Putting stroke/setup

[dagolfer]

I had a bad case of cutting across the ball when putting at the end of the golf season for school last year and i am working on getting rid of it. The way that seems to get me the upright stance and higher hands my coach one is being off the ball a good bit probably about 18-20 inches (from toes to ball). Would you say this is too far away from the ball for putting. I can tell my shoulders are doing the work like they are supposed to.

[Dub]

I've found that when I let my arms hang down naturally and then grasp the putter.....the ball is out about as far as you said....certainly farther than it used to be for me.

This certainly yields a better result for me...natural, shoulders rotating vs rocking.

[dagolfer]

Like I said i had a bad cutting across the ball action this season and it lost the team as a whole a match by one stroke because i had a 5 footer for 39 and i missed it and the teams ended up tying. I have also been working on focusing on watching the back of the ball not the putter going back and forth. I would like to try to have a little bit better stroke so that when practicing before i start golfing regularly again in the spring i will get a perfect stroke to go out on the course with.

[ks8829]

Excellent article in Golf Digest, Oct 2005 issue on putting.

grip it in your palm
Don't grip the putter in your fingers as you do in the full swing. This type of grip pormotes wrist hinge, which you don't want when you putt. Set the grip through the palm of your left hand or at the crease, with the butt end at the inside of your wrist.

Set up , tilt forward from your hips and let your arms hand, so they can swing freely. For most golfers, ball position shoudl be slightly ahead of center. The shaft should be perpendicular to the ground, with the grip pointing just forward of your sternum. Stand so you feel stacked, your hips over your heels and your weight on the middle of each foot.


Swing longer,not faster
The length of your stroke should change based on the distance to the hole, but your tempo should stay the same. Strive for smooth acceleration through impact. To hit putts of different lengths, many golfers alter their tempo instead of the length of the storke. Focus on swinging back and through the same amount, lengthening your stroke as the putts get longer.