The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Better Putter

Learn the key steps to improving your putting

Finding the right putter, perfecting your setup, drills to do in practice, what to do before your round, and a trick you can use on-course to make those nervy short putts easier… we’ve covered everything you need to become a better putter.

A good day on the greens can make you a winner or help salvage something from a bad ball-striking day, but a bad day with the putter can ruin your score – even if you’re doing everything else well.

We’ve covered everything you need to improve your putting, including:

– Getting the right putter
– The fundamentals to good setup
– Practice drills to improve your short, long, and mid-range putting
– Quick warm-up drills to do before you play
– Things you can do on the course to help you hole more putts

Step One: Find the right putter

With so many putters to choose from in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. The three main factors are getting the right length putter, choosing between a blade or mallet depending on your stroke, and getting alignment aids that suit your eye to help you line up more accurately.

1. Getting the right length putter

To determine what length of putter you need, adopt your comfortable putting stance.

If you’re in any doubt about this, leave your putter to one side for a moment and take up your ideal putting stance and posture. To do this:

– Allow your arms to hang.
– Find a rock-solid balance point, one that would offer the most resistance to being pushed over.
– Make sure your head and eyes are where you want them, in a good position to swivel and track the ball-hole line.

If you don’t feel sure of your optimal putting stance, ask a PGA pro to help you find it.

Once you’re in this perfect putting posture, a well-fitted putter will slip comfortably into your hands in this stance, without asking you to change your posture or hand position. If your putter does not allow you to do this, you are already compromising your motion to suit an ill-fitting club. Work with your pro to build the appropriate putter spec for your perfect stance.

2. Does a blade or mallet putter suit your stroke?

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