Putting Lessons For Golfers Who Want To Play Better

What separates great golfers from the good ones – is it the drive, the chip, the pitch, or lob shot? None. Actually, the putt, which looks so easy on the screen, is perhaps the most important golf shot. The reason is simple. You need to have excellent control and intense focus to gently roll the ball on the green. Reading the green, addressing the ball, and using enough strength to push the ball inside the pin, is the perfect example of mind over matter. So, how to improve your putting skills to become a better golfer. Let’s find out.

Train Your Direction Hand

You might have seen in baseball or cricket, players managing to hit the ball with just one hand only. Sadly, that doesn’t work in golf. Although each hand has its own function, you need both your hands to play a decent stroke. When playing a putt the right-hand is responsible for acceleration whereas the left is the direction hand. Having control over the direction that the ball rolls is far more important than speed while playing the putt. Training the direction hand isn’t difficult. At the practice putting green, try hitting the ball only with your left hand on the grip. You’ll have a hard time controlling the ball at first, but with practice, you’ll get used to it.

Distance Control

With the direction control taken care of, your focus should next shift on the distance control. The target is only a few yards away, so you don’t have to hit the ball hard, instead try to roll the ball. This can be achieved by having an open stance, your left side of the body bearing much of your weight, and the club leaning in the direction of the target. Bear in mind to keep the putter head close to the ground, even after contact with the ball.

Your Fingers Hold the Key

Some golfers focus too much on the way they grip the putter. That’s good, but they focus on the palm instead of fingers. Two things that every golfer must remember to improve their putting is (i) Grip mustn’t hinder the use of the left hand when playing the shot; (ii) Control the putter with your fingers.

Don’t Gaze at the Ball

This has happened to all of us. When addressing the ball, we gaze at it too long, and totally lose control over the putter. You don’t have to see the ball to hit the stroke correctly. To get your focus back on the shot, instead of the ball, choose a spot on the ball-to-target line. Now, you can focus on that mark and try to get the ball to run over the spot.