ABC GOLF INSTRUCTION

Written by Mark Officer - Australian AAA PGA Member
REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION © Copyright 2006
PERFECTSTROKE Mark Officer Version 1.2

TRAINING PROGRAM

1. The Grip
2. Alignment
3. Set Up
4. Power Sources
5. The Full Swing
6. Shaping Shots
7. Ball Flight Laws
8. Putting
9. Chipping
10. Pitching
11. Bunker Shots
12. Video Analysis
    Analysis & Performance

Section 8 - Putting

There are many different styles of putting but what you want to use is a method that is simple and easily repeatable and one which you can develop a feel for distance. There is no requirement to develop a great deal of club head speed in putting so we want to almost eliminate the body turn, mainly using arms in the putting stroke with no wrist cock. 

In the set up position it’s important that the putter face be aligned at right angles to the target line. To help with this the eyes need to be directly over the ball, over the putter head and over the target line.

Alignment should be parallel with all parts of the body to encourage a stroke that travels along the target line.  The club head on the back swing will travel slightly to the inside and the face should appear to open slightly and then on the through swing the club head will travel slightly to the inside again and the face should appear to close.  This amount of travelling to the inside on the back swing and through swing however is very small as is the opening and closing of the clubface.

This slight to the inside move on the back and through swings and the slight opening and closing of the putter face occurs because of the angle that the shaft goes into the head. If the shaft could go into the head at right angles then the putter could travel straight back and through and the face could remain square.

However a rule of golf is in place which requires that the shaft goes into the head at least at a 10 degree angle.  These actions of the putter face  opening and closing in relation to the path can easily be defined by using the PerfectstrokeTM Putting Aid. 
The PerfectstrokeTM Putting Aid is designed so that the shaft of the putter rest’s on a rail which is positioned above the ground. The shaft is kept in contact with the rail during the backstroke and through stroke and that means that because of the angle of the shaft going into the head the head will swing slightly inside/inside and the face will open and close slightly in relation to the target line.  

The ball position should be forward in the stance to encourage the ball being met right at the very bottom of the swing arc and the style of grip is going to be a preference but the most popular putting grip is the reverse overlap putting style.  This is where the index finger of the left hand sits outside of the fingers of the right hand, both thumbs run down the flat front side of the grip, the butt end of the club underneath the heel pad of the hand so as to reduce any side to side wrist action.

The lower part of the body should remain still during the putting stroke as any movement here could influence the swing path or the club face control during the swing.

Backswing and through swing length can vary but in order to help develop a feel for this it’s recommended that the backswing and through swing almost match up. The clubhand should also appear to move the same height off the ground in the backswing as it does in the through swing.  When the ball is needed to travel further distances the backswing will just be a little bit longer as will the through swing. This is the easiest way to develop a feel for distance rather than hitting the ball harder with the same length backswing. Matching backswing and through swing is a more effective way of developing this feel.

One of the most challenging variables in putting is the contours on the green.  You need to be able to read the slope, the borrow on the green for each putt, whether or not it be left or right, right to left, downhill or uphill. And when you do determine the lie of the land, it’s going to make the ball roll slightly to the left or to the right. You need to allow this distance either side of the hole and allow the slope to carry the ball towards the hole.