Tag Archives: Putting

A Crouched Stance (face balanced putters)

If you prefer to adopt more of a crouched stance over the ball then there are a few fundamentals that you must change in order to keep the angles consistent and putt well. Using this putting style the face of the putter stays square from the centre of the stance and extends a little down the putt line. This means that the ball position can be anywhere from the middle of the stance to a few inches forward. It is more important to make sure your eye’s are directly over the ball as this style of stroke is more of a straight line (shorter back and longer through) through the ball. A wider stance is also encouraged for improved balance and stability when making this controlled stroke. As a result of a wider stance the arms now hang from the shoulders with much more bend in the elbows. It is important to hold these angles throughout the stroke to create a consistent feel.

Dennis Pugh demonstrates

The Taller Stance (Toe/Heel weighted putter)

When putting, try to adopt a taller stance to the ball. By doing this you are creating minimum angles in the setup that must be held constant throughout the stroke. To do this start with a narrower stance, straighter legs and most importantly a straighter back posture with a slight bend from the hips. To calculate you have this posture correct, drop a ball from next to your eye-line which should bounce just inside of the ball you are about to putt. The arms should now hang free and relaxed from the shoulders with minimum if no bend in the elbows. You are now free to make a smooth stroke onto the ball.

Remember this setup will encourage you to use the inside to square putting stroke which complements the toe/heel weighted putter models.

Dennis Pugh demonstrates.

Plan, Build, Execute - Mental Preparation

When faced with a putt of any importance it is vital that you keep to a solid pre-shot routine. This helps to relieve any anxiety and focus in on the job in hand. A solid pre-shot routine should not be too time consuming, as long as you are taking on board the vital components needed to execute the shot.

First Plan the Putt

This involves looking at the break of the putt from both behind the ball and behind the hole. (look at the putt from the side’s whilst walking to and from).

Build a feel

With the information gathered in the planning stage you must now build a feel for the stroke needed. This should be done in the address position but some golfers like to do this behind the ball whilst looking down the line of the putt.

Execution

The actual shot. This should take place immediately after the player has built his/her feel for the putt. Any delay in the execution can often result in the build up of anxiety and negative thoughts creep in and the player ends up second guessing his/her earlier work.

Keep focused and stay positive on the putting green. Enjoy the challenge of putting.

Take a look at this great putting lesson from Denis Pugh.

The biggest conceptual mistake amateur golfers make is they believe that the putting stroke is a straight line (wrong!). The putting stroke whatever shape or size you may be should be a natural arc. Do not try to “hood” the putter face square during this arc stroke. Instead let the natural progression of the arc open the clubface on its way back, square up at the ball and rotate closed on the follow through The motion of the backstroke and follow through arc slightly to the inside of the target line with the ball resting at the apex of this arc.

Watch Golf Digest instructor Dave Maga demonstrate in this video.