DIY - How To Putt Like a Pro!

Putting is probably the most part of golf as it can break you or make you regardless of how you hit the ball.

A 2-inch putt is worth as much as a 350-yard drive off the tee.  That is why every pro on the PGA Tour can putt really really really good.

Today, I will tell you some simply tips on how to get that ball in the bottom of the cup.

Here’s the tips for today:

1. Alignment, alignment, alignment.  You need to align your putt before you do anything else.

How to align the putter?

Align the putter so that it hits the top of the apex of the putt.

As you can see in my horrible photoshop screenshot, the green line represents the overall break of the putt.

Now, the apex is where the putt start breaking and you need to start your ball there.

2. After aligning “parallel” to your putt, you need to “feel” the speed and rhythm of the putt.  Do not ground your club behind the ball yet.  You need to “feel” and judge the exact speed of the putt.

How to do this?

Really feel that your right hand is doing all the work in the putting and feel the right hand “rolling” the ball.

You need to find the right speed where the golf ball will stop maybe 3-5 inches past the hole.

Of course, this will depend on your putt.  If you have a really fast downhill putt, you want to think of stopping the ball right at the cup.

3. Once you get the feel for the distance and speed of the putt, simply step up to the ball and hit it.  Since you’ve already “aligned” yourself, don’t hesistate too much and repeat your “feel” from the practice stroke.

If you do this, I guarantee you will hole a lot more putts.

Remember, putting is 90% feel and 10% technique.  If your feel is good, you might get away with really bad technique.

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Well, today I kept thinking about how I have been hitting the golf ball for the last 20 or so years of my life and by examining the top golfers in the world, I have come to a conclusion that I have finally found the secret to a consistent golf swing.

Here’s the secret to a consistent golf swing:

“Keep the swing in motion”

What do I mean by that?

Well, if you have noticed, every top golfer waggles his club before starting his/her swing.

The waggle is simply a preview “feel” of you swing before you swing the club.

For example, unlike other sports, Golf requires you to start at a static position. (similar to a Basketball free throw shot)

Once you start your golf swing, you don’t ever want to disrupt or stop your motion in anyway.

How can you achieve this?

You need to think outside the box and think of a swing as a one continuous motion just like throwing a baseball or shooting a basketball.

One continuous motion requires that your whole swing flows at one continuous speed.

Ben Hogan used to start his downswing before the completion of his backswing.  In reality, the concept backswing, impact, and the finish are only “snapshots” of your one continuous swing.

Do not try to achieve a backswing position, rather try to swing in one-motion.  To correct any swing flaws in your swing, you need to do that while keeping in mind that a swing is one continuous motion.

So next time you head out to the range, practice swinging in one continuous motion.

Drills for feeling this?

You can setup about 5 to 10 balls in front of you and try to hit them all, one-by-one, without stopping your swing.  This drill is actually very well-known by most teachers and pros but it will definitely teach you the “feel” of one continuous swing and help you swing with “feel” and less “mechanics”.

Well, that’s all for today folks, this might be the best secret, of course for making few bucks off your golf buddies and winning that club championship.

I might analyze a lot of the pro swings, but you have to realize golf is not a game of swing mechanics, but of swing motion.

Today, I will explain couple basics about how to putt like a pro.  Trust me, I have read more books about putting than most people will ever in their life and I have spent $2000 on a lesson with Stan Utley, one of the best putters on Tour.

So here’s how to putt like a pro:

1. You need to learn to sink a lot of short putts within 3-10 feet range.  To do this, think of the short putts as the “short game” of putting.  That’s right, these short putts are the most important and count as much as a 350 yard drive.  If you can’t sink ‘em, go home.  If you can, you might become a pro.

2. Soft hands, hands like noodles, gentle grip, or whatever you want to call it but make sure you are holding the putter very very lightly while you putt.

3. Learn to lag putt real good from 20, 50, 100 feet.  Lag putts are great for absorbing the speed of the greens.  The more you can lag, the better putter you will be overall.

4. Putt for money.  Next time you are with a buddy, play an 18-hole putting match, one dollar per hole.  Without putting pressure on your putting, you never know how it’s going to be in a real tournament situation.

Heck, most of the time I play with my buddies, we are betting like $20 per putt or hole.  Pressure games make you better.

5. Develop a consistent putting stroke that rolls the ball true.  Whether you are putting a 20 footer or a 100 footer, your ball should roll very true from the start to finish.  If your ball bumps up in the beginning or at the end, you might want to work on your putting stroke so you putts roll true.

When your putts roll true, you will notice that your putts roll a lot smoother and also get less effected by any breaks in the putt.  Probably the biggest difference between an average golfer and the pro golfer is how true the pro golfer “rolls” the golf ball while the average golfer doesn’t even understand that putting can be so complicated.

Well, that’s it for today, I might need to go hit some balls. 

As Ben Hogan said, “Everyday you don’t practice is another day longer it will take you to become a good golfer”.

Practice, practice, and practice while playing pressure games in your head.  That’s right, you should be putting for the U.S. Open win on every practice putt.  (Damn, I let anther worst kept secret out…)

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In case you don’t know about Ben Hogan’s golfing career, Ben didn’t start winning a lot of tournaments until he started to “fade” the ball from left to right.

Why?

Ben Hogan was one of the worst “hookers” of the golf ball.  In this video, Ben explains his change to a “fade”.