The game of golf can be a very rewarding and at the same time a very frustrating game. While there are many different aspects to the game of golf itself the thing that people tend to struggle with the most is there putting. With all the videos tailored to driving the ball longer and improving your irons and wages people sometimes forget the importance of putting. Putting can be very difficult, but I would like to share a few simple tips that helped me improve my putting and tips that hopefully can improve your putting as well.
Set up a routine
You will often hear golf professionals and PGA and LPGA players talk about how they have a set up routine for every shot, well the same goes for their putting. Sometimes the thought of having a routine isn’t something that crosses are mind, but if you really think about it we have a set routine and a way of doing things in our everyday life that makes it easier and stress free, of course when our routine becomes out of whack we feel the effects of that too. Golf is a mental game and because of this you need to set up a routine so that everything feels more natural to you, because after all no movement in golf is natural and its why even with the best muscle memory the best PGA tour professionals can mess up a shot just because their routine was out of sorts. It doesn’t matter how you set up your routine for putting, but you should always practice the stroke that you think you need to make, once you have committed to the putt make it, if you miss its okay, putting takes practice.
The best way to improve your putting is to putt the way you feel comfortable with. Just like the golf swing, there are millions of ways that you can make a putting stroke and just because someone tells you another way is more accurate doesn’t mean it’s the case at all. If you’re not comfortable with the motion of your arms during a putting stroke you will focus more on that rather than the putt itself. The thing that happens most in golf is we get nervous and the best way to putt well even when this happens is to put the way it makes you feel at ease, the more comfortable you are the less likely you will be to get nervous or let the nervousness effect how you putt. Everyone’s body moves in its own way and so doing what comes natural in all facets of golf is important.
Practice your stroke rather than hitting the ball
While many suggests you go to the putting green and get a feel for the green and hit a few balls you may want to take a different approach the next time you go to play. Practicing on the putting green is never a bad idea, but if you hit ball after ball and it misses the cup or doesn’t roll right then those negative images of the misses will be in your memory the next time you have a putt similar to the one you misses on the course. It’s best to practice your stroke and trust it and learn while on the course, because confidence is key to a good round. The fact is no putting green will ever give you the right conditions and if you’re rolling it right on the green but not on the course you could lose your confidence. Trust your stroke and trust that you will get it right. Learn what is fast and slow for your stroke and apply it to the course on the course.
