Many golfers simply play for fun and relaxation while others take the game extremely seriously. Regardless of the reason for playing, a golfer is not likely to have much fun if their game is not up to their expectations so many are continuously seeking to improve their golfing skills. Many golfers have a great drive but suffer with their putting techniques and improving this skill can indeed improve the entire game. While golf putting is often thought to be one of the simplest golf shots, it is often the biggest problems for many golfers. In order to improve your golf putting skills it is important for a golfer to understand the physics of putting, swing, body movement, and distance control. It is the purpose of this article to discuss the above topics in the hope that understanding will lead to a better golf game.



Golf putting is said by some the only shot that's possible to execute without flaws but it is more than just a straight line hit the target shot. Simply put, putting is just a series of individual skills much like pitching or chipping but until you get the skills in place, putting can be a very frustrating thing. Putting is an individualistic stroke that takes patience, repetition and perfect practice. While many golfers reject the idea of practicing it is apparent that the golfer will indeed improve his and her putting proficiency by practice. While practice is important so that a golfer will learn to repeat the same action consistently, it is also critical that the proper technique is being followed. The first step is to control your swing.

In golf, everything begins and ends with your swing and while you don't have to understand all the ins and outs of the golf swing in order to play well, it certainly will help. Most beginning golfers dont realize how much skill and technique goes into a proper golf swing and while many golfers practice a great deal, they never achieve the swing that they want to possess. Generally, the correct golf swing is a set of highly complex body movements which require precise coordination of the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, torso, hips, legs, and knees of the golfer. The golf swing requires you to draw the golf club through a long range of motion with proper technique and exact timing. Think of your putting stroke as the pendulum on a grandfather clock, swinging evenly and at a consistent tempo. Once you have perfected your swing you still need to learn about movement control.

Optimal putting technique depends on the integration of targeting with movement control. In golf, putting is a fine motor skill that requires two movements, a backswing and a forward swing and any other movement of your body will take the putt off-line so you always want minimal movement while putting. One of the bad habits associated with golf putting is that golfers often lift their heads during a putting stroke to see if a ball will go in the hole. Movement of the head can greatly decrease the accuracy of the putting stroke. For correcting this problem it is necessary to use smooth tracking of the roll of the ball with the eyes moving faster than the head until the ball attains a certain distance and then the head motion closes the gap and head orientation becomes coincident with gaze direction. Once you have body movement mastered it is time to work on your distance control.

Distance control seems to be a big problem for beginning putters because getting a feeling for putting distance is one of the hardest aspects of golf to master. Putting distance control is achieved by an even swing. The art of golf putting requires a visualization of the slope and grain of the green and a feel for the distance of the putt and stroking the putt with the right amount of force involves a feel for the distance. In golf putting, touch and distance control are achieved by striking the ball in the center of the putter every time. A good way to judge distance before putting is to walk to the middle of the putt to see the true distance.

While golf is never a perfect sport and a golfers game can fluctuate depending on varying circumstances, it is possible to become more consistent with practice. As already discussed above, when a golfer can improve their putting skills their overall game will also improve. Another option for improving your game and putting skills is by employing a golf training aid such as the RefinerGolf swing trainer. Regardless of what method you use the phrase Practice Make Perfect really is true. Happy golfing.