Everything is seemingly going great with your game until you miss a short putt. Although this can be both frustrating and embarrassing, there are some things that you can do to improve your game here and ultimately lower your score.
Take Time to Aim
Your aim is a major priority if you want to be successful here since your ball travels where you point your putter face at the time of impact. If you look at good players, you’ll see that once they’ve taken their practice shots, they’ll aim their putter face before settling their grip and setup.
Get a Grip
Your hands’ placement on the putter’s grip stabilizes your club and influences your ability to deliver a square face upon impact. There are many ways of doing this. Choose the one that makes you feel the most coordinated. When uncertain, take your cues from the grip’s design.
Maintain Good Posture Throughout Your Short Putts
With good posture, your arms will naturally swing through your short putts. This is something you can practice anytime without your putter. When doing so, remember that your stance width will vary depending on your personal preference. Generally, you want it to be about the width of your hips.
Stroke Before Looking
Remember to quiet your body when you swing your arms. Although this may sound easy, it’s challenging because most of us are result-oriented, so we want to look to see if the ball is rolling towards the hole. However, when you look at the professionals, you’ll see that they maintain a stable lower body and head throughout their stroke. They don’t look up until they see the putter make contact with the back of their ball, and their stroke is completed.
Limit Your Backstroke
Your backstroke is what controls the distance of your putts. You only need short backstrokes with short putts since they deliver less power. When you have a large backstroke, your body attempts to decelerate, and if improperly timed, your putter face will become less stable, which will cause other issues.
Minimize Moving Parts
The emphasis behind short putts is on the accuracy, not power. You want to make sure that your ball starts on the correct line. Here, the fewer moving parts you have, the better off you’ll be. If you move your lower body too much, you become less efficient. One of the main reasons so many people miss these shots is that their feet aren’t firmly planted on the ground, so they’re swaying back and forth.
Read Every Putt
Spend time reading each shot’s break. Don’t hurry here. You also don’t want to assume that every putt is straight. Instead, please take a moment to walk around the green in a semi-circle so that you can locate its high point. Another tip you should remember here is that while you may not need to play the putt much outside of the hole, you should still aim for the left edge on a right-to-left breaking putt.
Respect The Challenge
A good attitude won’t only help you with life but also with your short putts. When one doesn’t work out, remind yourself you’re playing for fun and move on. Don’t waste time thinking about what you should have done. Instead, consider these putts as ones you need to earn by being present and focused.
Practice Makes Perfect
Practice is an important part of your game. Before practicing at home, you’ll want to have some artificial turf installed, so you don’t tear up your grass. For this, you should contact us at Turf Pro Synthetics in Tampa, FL.
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