All of the great putters in world such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Brad Faxon may have slightly dissimilar putting styles, but they all have many things in coarse - the golf putting fundamentals.
In this narrative I am going to look at some (but not all) of the golf putting fundamentals, tell you why they are so important in the putting stroke, and also give you some tips to ensure you are getting these golf putting fundamentals right.
Wrist movement
There should be indeed No Wrist Movement at all while the putting stroke. This is very dissimilar to the way golf was played until relatively recently (from nearby the late 1970's).
If you have a look on YouTube and quest for 'Shells spectacular, World of Golf' you'll find some great old golf footage from many decades including the 1960's. Have a look at a concentrate and you'll be amazed at how even the great golfers of their day had some very strange, and often very wristy, putting strokes.
Knowing how the modern game is taught I am all the time astonished that they could hole so many putts in those days!
If you have any wrist movement in your putting stroke you will find it very difficult to operate the pace of your putts. This is because by using your wrists you are 'flicking' at the ball, and the speed of the putter head is going to growth as you do this. It is very difficult to do this reliably.
With wrist movement you're also likely to have poor alignment of the putter head at impact - something I discuss in more details a tiny later. This can cause you to miss short putts.
So - how can you remove any wrist movement from your putting stroke?
There are a concentrate of ways, including some training aids. But here is one easy way to (a) remove wrist movement and (b) check that you don't have any. Many golfers swear to me that their wrists are not exciting when putting, but I can assure you they are - and I commonly prove it to them by videoing them.
Firstly put your putter down. Take your normal putting stance and get ready to take a stroke - but still without a putter. Now Close Your Eyes. Make some practice strokes focusing 100% on your wrists and make sure there is No wrist movement at all.
Now pick up your putter and repeat this rehearsal with your Eyes Closed. indeed be honest with yourself - are your wrists moving? Even 1mm is too much!
Finally hit some putts with golf balls, but again with your Eyes Closed. Again focus on your wrists - don't worry where the ball is going... Are your wrists exciting at all?
The most difficult part of this is to keep all wrist movement out of the putting stroke on the golf policy when under pressure. But that will only come with practice and good operate of your emotions.
Body movement
In a similar vein to no wrist movement, your body (torso) should not move / sway at all while the putting stroke.
This is because it will upset your alignment, and on short putts any mis-alignment any way small can mean the distinction in the middle of production or missing a putt. Remember - you only have to miss a putt by 1mm and it's a shot gone. Missing a fairway or green by a concentrate of feet rarely costs you so dearly.
So - how do you ensure your body is not moving?
Firstly you need to have a good set up with a solid platform. I cover this in detail in my golf putting lessons, but the key is to have your feet shoulder width apart and the weight spread evenly in the middle of both feet.
Now - again Close Your Eyes. Make some practice strokes and indeed focus on your body. Is it moving? Again even 1mm is too much.
I think you'll be amazed what you can feel yourself doing when you close your eyes.
If you feel your body exciting simply try again until you feel indeed no body movement at all.
Alignment
There are two elements to alignment when putting. Firstly you need to ensure your putter head is aligned at exactly 90 degrees to the target line when you charge the ball. If this is not strict you have no opening of hitting the ball at your target.
A good way to check this is to practice the 'push putt'. Working only on some Short putts, practice pushing the ball into the hole instead of production an actual swing. You'll find it surprisingly difficult to start with, but stick at it. When you start production these putts reliably, move a tiny added away from the hole and start taking small putting strokes. If your alignment is still strict you should hole plentifulness of putts. If you're missing move closer to the hole and practice some more on the 'push putt'. Please bear in mind a push shot is illegal on the golf course.
The other part of alignment that Must be strict is your body alignment. This includes feet, hips and most importantly your shoulders. They must all be parallel to your target line.
Again I have a complete episode in my golf putting lessons just outside alignment where I show you what the exquisite alignment is and how to check yours is correct.
Controlling pace
On all but the shortest of putts, by far the most important factor in any putt is the Pace.
It is one thing to judge the pace - which mostly comes from perceive and knowing how to read greens - but it's no good if you can judge the pace but not operate it.
In theory controlling the pace of a putt is one of the simplest parts of putting. simply make a longer swing to growth the pace for longer putts, and make a shorter swing to reduce the pace for shorter putts.
It's as easy as that.
The 'problem' is that people use muscles to operate the pace of putts, and this is not only not principal - it's also incredibly hard to do.
In order to try and specialist this, again take out your putter and hit some golf balls with your Eyes Shut. Just focus on rocking the shoulders back and forth varying the distance of your swing. Focus on Not using any muscles in your arms or hands - simply rock those shoulders back and forth.
Now open your eyes and repeat the exercise. Notice how the ball travels dissimilar distances with dissimilar lengths of swing - Not how hard you hit it using your muscles.
Once you've mastered this, just gauge how far back and forward you need to swing the club for any given putt and then just rock your shoulders. Don't be tempted to use any muscles at the point of impact...
Of policy there are other important parts of your putting to work on such as your grip and rhythm, but if you can specialist these four fundamentals you'll be on your way to becoming a great putter!
Golf Tips - The Fundamentals Of Golf Putting