| When I watch a top touring professional like Tiger | | | | at the same time. Following are the three factors |
| Woods putt, it reminds me of how simple a | | | | that I believe will significantly improve your putting |
| putting stroke should be. The pros on the PGA | | | | performance day in and day out. |
| and LPGA tours spend a great deal of their time | | | | Right Arm in Plane with Shaft |
| simplifying their putting strokes so they can make | | | | In the address position make-sure that your right |
| more putts when it matters. | | | | forearm and the putter shaft are directly in-line |
| I'm sure that you are well aware that putting | | | | with each other. Then during the back stroke and |
| accounts for more than forty percent of your | | | | forward stroke phases, maintain this |
| total score, so it makes good sense to develop a | | | | forearm-shaft relationship. |
| simple, repeatable putting stroke that you can rely | | | | All successful putters keep their arms and putter |
| on. | | | | shaft in the same plane, and they power their |
| The pro putt technique is the simplest of all the | | | | putting stroke with the muscles of their upper |
| golf strokes you can learn. In this article I will | | | | back that moves their forearms backwards and |
| explain how you can focus on just three simple | | | | forwards. |
| factors that will have you holing more putts than | | | | Maintain Upper Body Angle to Ball |
| you could imagine. | | | | The second factor that I teach my students is to |
| It's hard to believe that such a simple action like | | | | keep their ear to hip angle to ball constant |
| the putting stroke could give so many golfers so | | | | throughout the putting stroke. Any unnecessary |
| much grief. After all, the putting stroke is only | | | | up and down movement of your upper body in |
| inches long and yet its influence is significant, | | | | relation to the ball affects your ability to maintain |
| because the shortest putt has the same value as | | | | the radius between the putter face and the top |
| the longest and straightest drive that you can hit. | | | | of your spine. |
| If you want to shoot lower golf scores then you | | | | By keeping your upper body stable until three |
| will have to learn how to putt more effectively. | | | | seconds after the ball departs from the club face |
| Fortunately for us there are only three factors to | | | | will help you to strike your putts more solidly |
| develop and master to become a highly | | | | leading to better distance control. |
| competent putter. | | | | Eye-Ball-Target Control |
| I believe that any putting stroke that eliminates | | | | The third factor relates to your ability to keep |
| club face rotation will in the long run be a more | | | | your eye-line in the same plane as the golf ball |
| successful technique for holing putts. I know this | | | | and target. Great putters control the putt with |
| seems obvious but believe me; many of the | | | | their eyes. They watch the ball roll all the way to |
| golfers who attend my golf school suffer from | | | | the target by simply rotating their eyes along the |
| too much club face rotation leading to inconsistent | | | | target line as their arms move through the ball. |
| direction off the putter face. | | | | Imagine a triangle from your dominant eye to the |
| Through my observations of successful | | | | hole (or target) and back to the ball. When you |
| professional golfers who are excellent putters I | | | | strike your putt you maintain your eye to ball to |
| have identified three factors consistent with | | | | target relationship until the ball come to rest. |
| every one of them. These simple, overlooked | | | | By incorporating the pro putt technique into your |
| factors are not the factors that you read about | | | | putting stroke you will quickly discover that your |
| in virtually every golf instruction book or golf | | | | putting stroke is straighter and more consistent |
| magazine, like a straight putting stroke or | | | | and your strike on the putter face is more out of |
| accelerate you putter through the ball etc. | | | | the sweet spot leading to better distance control, |
| These factors relate to the mechanism that | | | | ultimately less putts per round and increased golf |
| drives the stroke and keeps the body in balance | | | | confidence. |