Instruction
A Guide (Secret) to Better Putting
Putting is a part of the game where we can all do small things to get better. You don’t have to practice 40 hours a week or have a stroke that gets a perfect score on a SAM PuttLab. The universal answer is to simplify the approach as much as possible.
While being a world class putter is an art form, being competent at putting is probably the least physically daunting task in golf — aside from maybe driving the cart. Putting generally provides the most stress and frustration, however, as our results are almost never aligned with our exceptions, which drives us to create unnecessary roadblocks to success.
That being the case, let’s narrow this down to as few variables as possible and get ourselves holing more putts. First off, you need to have proper expectations. If you look at the PGA Tour averages for made putts, you will find that the rates of success overall are far lower than what we see on on TV on Sunday afternoon. That’s because we are seeing the best players in the world, who in a moment in time, are holing putts at a clip the average plus-handicap club champion couldn’t dream of during a near death experience on his way to walking into the light.
If you have ever seen golf balls rolled on a stimpmeter ramp (the device used to measure green speed), you have probably seen something shocking. Golf balls rolling perfectly — the perfect speed, on a perfect green, on a perfectly straight putt — sometimes miss on both sides of the hole on consecutive efforts.
This is a very important point. The farther you get from the hole, the less control you have over making the putt. That’s why actually making putts outside a few feet should not be your priority. Hitting the best putt possible is your only priority. Then be resigned that the putt will either go in or it won’t. This might seem defeatist, but it’s not; its just a perception change. If you judge yourself on whether the ball goes in or not, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you judge yourself on whether or not you hit a good putt, you will be more successful… and you’re going to make more putts.
This sounds like something you’d hear at a Tony Robbins positive thinking seminar, but it has proven successful for every one of my clients who has embraced it. So what’s the secret to hitting the best putt possible each time?
Simplify the process.
- Read the green to the best of your ability.
- Pick a line and do your best to set up to it.
- Do your best to hit the putt solid and at the right speed.
Reading the green is something that gets better with experience and practice. Some will be better than others, so this is an intangible thing that countless books are written about. My advice is simple; DON’T OVER THINK IT. Look at the terrain and get a general sense of where low point is in relation to the hole.
The reason why perfect green reading and perfect alignment are overrated is because there is no one line to the hole. The hole is over 4-inches wide and putts break differently with changes in speed and solidness of contact. I saw a video at the Scotty Cameron Putting Studio many years ago of dozens of PGA Tour players. There was a worm’s-eye camera on a 4-5 foot putt that was basically straight on the artificial grass. Few were aimed at the middle of the hole and many weren’t even aimed at the hole at all… but I didn’t see one miss.
So have a look at the terrain and be decent at lining up in the general direction that will give a chance for a well struck putt to go in or finish close enough for a tap in. Simple. After rambling on for several paragraphs, we get to the heart of how you can improve your putting. Narrow it down to doing your best to hit a solid putt at the right speed.
The “Right Speed”
I ask people after they addressed a putt how much attention they pay to line and speed. Any answer but 100 percent speed is wrong. You’ve already read the putt and lined up. Why is line any longer a variable? Plus, have you ever missed the line on a 20-foot putt by 5 feet? Maybe once in your life on a crazy green, but you sure as heck have left it 5-feet short and long on several occasions.
Imagine I handed you a basketball and said shoot it in the basket. Or what if I told you to toss a crumpled piece of paper into the trash? Having the requisite coordination is an acquired skill, but you wouldn’t grind over innocuous details when it came to the feel of making the object go the right distance. You’d react to the object in your hand and the target for the right speed/distance.
Putting is no different, save one variable. There’s the sense and feel of how the the green interacts with the ball, and that’s a direct result of how solidly you hit the putt. If you use X amount of force and it goes 18 feet one effort and 23 feet the next, how are you ever going to acquire speed control? That is the mark of almost every poor lag putter. They don’t hit putts consistently solid, so they never acquire the skill of distance control.
Since speed is a learned reaction to the terrain/target and consistency is a direct result of how consistently solid you strike the ball, that is what we’re left with.
Learn to Hit Putts More Solid
The road to better putting is as simple as hitting your putts more solid. Put most/all of your effort into what it takes to hit more putts solid. Now for each individual, it’s less about doing what’s right. Instead, it’s about avoiding movements and alignments that make it difficult to hit the ball solid. It would take an encyclopedia to cover all of the issues that fall into this category, so I will list the most common that will cover more than 90 percent of golfers.
