Skip to content

Essential Practices Distinct to Skilled Puttters (Distinct from You)

Master Putting Strategies: Jamie Donaldson Outlines Eight Habits of Elite Puttters; Discover Which Technique You'll Adopt for Your Next Round of Golf

Improving your putting game? Find out eight strategies champion putter Jamie Donaldson swears by,...
Improving your putting game? Find out eight strategies champion putter Jamie Donaldson swears by, and give them a go on your next round! See which method works best for you.

Essential Practices Distinct to Skilled Puttters (Distinct from You)

Unleashing Your Putting Skills: eight tricks top golfers use

Mastering the art of putting in golf can be a major improvement to your game. Check out these eight secrets employed by skilled putters to elevate your on-green performance:

  1. Solid Strikes Every Time: Top-tier golfers consistently strike their putts from the center of the clubhead, enhancing precision and distance control. Try this exercise to enhance your sweet spot connection: place two tee pegs, spaced wider than your putter head, under the ball. Aim to hit putts without hitting the pegs. If you manage this, you've struck your putts solidly.1

As you work on ball positioning, remember that an incorrect position can lead to erratic club movement. Most pros prefer a ball position that ranges from the center of their stance to slightly forward of it. Find what works for you and stick with it.1

  1. Control Stroke Length and Tempo: Good putters fine-tune their stroke length and tempo to match the putt's distance. Using a ruler or tape measure, mark your stroke length for various putt distances, such as 10, 20, and 30 feet. This helps you manage your speed better. As you practice, it's vital to maintain the same time duration (tempo) for each putt, as green speeds might alter.1
  2. Adapt to Slope: skilled putters modify their stroke and tempo to accommodate the putt's slope. For downhill putts, reduce both stroke length and tempo to cut back on strike power. On uphill putts, lengthen your stroke and quicken your tempo to accommodate the slope and green speed.1
  3. Square the Putter Face: Top putters ensure their putter face is square at impact, as the putter face controls 93% of the ball's finishing position. Look for a putter with a suitable alignment aid, whether it's a long solid line, dots, multiple lines, or no markings.1
  4. Aid Your Aim: clever golfers help themselves align their putts by employing techniques such as using a line on the ball or picking a target spot just in front of the ball. When using a ball marker with a line, remember it might look skewed at first, but trust it. Aim the line towards your intended start point, then use your putter shaft to check alignment.1

Alternatively, select a target spot between the ball and the hole, opting for a blade of grass or other defining feature on the green. Your goal is to roll the ball over this spot.1

  1. React to Longer Putts: Skilled putters realize that long putts tend to break more and aim accordingly. For example, anticipating slightly more break on longer putts helps you miss closer to the hole, allowing the ball to roll toward the goal instead of away from it.1
  2. Read Putts Correctly: Good golfers accurately read the green's slope and break. If you struggle with this visually, try AimPoint, a technique that involves feeling the slope through your feet. This approach is popular among top players worldwide.1
  3. Adjust Break for Uphill and Downhill Putts: Understand that downhill putts break more than uphill ones due to slower rolling speeds. Adjust your aim accordingly, allowing for more break on downhill putts and less break on uphill ones.1

If you're eager to give a Cobra putter a try, visit their website for more information.

Mimicking the techniques of top golfers, one should practice solid strikes from the center of the clubhead, similar to what top-tier golfers do, to enhance precision and distance control in putting. To improve your golfing skills, try practicing putting by using a line on the ball as a guide or by selecting a target spot between the ball and the hole on the green.

As a golfer, refining your stroke length and tempo to match the putt's distance and accommodating the putt's slope can lead to better on-green performance, similar to what skilled putters do. To optimize your putts, employ a technique called AimPoint, which involves feeling the slope through your feet, to help accurately read the green's slope and break.

Read also:

Latest