Improving your putting really is both a combination of science and art form.
The World Wide Web is a treasure trove of information on just about anything and everything. And if you have an interest in putting more effectively then their are a whole plethora of putting videos that can demonstrate how to putt more effectively.
In the first article on Putting Video I addressed the three putting fundamentals that you have to get right if you hope to improve your putting.
These are the foundational steps of making sure that you have a grip that you are comfortable with, a style and stance that suits your height and the way that you carry yourself (which also includes choosing a putter that is best for the style that you opt for), and lastly perfecting the basics of the putting swing.
In this article I am going to expand on those basics and show some putting video drills that you can use to perfect your stroke.
If you really want to take your putting skills to the next level and make more rapid progress, then you should take a look at this putting course which I personally found to be fantastic, and which helped to shave seven shots off my average round.
In the following videos are going to be a number of techniques that you can use to make sure that a good golf stroke becomes second nature and automatic when you are striking the ball. So, please read on and learn how to go about approaching putting from a scientific standpoint in 3 simple steps… and with the help of putting videos to show you what you need to do at every stage.
The Backswing Drill…
The 1st step is to make sure that you have really taken on board the whole idea of having the follow through on the shot being longer then the backswing. This is something that many golfers find hard to adapt to, but it is essential that you learn how to fo it if your game is going to improve.
You truly need to do this because at the end of the day putting is all about striking the ball correctly, and if you can get into good habits early on, then you are far more likely to carry them through into the future. You will need to avoid the bad habits that you have had in the past and so try out the following back swing putting video drill to really get this point home:
You need to do this 1st step promptly, correctly and completely. Should you not complete it correctly, then everything else is not going to matter. As you can have good style and a cracking grip, but if you don’t strike the ball correctly, then none of it will do you any good. (Learn more here)
Face Flipping Putting Video Drill…
Your second step is make sure that you aren’t flipping the club face on impact. This can cause the ball to come up short. So if you find that you are consistently under-hitting your putts, then you may well be guilty of this. To make sure that you get the hang of what you should be doing, here is a putting drill video that talks about how you can overcome this particular problem, and have a sweeter hit between the ball and the club face.
In so doing you should be able to correct any issues with underhitting the ball, and ensure a smoother finish to the stroke.
What you should avoid here are over-rotating your shoulders as this can cause you to be unbalanced when addressing the ball. Keep it simple and try to minimise upper body movement. And you also will want to avoid wrist movement wherever possible, as this can also throw off the trajectory of the ball.
The Three Foot Putting Drill…
The third step will be to practice your three foot putting game. This is really important because the majority of shots that you drop on the greens will not be where you failed to hole 30 foot monster putts, but instead where you three-putt the three foot putts.
This is extremely annoying, because most of the hard work has already been done to get you to that position in the first place, and so if you can eliminate these errors then you can immediately knock multiple shots off your round.
The most important thing to avoid will be to lose concentration when you are addressing the ball in these situations, as it is all to easy to lose focus, and let that short putt drift on by the hole (there is a nice piece here about this)
Instead, take a look at this putting video which demonstrates a putting drill to allow you to work specifically on holing those pesky three foot putts.
Conclusion…
Follow the steps just like laid out above and everything should go well. You’ll have handled practising the backswing and follow through in a putting drill, stopped short-putting and flipping of the club head dead in its tracks, and nailed those three foot putts that were previously costing you shots.
The only missing ingredient then is to practice, practice, practice.
So get on the greens and start putting all this new found knowledge that you have gleaned from these putting videos into action!