THE GOLF TIPS

Five Steps to Develop the Perfect Putt

Senior Golfers Guide If you're serious about lowering your scores, try following these five simple steps to putting perfection.

1. Position
Position yourself so your eyes are over the intended line of the putt (ball line). To do this, hold your putter loosely and directly under your eyes as you address the putt and let gravity take it straight down. Now, make sure that when you look down at the putter, that it covers the ball. If not, move forward or back until it does. Ball position should be slightly forward (toward the left foot). Hands should also be forward. Align the putter shaft with the left forearm. This position promotes a good roll as the ball leaves the putter face.

2. Grip
Your hands should work as a unit and not be spread apart. The farther apart your hands are, the more likely you are to use your wrists, which is not desired. (The putting stroke originates in the shoulders and arms.) Use a normal grip, with three fingers of each hand on the club and the others just along for the ride. Use relatively light (5 on a scale of 1-10) grip pressure in order to promote feel. Aiming when Putting

3. Aim
Find a target and imagine a straight line through the center of your putter. Don't get too caught up in the line that your feet make, but do be sure the putter face is square to the target. This is also the line your stroke should follow. Don't tilt your head, or you'll distort the perspective.

4. Stroke
Your putting stroke should be dominated by the shoulders and arms and involve as little wrist movement as possible. Minimize body movement, and try not to shift weight or turn the hips. (In other words, forget much of what you've learned about the body's role in a full swing!) Putter Backswing

5. Acceleration

Successful putters have a backswing and follow-through of equal length. This promotes acceleration and aids distance control. One of the most common faults I see is a player taking the club way back and then stopping at the ball on the down stroke, anticipating the hit. Remember to stroke through the ball, not at it!   If you want to improve your Putting even more it may be a good idea to watch an instructional DVD made by one of the top Teaching Pros: we recommend the PurePoint Golf Putting DVD, worth checking out.