The most common one I see — and it is nearly universal in people who are plagued by poor lag putting — is excess hip rotation. Sometimes there’s even an actual weight shift. Think of it this way; take a backstroke and stop. Rotate your hips 20 degrees without moving anything else. The putter and the arc is now pointed left of your intended line. You have to shove it with your arms and hands not to pull it. Good luck hitting it solid while doing all of that.
I had a golf school in Baltimore and told this story. Ten of the 15 people there assured me they didn’t do that. After 8 people had putted, we were 8-for-8. No. 9 said, “There is no ******* way I am going to move my hips after watching this.”
The entire group laughed after his putt told him he was wrong. The last 6 did everything they could to avoid the fault. We went 15 for 15. Many people are unaware that this issue is so dire. If you add the people that are unaware they have this issue, we are near 100 percent of golfers. I have gotten emails from 8-10 of them telling me how much their putting improved after all they did was focus on minimizing hip rotation and just hitting the ball solid.
This issue is not just the bane of average golfers; I’ve had several mini-tour players with putting issues improve with this. We are all aware Fred Couples would have won many more majors if not for a career-long battle with his putter. Watch the next time he misses a 6-foot putt to the left. As you will see, it’s not just a problem for a high-handicappers.
The best way to judge and practice avoiding this, it putting with an alignment stick in you belt loops. If your hips rotate too much, the stick will definitely let you know.
Other issues include the well know chest/sternum coming up too soon in an effort to see the ball go in the hole, as well as:
- Not aligning the putter shaft properly with the lead arm
- Grip pressure issues (too much and too little)
- Too much tension in neck and shoulders
- Poor rhythm
- Long back stroke
I could go on and on and on. The main point; find out why you aren’t hitting putts solid and do whatever it takes to do so, even if it’s something crazy like a super wide-open stance (with my tongue firmly implanted in my cheek). See the Jack Nicklaus picture at the top of the story.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Sam
Dec 28, 2017 at 7:46 pm
This article is only a secret if you’ve never taken any golf instruction before. I’m hoping the editors of GolfWrx sets a higher bar for the content of any instruction piece.
Willy Wonka
Dec 28, 2017 at 10:07 pm
The editors of Golfwrx are not responsible for you not being smart enough to understand the point of the article. Obviously many others were.
BigE
Dec 27, 2017 at 6:56 am
Great article. I’ll definitely incorporate this philosophy into my putting next summer. Although I’m pretty sure my hips don’t move – because I’m a sidesaddle putter whose hips are already squatter to my target tine!
BigE
Dec 27, 2017 at 6:57 am
oops…I meant “target line”….
Bob Jacobs
Dec 26, 2017 at 8:55 am
Quiet hips are one of the number one things I focused on towards the end of this season and it did make a diffference. Not a shocking difference because it’s still a work in progress. I’m also watching for any hip movement when I watch the pros and most have close to NONE. I watch my buddies and as Monte states, they almost ALL move their hips. Probably the simplest fix which is the good news here.
BigE
Dec 26, 2017 at 8:23 am
I loved this article. My goal this summer is to give myself a break and not feel like my putts have to be perfect. I’m going to do what Monte says and work on speed. I don’t need to worry about the hips issue as I’m a sidesaddle putter which means my body isn’t moving with the exception of my right arm!
8thehardway
Dec 25, 2017 at 11:35 pm
Excellent article that captures what I see with my buddies and most everyone else. To amplify one of your points…
“have a look at the terrain” is a big deal, especially on longer putts. The terrain is a test, checking it out gives me the answers. Take 20 seconds to walk it out, get a sense of major breaks and the last few feet by the cup. Even if I get minimal info, the effort itself calms and reorients me to a different aspect of the game; it’s also the hallmark of a competent putter, a self-reinforcing cycle that helped me ‘fake it ’till I made it.’
As to goals, on medium and long putts my goal is to entertain… the longer my putt has the potential to go in, the more excitement it generates; sinking it is just a bonus.
GolfManiac
Dec 19, 2017 at 9:34 pm
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RBImGuy
Dec 17, 2017 at 5:02 am
I do know the secret to putting and this must be one of the worst guides I read on that topic.
Willy Wonka
Dec 25, 2017 at 9:35 pm
All is forgiven. Please come back to work.
Cary
Dec 26, 2017 at 9:28 am
Did you know that envy is one of the 7 deadly sins ?
dlygrisse
Dec 27, 2017 at 3:31 pm
I do know the secret to trolling, and this must be one of the worst attempts I have seen on the topic.
albert
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:24 pm
Monte…. 42% of golf strokes are putting strokes…. and it’s incongruous if not insane to think that one putter can efficiently and effectively putt from all distances and on all greens.
I carry two putters and one less useless iron or hybrid in my WITB. A putter for long putts and a putter for shorter putts, and also depending on green speed.
