XtendAlign trains your eye directly over the line with your putter face aligned directly at the target.

Right palm and left wrist face square to the target line.

A sound grip should be stable and reduce mechanical breakdown

Place grip along Life Line of your hand.

Left below Right Clamp Grip made famous by Bernhard Langer

The Claw Grip is one of the new variations used to great effect by Chris DiMarco

The ball is positioned in relationship with your sternum and not your feet

Position top of putter shaft one ball diameter in front of the club face

Tour players develop a reliable routine for their putting execution which invokes a reliable and repeatable procedure

Mental Approach

It is often said that great putters have an aura about them when they stride onto the green, certainly Seve, Nicklaus, Tiger and many other great putters walk onto the green and expect to make their first putt, Arnold Palmer at the height of his powers seemed to be able to will the ball into the hole. Once a player develops a repeatable stroke a reliable touch and has learned how to read the speed and slope of the green, all that is required is to make a rhythmical, “tension-free” stroke. A sound easy doesn’t it? Well to be honest once the technical part of putting is dealt with, it is a matter of positive belief that is needed to strike the ball purely on line, make a few good rolls and before you know it your confidence grows and you start to make putts from all over the green. Tom Watson was one of the best putters in the world during the period between 1975 and 1985, when asked why he suddenly had problems with his putting he replied that when he putted at his best, he never expected to miss his first putt and if by some chance he did, then the second putt from beyond the hole was a dead certainty. Young players also have this type of attitude; they run the first putt at the hole and never consider missing the return. Compare this attitude with the older player who has been around the block a time or two and inevitably they have missed a few short ones, three putted after an aggressive first putt and had to suffer the occasional one that “lipped-out”. Having experienced these misses their confidence drains away and in response they start to lag the ball into an imaginary one meter circle around the hole and of course rarely hole out at the first attempt. This leaves them more second putts and of course even if the success rate of these putts is the same as before they will miss more of them. The answer is not to become overly aggressive, but never the less, attempt to hole out every time with a stroke built on sound mechanics.

Technique

Technique can and must be separated into different skills, the pre swing positioning of the club and body, the aim and alignment and the movement all come together to become the stroke. Once the stroke has been built there is a need for a consistent pre shot ritual that allows all the relevant facts, such as speed, line, the current position of the game and so on to be considered.

Aim & Alignment

The aim of the putter face is without doubt one of the key fundamentals of the putting stroke. For those that already have an established putting stroke, the aim will normally reflect the errors that are present in the stroke; a kind of compensation if you like. For the newer player it is important to learn an accurate putter face aim and as a preference a parallel shoulder / elbow alignment. Correct aim and alignment can be learned it is a matter of developing neuro-associations that allow the brain to identify what a square putter face looks like. There are a variety of teaching aids that can be used to develop proper alignment one of the best is the XtendAlign, but everything from a simple chalk line all the way through to a sophisticated laser beam that respond to voice are helpful. There are also several putting tracks that are available, but remember that the track must be aimed correctly at the beginning of the session and continually checked during use.

Your routine on the golf course can also help you to aim the putter face correctly, one look at the Tour and you can see that some players aim a pre-marked line on the ball in the direction in which they wish the ball to start rolling. This is perfectly legal and can help dramatically. At this stage it is wise to take a moment and think about the statement:

“Every putt is straight”

If this statement is true, then a correctly aimed putter face and a body alignment that is parallel to the face aim line is a big advantage.

Developing a repeatable stroke

It is my belief that there is not one perfect stroke for all players, but rather several excellent strokes which when adopted by a dedicated player, work extremely well. Take a look at some of the great putters over the years we can see that they did not all utilize the same technical approach. Jack Nicklaus, by many considered to be the greatest golfer that has ever lived, was also perhaps the best pressure putter ever to walk the greens. His technique involved a crouched position with the right arm held close to his side and a kind of piston movement straight toward the hole. Ben Crenshaw was another great putter. His more upright style allowed the shoulders to work in a more swing type stroke, with the hands very quiet. Moving forward to today’s top players and Tiger Woods who is without doubt one of the best short to medium range putters ever. He has many conventional aspects to his technique, although his grip encourages rotation of the club face.
Assuming that the putter face aims correctly and that the alignment is parallel, there are four other fundamentals that are necessary to check:

	Hold
	Position of the sternum, (in relation to the ball)
	Position of the hands, (in relation to the ball and the shoulders / pivot point)
	Position of the eyes, (in relation to the ball and the target line)

Hold

Over the years there have literally been hundreds of different ways of holding the putter, some of these methods are quite orthodox such as the reverse overlap, or very extreme such as Chris DiMarco’s claw grip or Bernhard Langer’s left below right clamp grip. There is one vital point that must be stressed and that is the player must feel comfortable and position the hands in a way that allows them to gain maximum control without losing feel.

