Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
How many times have you spent ages reading the green and lining up your putter over a short putt, to then strike the ball and watch in horror as it heads in the wrong direction? This would suggest that there is a problem with the stroke and the most common mistake I see is that the putter face is not square when it makes contact with the ball.
A simple drill to keep the club face square at impact is to find a flat piece of green and place down a marker pen or pencil in the spot where the ball was. The pen should be at right angles to the hole. Now make your stroke and roll the pen. If you hit it correctly the pen will roll out straight towards the hole. If the pen veers off right or left of your line you can clearly see the club face is not square to your target.
After just a few minutes practicing the drill you can swap the pen for a ball. You’ll be amazed at how many of those short putts roll right into the middle of the cup!
If you would like help to improve your putting, book a lesson with a Royal Golf Club PGA teaching professional by calling 17750777.
