Putting Tips – Hit it Straight
By Boston Reynolds

One of the wise comments that veteran golfers make is that “All putts go straight.” What this means is that the golf ball goes in a straight line from wherever you hit it. It may curve or break afterwards, but you can’t control that, all you can control is hitting it straight. Not very helpful. The thing we want to focus on it how to hit the ball on the straight line that we wanted to the ball to travel on, and how to do it the same way, every time.

You are hitting a perfectly round ball with a perfectly flat surface. If you ignore all other factors, the ball will roll straight. Physics demands it. However, there are things you can introduce that will change this. Impact point, angle of the club, and followthrough path all affect this. The simplest way to hit the ball straight it to make sure you are making contact with the ball on the center of the putter (many putters have a line or dot where the so-called sweet spot is) and move it squarely through the ball on the line you want the putt to travel on.

One way to hit straighter putts is to keep your setup consistent. Do the same thing, stand the same way, and take the same stroke. Doing this allows you to better feel what you are doing, and to be more sensitive to when you strike the ball “wrong.” You want to make sure that the putters center hits the balls center, and you want to keep the face square throughout the entire swing. If your setup, stance and swing doesn’t promote you doing this, you should consider changing the way you approach putting.

Your setup simply needs to make hitting the ball straight the easiest thing to do. Make it hard to do anything else. The simple setup for putting is to place the putter squarely behind the ball, aiming directly at the center of the ball, and at the line you wish to hit it. Have the putter flush with the green as you aim. Assuming you are using a normal, 3 foot putter, the putter will make it easy for you to have a standard approach to putting, and will align your body correctly, including your knees, hips, elbows and wrists. Don’t fight what your putter is trying to do, it knows the drill.

Different golfers use different setups, and different strokes for putting. Putting requires at least some leaning or bending forward so that your arms can make the actual stroke. Some golfers tuck one or both elbows into the ribs, much like a lead guitarist up on stage. Some call this a “shoulder stroke” since it is shoulder motion that makes the difference. If you do this you want to keep the triangle formed by your arms and torso totally intact and moving as one from start to finish. Rocking your entire body will lead to a smooth stroke that can remain consistent.

Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS, GOLFING TIPS, The Perfect Putt // Add Comment »