How to Putt a Golf Ball
Many golfers want to aim for a hole-in-one throughout all 18 holes of the golf course, but that would cancel out perhaps the most important part of golf: the short game. Putting is one of the essentials in the short game, but many people find it confusing, difficult, and exasperating. Here’s how you can sink the perfect putt, and perfect your short game.
What is Putting?
Golfers need a lot of luck and plenty of skill to send the ball where they want to go. The putt is a golf stroke played on the green, and is used to roll the ball along a given path toward the hole. Putting is that part of the short game when the ball is driven, lobbed, or chipped into the golfing green.
While many people concentrate on drives, putting is often where golf gets frustrating. Putting requires a lot of concentration and skill, but your putting game can be helped with the right equipment and the proper putting technique.
The Putter
All amateur and professional golfers carry a putters, or a set of putters, in their golf bags. While there is no rule as to what kind of clubs should be part of a golf game, every golfer has a preference to the type, make, or brand of putter he or she uses. You may choose from one of many kinds of putters:
golf putt
Standard putters are the most common types of putters. Standard putters are designed to have a center spot (called the “sweet spot”) that maximizes the momentum and concentrates the force of the swing, giving you better control over the movement of the ball along the green.
Long-shaft putters have longer shafts and handles that may reach to your belly or your chin. Long-shaft
putters are designed to keep the stroke more stable, and prevent excess movement that may steer the ball off-course.
Trainer putters are designed for beginners who need to learn their short game, but do not have the skill to handle a conventional putter. Trainer putters have a very wide sweet spot that may span the entire face of the club.
Putting Tips
Here are some important tips to remember when putting a golf ball:
Stance
Always maintain the standard stance you use when you swing with other clubs.
Limit the freedom of movement you have in your arms when taking a putt. Keep your arms straight, and let your body - not your hands - perform the stroke for you.
When lining up the putt, imagine a straight line going from the hole to your ball. Use the grooves on the putting iron to line up the ball towards the hole.
Stroke
Putting is all about maximizing momentum, not brute force. Take a stroke that is just enough to push your ball to the hole with the fewest number of strokes possible.
Sometimes it helps to give just a little more force to the ball when taking a putt, especially if you’re putting on a sloped green.
Do not forget the follow-through when putting. The follow through gives the ball the full power it needs to make its way along the green and sink into the hole.
Putting is perhaps the most important stroke skill you have to learn in golf. With these tips, you can improve your putting and make a significant difference in the way you play the short game.