Golf - Perfect Putting
Ok, so there really is no such thing as perfect putting ——
but you can get pretty close. Just follow some of these helpful
tips:
GRIP and STANCE
Start with the correct grip. Lightly place your hands on the
club. It's not a python you have to squeeze to death before it
kills you. Use a very light version of your normal grip, but
with the pinky on the club, rather than overlapped or
interlocked. When you close your fingers, don't force the club
into an angle. Address the ball squarely. Relax.
Place the ball toward the front of your stance, centered
between your shoulders. Keep your hands near the top of the
grip and focus your eyes directly over the ball. The target
line is perpendicular to a power saw that would slice your body
in half. This makes it easy to give a natural pendulum stroke
along the target line.
If you're right handed, lock in your left hand.
Left-handers, lock in the right. The putter face should be
perpendicular to the target line, and the ball at the
sweetspot, usually. As you lean over, your eyes come into line
parallel with the target line. A ball dropped from your nose
would land onto that line.
Feet will be generally set no wider than the hips, weight
balanced slightly toward the inside of their left heel.
BALL
Your ball should be placed roughly between the center of
your stance and your left instep. This squares up the path and
the clubhead prior to impact. Also, it allows any approach
angle to level out enough to for good follow through.
STROKE
Sweeping strokes are usually positioned slightly left, while
a tapping motion should be more centered. Your goal is to
strike the ball in the center (the sweetspot), unless you're
putting on a downhill slope. Then, try hitting closer to the
toe of the putter. This gives slightly less impact force, and
lowers the odds of overshooting the hole. A smooth stroke back,
followed by a forward motion in the same plane is the ideal.
Remember, left hand holds, right hand strokes. (For
right-handers.)
PRACTICE
If you look closely at most golf balls, you'll notice a line
around the 'equator', where there are not dimples. A well
constructed ball will be perfectly balanced, with equal weight
on any line through the center. But not all are. Good
manufacturers, ensure the cover is the same thickness all
around, and the core materials a uniform density.
Still, not every ball is perfect. On a practice green (flat,
dry, and level), try lining up the line on the ball with the
target line toward the hole. Take a few practice putts from 3-6
feet from the hole, then ten feet. Look for any tendency of the
ball to veer one way or the other that isn't due to errors in
your stance or stroke. (Be honest!)
Now lay down a series of markers (strings or quarters, for
example), at different distances from the hole. Try one foot,
three feet, six feet, 10 feet, 15 feet. Practice shooting NOT
for the hole, but to consistently place the ball within the
markers. This will give you a good feel for how hard an impact
at what angle rolls the ball how far.
Change the distance between the markers, making them closer
together, and repeat until you can put the ball anywhere you
want.
See, now you are perfect!
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