By Walter Kim, PGA Teaching Professional
Winter is a great time to perfect your putting fundamentals. If you spend the colder months rolling putts on your carpet with the technique outlined below, you will have touch and consistency on the greens on your first round of the new season. To work with Walter and get an in-depth analysis of your putting stroke on our SAM PuttLab, schedule a lesson here or call the Center.
1. The Grip: Start with your putter straight our in front of you. Grip the putter with your palms, making sure your thumbs are pointing straight down the shaft. The putter should be an extension of the life lines of your hands, which will align your forearms with the shaft.
2. The Setup: Keeping your elbows close to your body, lower the putter to the ground by bending at the hips. Have your hands directly underneath your shoulders, and your feet inside your shoulder line.
3. Eye Position: Make sure your eyes are over or slightly inside the ball. You can test this by taking your stance and dropping a ball from your eyes. If it hits the ball on the ground, you are in a good position.
4. Balance: Stay centered, with your weight evenly distributed between the balls and heels of your feet. If you’re too close to the ball (left), you will lean back on your heels. If you’re too far (right), your weight will be on your toes. When you’re the right distance, your weight will be centered.
5. Shaft Angle: Get your putter shaft in line, not leaning too far back or forward. A small forward press is acceptable.
With this sound setup in place, think about your arms and shoulders as the engines of the stroke. Then think about cadence. Three words: tempo, tempo, tempo. Your stroke should be evenly divided before and after impact. Take your putter back the same distance as your follow-through. It’s a steady rhythmic motion, back and forth. I like to repeat “tick-tock” and visualize the putter as a pendulum before I take my stroke.
With these basic fundamentals in mind, you can hit the practice green (or living room carpet) to work on your feel this winter. By spring, your putting stroke will be the best it’s ever been.
If you have any questions or would like to take lessons, please contact me at the Learning Center.