6 Tips to Improve Your Putting

Almost anyone can learn to drive a golf ball with a little practice. Being long off of the tee is not what gets the average golfer in trouble. It is not what gets the pros in trouble either. To really improve your score you have to improve your short game and this means being able to putt.

Here are few tips to lower your score by improving your putting.

1. Putting is all about feel. When you feel good about your grip you will have control over your putter. What you want is to lightly place your hands on the club so it is easy for you to swing the clubhead squarely toward the target. The index finger on your left hand overlaps the little finger of your right hand. Many golfers prefer the index finger to overlap more than one finger.

2. Keep your thumbs straight down the front of the shaft. Do not grip to low. Grip as close to the top of your putter as is comfortable. Keep your feet shoulder width apart. Slightly bend your knees and elbows. Keep your eyes on the ball and stand close to it with your arms close to your body.

3. You want a relaxed swing moving your arms and hands together through the ball. Stroke the ball with the middle of the putter. Keep your eyes on the ball and do not lift your head to look until you have totally completed your swing.

4. For longer putts you will have a longer swing. A shorter swing for short putts. This is all that changes and is based on how far you have to putt. The mechanics of putting stay the same no matter how far your putt is.

5. When it comes to reading a green you can see the layout of the green from 100 yards and in as you approach it. Your ball will roll away from the mountains and towards the ocean. If there is a hill near the green your ball will roll away from it. It will roll towards a lake.

6. The grain will affect how your ball rolls. Putting with the grain your ball is faster and putting against the grain your ball is slower. You want to look at both sides of your ball and in front of it when you line up your putt. How does the grass look? Shiny grass means the grain is away from you and dull grass means the grain is towards you.

Knowing the basics of putting can help improve your score. But you still have to implement what you know. There is a saying that goes like this "It was a nice operation, but the patient died." So it is with golf. You can do everything right and still walk away with a bad round if you can not make putts.