How to Get Better at Putting
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Putting can be extremely difficult for something that seems so simple, yet it can quickly increase your golf score. I recently changed my putter and setup to improve my putting, and this article covers some of the things I found along the way to help you do the same.
1. Setup
Key setup checkpoints:
- Armpits aligned vertically with balls of feet
- Eyes over the ball
- Forearms in line with putter shaft
- Shoulders and feet parallel to the target line
Your setup will vary based on where you’re comfortable, but you’ll want to be bent over so your armpits align over the balls of your feet. This will help ensure you’re well-balanced. Your feet can vary, but aim to be about shoulder width apart along your target line for stability.
Next, most players will want to position their eyes directly over the top of the golf ball. You can check this position with a putting mirror (or another small mirror if you have one) or by holding a golf ball up to your dominant eye and dropping it straight down to see if it hits the other golf ball.
Once you have that down, you’ll want to set your arms at the same angle as your putter shaft. While you can try to work at a different angle, this will promote a wider arc, and unless you’re great at putting this way, it’s going to make things more difficult (either moving perfectly along the unnatural arc or trying to force the putter to go straight back and through).
The more vertical your putter is, the less arc it will have, but you also need a putter with a lie angle to fit this setup. You might find that when changing your setup, your putter has the heel or toe off the ground.
You can check your putter angle by propping up your phone on the ground behind you to record your setup and hit a ball or by having another person crouch behind you to look.
Once you’re comfortable with your setup, I recommend getting your putter fitted if it’s not already flat. A club fitter can either bend your existing putter or fit you with a new or used one.
2. Hit It Straight
Once you have your setup dialed in, the next thing to focus on is having your clubface square at impact so you can putt the ball along a straight line. If you’re unable to do this, it’ll be difficult to make any putts further than a couple of feet.
The first option for working on this is finding a flat practice area and setting the ball up so a line on it faces directly at the target. Hit the ball and make sure that line rolls end-over-end instead of wobbling.
I also recommend getting a Devil Ball to work on this. It will emphasize any misses and make training easier and faster.
Devil Ball
The Devil Ball will help you putt straighter and lower your scores out on the course.
3. Line It Up
Now that you can hit a straight putt, you’ll need to make sure you’re putting it on the right line. I’d start with flat putts and stand or squat directly behind the ball. Now look at the line to the hole from your ball and pick a spot about 6-12 inches in front of your ball along that line. This will be your target reference to make sure you’re lining up properly.
To make alignment easier, you can mark your ball and place it so an alignment mark points directly at this spot and to the target. You can also use a Sharpie to draw a bigger line on your ball for alignment.
Get into your setup and putt through your target mark to the hole. You might want to second-guess this mark as you stand over the ball, but try to avoid doing that, as you want to make a confident stroke.
Once you’ve mastered hitting a straight putt, then you can start working on breaking putts, as you’ll need to be more conscious of both aim and speed. Those putts just take practice and building a feel.
To improve your reads on breaking putts, look at the putt from the side, at the center of the low side of the putt, to get a better visual of the path the putt will follow. Then, get behind the ball for your final read.
4. Distance Control
Finally, you’ll need to work on distance control to make the putt. Again, it’s best to start this on a flat straight putt. Instead of thinking about the hole being the target on these putts, think about the distance being a spot at least a few inches past the hole. This will prevent you from leaving too many short, but not leave you in a bad spot if you miss.
On uphill putts, you can increase this target beyond the hole further, while on downhill putts, you’ll want to find a target in front of the hole.
When adjusting to speed, you can try hitting putts from 10, 20, and 30 feet to get a baseline. Most people aren’t going to make these long putts. Your goal should be to leave the ball within a range where you can make the next putt, but if it happens to go in – bonus!
Conclusion & Setting Expectations
Putting takes a lot of practice, but if you can create a repeatable setup and hit a straight putt, you’ll be well on your way to making more putts and at least eliminating many of the 3+ putts.
This chart from Tom Fielding Golf gives some good perspective on setting expectations. The takeaway? Your make percentage will drop quickly if you get outside three to five feet.
| Distance (ft) | Tour Pro | Scratch Golfer | 90 Score Golfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 99% | 99% | 95% |
| 3 | 96% | 93% | 84% |
| 4 | 88% | 80% | 65% |
| 5 | 77% | 66% | 50% |
| 8 | 50% | 41% | 27% |
| 10 | 40% | 33% | 20% |
| 20 | 15% | 14% | 6% |
