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Be a better putter

Amanda Minchin

We have talked about spending more time on your short game including your chipping and wedge shots.

We need to now focus on putting. Chances are if you are a good putter, you can shoot some pretty good scores. If you struggle to get the ball in the hole with your putter, it won’t matter how far you hit your driver or how precise your iron play is, your score will suffer.

What makes someone a great putter? Good mechanics, ability to read greens and confidence. Good putting mechanics will include having your eyes over the ball, a consistent stroke and follow through, and solid contact. Reading greens is another skill that good (and great) putters have.

They are able to determine which way a putt will break and by how much. Being able to read greens comes from playing experience and understanding how greens are built. For instance, if you can determine which way water would drain from a putting surface, you can make a better judgment on how a putt might break.

All good putters are confident. This means that they expect to make every putt and are able to silence the possible negative thoughts that might creep into their heads, especially over those three-foot putts. A confident putter with average mechanical putting skills can, more often than not, make more putts compared to a mechanically skilled putter who lacks confidence.

How do you accomplish all of this to become a better putter? You should seek out your local PGA of Canada Professional who can take a look at your putting stroke to determine any obvious deficiencies. You can also search out the help of a certified Aim Point Instructor who can help you with learning the slopes of greens and how to read breaks.

Becoming confident is really a state of mind. You have a better chance of making a putt simply by telling yourself that you will make it, regardless of what your stroke looks like.

The next time you play golf, tell yourself before every putt that you will make it. Just see what happens. You might just start making more putts, and lowering that score.