or at least that’s how it will feel!

Find A Grip That Works For You

Most likely, you’ve used a conventional putting grip for most of your golfing career… career is a stretch for the majority of us, but it sounded cool.

But just because everyone uses it doesn’t mean it’s right for you. 

I found that when I swapped to more of a claw grip, I had more success on the greens. It made it easier for me to control the putter head. 

So look online, experiment with different grips, and test which one works best for you.

Top Tip For Your Shorter Putts 

It would help if you tried to line up your putt on your next round and then let your club dictate your posture.

What I mean by that is let the bottom of your putter sit flat on the green and then take the grip into your hands and put it from there.

This will result in more consistent putts. 

Let the club do the work for you.

Another I’ve found over the years is that short putts are all about confidence. I used to miss endless tap-in putts because I was afraid to miss them.

Missing putts will happen no matter how good you are, so accept that this is possible and try to relax next time you’re on the green.

Putting Drills

Round The Clock

This putting drill will have you dropping short putts in no time.

Grab a club and place it in the hole. Then drop some golf balls around the hole just at the end of your chosen club. 

Once your balls have dropped, start rolling as many as possible into the cup. Set yourself a target before you move on to the next club. 

You can only progress by putting at least 70% of the golf balls. Nailing this putting range will quickly take your golf game to the next level.

Start with a wedge and work up to a driver or wood.

Roll It Blind

This one is to help you work on your distance control, and there isn’t anything to it.

Just get to the practice green, drop a few balls at different distances to the hole, get in position, close your eyes, and putt.

This drill will help you get a better feel for distances. If you can get consistently putt blind, then putting with your eyes open will become a walk in the park.

Get In On The Plate

Full disclaimer you don’t need a plate for this drill. All you need is a few golf tees, headcovers, or drop actual coins around the hole to mark out a small circle.

Then drop some balls a good distance from the hole on the putting green and try to put as many as possible in the marked area. 

This drill will help you with your mid to long putts. Essentially you’re going to work on your ball roll leaving yourself an easy second putt. They are commonly referred to as Lag Putting.

Two putts are not the enemy… three putts are.