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Putting can at times be a complicated thing to master. Much has been said and written about what is essential to be a good putter but no matter how you look at it, there will always be some fundamentals that you must know. The following five putting tips will help to improve your golf game. Even if you have been ad it for a long time, it would serve you well to revisit these 5 tips on proper putting. These tips are the foundation of my puting and what I always re-visit when my putting game is not exactly sizzeling hot:-)

1) A good put is not necessarily a holed put!

First of all you need to understand that good putting has nothing to do with whether the ball goes in the hole or not. A good putt is one that is stoked squarely on the aim line you picked out and at the speed you intended. It is goes in the hole then great.... if it doesn't then the put has still been a good putt. Maybe your preparation wasn't good enough or maybe your read of the green was off but if you stroked the put according to plan then you should still mentally register the put as a satisfactory put even if it doesn't sink. Confidence is a huge part of good putting and it does not build confidence to get down on yourself for every missed put, especially if execution was according to plan.

2) Preparation

Your preparation for the put starts long before you reach the green. When you approach the green from 50-80 yards out you can start to get an idea of the overall fall lines of the green. Start to notice the layout and slopes of the green from a distance. Register where the run off areas are. Is there a lake or water nearby. (Greens usually slope towards the water) Look for drainage run off areas. If there are bunkers surrounding the green then they usually arrange the run off areas away from the bunkers so they don't fill up with rain water. All of this will give you a good idea of the layout of the green when you get ready to read the put more closely.

3) Find your core putt.

The best way to access the speed of the greens on the course and on the specific day is to strike a few core putts on the putting green during your warm up. A core putt is one that you can repeat every time. Pick a point as the length of your back swing and stoke the putt letting gravity do the work. (Could be back as far as the insole of you right foot or to your big toe etc.) Stroke your core putt 2-3 times on a flat area of the green. The length of your core putt will be your steep meter of the day and you will use that as you guideline for the rest of the puts on the course. If the putt is shorter than you core put on the practice green then you will know to make your back swing shorter than your core putt.

4) Target putting

When reading our put and settling on an aiming point then pick out a spot on the aim line about 20cm in front of the ball and on the direct aim line. Focus on the spot in the grass and use it to square up your putter head. Square up the putter line that goes through the middle of the ball and the spot you picked out. This is before you take your stance and grip and your purpose is only to aim the putter right. It is much easier to set the putter up squarely on a spot only 15-20cm away than the true aiming point that might be several meter away. After taking you stance and grip you can then check the alignment of your putter with the original aiming point and adjust if needed. Check out Geoff Magnums DVD "The Reality of Putting" if you wish to learn more about setting up the put in the right way and in a way where you can check if your aim is true. Know the feeling where you have no idea if you are actually set up on the intended target line? Well Geoff has an amazing technique to make sure if you are aimed on target or not. Check it out.

5) Natural putting stroke

Let gravity do the work. Don’t force the putter and definitely don’t hinder it either. The easiest way by far to control speed and to achieve that perfect touch they all talk about, is to let gravity to the work when you swing the putter. Start the back swing with you left side and take the putter back in a smooth controlled speed. From there you release and let go and let the gravity swing you putter down and through the ball without forcing it. That way you achieve a natural putting swing you can repeat again and again and only the length of your backswing will determine the speed and length of your put. Consistent swing speed and your ability to replicate it every time is the key to creating great touch. Now take it to the course. Best of luck! Tom