An 8802-style heel-shafted putter and a Cashin-style putter… and both costing less than $100 total. I skin those with Scotty’s and that ilk of fantasy status putters. It’s hilarious…. 🙂
Richard Luczak
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Says the 26 handicap….
albert
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:47 pm
… actuallly 6ix ….:p
Ed L.
Dec 13, 2017 at 11:03 am
Hitting putts solid? Really?
Let’s define solid: 1) ball is impacted by the c.o.g. of the club (sweetspot), 2) club face is perpendicular to the direction of the swing, 3) loft is not added or substracted from the clubface at impact.
Solid contact is only one element.
Monte Scheinblum
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:13 pm
You don’t think I’m aware of those things?
It’s that kind of over tech talk to average golfers why they don’t get better and don’t want to take lessons.
Instructors need to acquire knowledge so they can simplify the process for the average golfer…not parrot what they read in a disseration.
albert
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Monte…. and competent teacher will be science knowledgeable to properly diagnose the desperate golfer’s problems… just as a medical doctor will not give the patient the gory details of their disease; only explaining the treatment and providing hope.
Science is intruding into objective knowledge starved game of golf. The old veteran teachers are struggling to survive the onslaught of Trackman, 3D video analysis, force plate analysis, even psychological remedies. The young gun golf teachers are loaded with scientific weapons while the old dogs are overloaded with dubious experience and good golf stories.
Richard Luczak
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:44 pm
Are you agreeing with him? Or did you just disagree and make his point…?
albert
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:48 pm
…. both ….;)
Richard Luczak
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:17 pm
You sound like the quintessential 5-7 handicap, Ed: just enough knowledge to be dangerous, but not enough knowledge to be any good.
albert
Dec 13, 2017 at 3:27 pm
…. and ignorance is golffing bliss …?
DB
Dec 13, 2017 at 9:06 am
I’m going to look into this hip rotation issue. Definitely agree with finding the “right speed”.
I moved to using a line on the ball, and changed my routine to where I completely forget about line once I have my ball lined up. Everything after that is just looking at the hole and thinking about speed. My putting stats have improved significantly.
CP
Dec 12, 2017 at 9:53 pm
What about all the people who are using putters that aren’t aimed where they think they’re aiming? The only way to truly know where you’re aiming is with a laser and a mirror.
Monte Scheinblum
Dec 13, 2017 at 1:15 pm
Reread the section where I saw the video at the Cameron putting studio.
Alignment needs to be competent, not perfect.
COGolfer
Dec 12, 2017 at 3:22 pm
I read the article without looking at the author. When I got to ‘Excess hip rotation…’ I knew it had to be Monte.
For me, stopping the hips has increased the odds of solid strikes with the putter. Now I just need to work on the mental part of accepting the outcome.
G
Dec 12, 2017 at 1:16 pm
Video maybe?
juststeve
Dec 12, 2017 at 11:19 am
Excellent Monte!
bill
Dec 12, 2017 at 10:57 am
Thank you for this very insightful article based on your personal experience as a golf teacher. However, you did not delve into the ‘best putter’ controversy.
What is your view on the difference between a $400 Scotty and a $40 Walmart putter.. other than $360? Thanks.
JD
Dec 12, 2017 at 11:18 am
Depends on the person. Putting is more about having something you like looking down at more than anything. If you “feel” more confident with a $400 putter, then you’ll likely do better.
Technically speaking, if a $40 walmart putter plays at the swing weight you’re comfortable with, puts a good roll on the ball, and has atleast some forgiveness, you should putt the same with the two putters. But that’s not the case. Typically you get what you pay for when you buy a Betti or Scotty or Toulon, but for many an $80 Cleveland Huntington Beach will do just as well.
Just picture yourself with a 6 footer that you need to knock down… what do you want to be looking down at? Go buy that putter. For me its a 2003 Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless.
Monte Scheinblum
Dec 12, 2017 at 1:06 pm
It’s all personal preference. It’s like asking what’s better, a really good fast food burger, or an expensive fancy filet at a restaurant in Paris with a sauce you may not like.
siggy
Dec 12, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Monte….. it’s interesting you equate putters with comfort food!
Personally, I compare it to wine where a decent cheaper wine can be superior to an expensive snobby skunky chateau wine.
À chacun ses goûts or “to each one his taste” and is used to mean “to each his own” or “there’s no accounting for taste.”
How about a Kramski putter embedded with precious stones of your choice like sapphires, diamonds, rubies, etc., etc.? … lol
Monte Scheinblum
Dec 12, 2017 at 8:40 pm
Brilliant