Fundamentals of Putting

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• Main Menu
• Overview
• The Mechanics of Putting
• Diagnostics and Observation
• Putter Fitting
• The Grip
• Ball Position
• Setup and Alignment
• Lock and Rock
• Swing Plane
• Rhythm
• Eye Movement
• Pre-Shot Routine
• Pre-Shot Routine Template
• Green Reading
• Wind Effects on the Green
• Practice Drills
• Rhythm Drills
• Distance Control Drills
• Eye Movement Drills
• Speed Control Drills
• Pressure Putting Drills
• Before You Play
• Linking the FOP with the Mechanics
• ASSESSMENT

Practice Drills: Before You Play

The best exercise that your student can do before he plays is to go to the practice green with just one ball.

He should then go through the process of holing that ball out on each putting hole, as if he were on the golf course. He should read the putt, go through the pre-shot routine, and approach the putt as if it were for real. After all, when he tees off in 5 minutes and gets to the first green, it will be for real.

Many golfers take multiple balls before they play and knock them toward a hole. Then they don’t hole them out and move onto another target, casually “feeling” the putts, with no particular determination to hole them. Never is the adage, “You play how you practice,” more true.