By positioning the putter grip in the lifeline on both hands, it is possible to reduce the amount of rotation applied to the face of the putter and in the case of mechanical breakdown this will result in a greater margin for error. This type of grip allows the back of one hand and the palm of the other to be aimed parallel to target line.

Position of the sternum, (in relation to the ball)

It is a widely held belief that the ball rolls best when the putter strikes it a little on the upward stroke. If this is the case then the ball position within the stance has only a minor effect, it is the position of the sternum in relation to the ball that is vital. The bottom of the arc during the putting stroke tends to fall at a point that is directly in front of the sternum; therefore if the ball position is in the middle of the stance then it is necessary to move the sternum further back to a point approximately two inches behind the vertical ball line. Likewise if a player has the ball forward in their stance then it is necessary to move the sternum forward until the sternum reaches the correct two-inch position.

Position of the hands, (in relation to the ball)

It is far easier to keep the hands quiet in the stroke when the hands start a little in front of the ball. It is recommended that a vertical line from the top of the putter should join the ground just on the front edge of the ball. Some players prefer to start with their hands further back and then make a small forward press. If this is to be the cases then ensure that the putter face remains square to the target line and does not open or close.

Position of the hands, (in relation to the shoulders / pivot point)

The ideal putting stroke will promote a hands position being located directly below the main shoulder pivot point. To explain this further think of your arms and hands like a plumb bob; your arms representing the string and your hands being the weight hanging down vertically from a pivot point (or your shoulders in this case). If we then introduce a player, the pivot is normally a point positioned between the shoulders at the top of the spine. It is therefore advisable to have contact with the club, directly under the pivot so helping to create a pure pendulum stroke.

Position of the eyes, (in relation to the ball and the target line)

Much is written about the position of the eyes in relation to the ball and very little about the position in relation to the target line. If you adopt the suggested sternum position mentioned earlier then the bridge of the nose should be at a point vertically two inches behind the ball. It is also important that the eyes are on a point, which is vertically above an extension to the target line. If the eyes were to be held inside of this line then aim compensation must be made and of course the same is true if the eyes are positioned outside of the target line.

Routine

Take a look at the Tour and it is clear to notice that each player has what could be best described as a routine or ritual. In fact some players are very distinctive even in the manner that they walk around the green as they study the fall of the putting surface. Some players look at the hole closely, others view their putt from behind the ball, others from beyond the hole and still others from the side,. The routine which they adopt is a matter of personal choice. Once the player has read the speed and fall of the green, the next stage tends to be one or more rehearsal strokes. Some players like to do this away from the ball: perhaps half way down or behind the line or near to the ball at the side of the line. Now we introduce the “holding and aiming” ritual. The time taken for this depends on the individual player, however it is wise to keep it as short as possible as it is easier to repeat. Once the putter face is positioned behind the ball, then it is important to ensure that everything is done to achieve a smooth take away. Perhaps one or two looks at the hole, a slight forward press or a tap of the fingers, but in any case the ritual repeats time after time, this routine will give comfort in even the most pressurized of situations.

Controlling distance

Players who have good distance control will rarely take three putts. Not only that, they will hole more than their fair share of 5-10 meter putts. A putt that has the correct pace will normally not rim out of the hole whereas a putt that is too strong will frequently hit the edge and spin out. So what is the correct pace? Dave Pelz states that in his opinion “a ball travelling to a point 17 inches past the hole has more chance than any other to finish at the bottom of the hole”. We have all heard the statement that, “100% of short putts never go in”, but what happens if your not too good from 17 inches past the hole? Of course it is important to develop a positive attitude and try to make all putts and it is even better if you can control the distance in a repeatable manner.
It is vital to understand that the contact point on the face of the club has a bearing on how far the ball rolls. An off centre hit will produce a different distance than a centre strike, and so the first practice drill is to ensure that you create a consistent strike pattern. Once this has been achieved you need to understand that the length of swing will have a direct effect on the length of the putt. If you are attempting to use a “SWING” type stroke then the length of back swing and through swing will be more or less equal. It is then a simple matter of increasing or decreasing the length of stroke to adjust the distance that the ball travels. In a more “wrist driven” type action, the speed of the stroke will also have an effect. In any case, to help develop a feel for the speed of the greens and a repeatable movement here are a few of drills that will help to create a smooth rhythm to your mechanically sound stroke.