5 Putting Tips All Golfers Should Know

We’ve asked experts to give us the most important putting tips all golfers should know, from the moment you get into the swing of things and throughout your round.

You’re on the green, you’re on the quest for the ace, and you want to achieve it quickly. You can probably blame ‘golf’ for speeding up your pace of play, but these five tips are great for any golfer.

The Top Five Putting Tips All Golfers Should Know

Every golfer should know how to putt. It’s one of the most important techniques in golf, and we’ve all got to perform a great putting stroke if we’re to be successful.

Most golfers find putting incredibly difficult to master. We’ve asked expert players what makes a good putt, and they’ve shared what makes a great putt. The one thing that every golfer can do to improve their putting is learn from experts and simply putt better.

How To Actually Putt

In a nutshell, all golfers have to putt. Here are some of the basic tips that might help:

Try to remember the feel of putting when you were a child. It’s not that difficult to do – what has changed?

When you’re playing with someone who is very good at putting, make sure you stop and watch their stroke. Try to pick it up.

Pay attention to your feet – ‘Squeeze with the outside foot, thumb and pinky.’ This is a strong grip.

Try to see how far the ball travels into the hole before you hit it. Do this as much as you can.

The aim is to hit a little more front to back.

Make the face a little less open at impact.

Putt The ‘Rule of 60’

The Rule of 60 is something that is often over looked by amateurs. It’s simply this: 60% of your putt will fall within the original pin location.

It’s not rocket science. Your ball will be about the same distance away from the hole when you go off line and 60% of the time, when you play the best, you don’t have to putt off line at all.

You can use the Rule of 60 to your advantage by rolling out to your desired target. When you play you want to aim for the middle of the green, and the best thing you can do is actually start with your putter on target and roll out as far as you can.

The Best Practice Shot

For any professional golfer, having the most basic shot in your bag is a driver. The best way to practice it is simply to follow your driver down the fairway, at a 45 degree angle to the hole.

The ‘bounce putt’ is an excellent method of perfecting your wedge technique. Just stand over the ball and strike the ball firmly but gently with your putter.

Keep the ball about an inch away from the front edge of the putting surface and roll your ball back onto the putting surface. To hit this one, keep the ball two inches away from the front edge of the putting surface, and you’ll always feel comfortable if you miss the hole or make a long putt.

Read The Green And Hit A ‘circle putt’

Possibly the most important thing you can do to improve your putting is to read the green. There is no need to swing fast. A solid stroke (a motion like ‘chunking’ the ball) is the key.

Once you’ve read the green well, the next thing you should do is roll the putt. Learn to ‘read’ the putt, and once you’ve done that you’ll be able to hit a smooth roll.

This goes for all types of putts, but especially those from within 10 feet. The goal is to not hit the ball too hard, but too soft. Make it feel like it has more speed, and you’ll more often than not make the putt.

Practice Your Putting

Next time you practice, you should look at your putting photos and try to practice the shot in the putt! This can have a number of benefits. By putting your focus on this one shot, your attention will shift away from the technique and onto the shot itself. This can in turn improve your performance on the course.

If you can only take a single photo, take a shot of your ball at the same distance from the hole. Make sure that your face angle is perpendicular to the hole.

Shoot the putt on the putting green, using a putter and hole from a standard distance.

Make sure your golf ball is within the allotted time.

Get the whole team to practice putting as a team. A team’s greatest strengths are in their quality and consistency, so putt-putt practice can be very beneficial.