Putting Tips

How to Make Short Putts

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deceleration putting tips drillsThe number one reason why amateurs miss short putts is deceleration. This symptom can creep up in many parts of your game, especially with chipping and putting. If you notice yourself stubbing chips and putts, or have trouble making all your short putts, I would bet you’re decelerating into impact.

I cannot stress enough the importance of acceleration when putting – not doing so can be deadly. Ensuring you accelerate into impact will help your short game tremendously. You will longer have to worry about short putts or the occasional stub, because if you follow-through, the ball has nowhere to go but forward.  On the other hand, you have to be careful.  If you start over-thinking things and try to steer your shots, the deceleration bug can creep in, and you’re game will suffer accordingly. Deceleration in many cases leads to the dreaded yips.

I use this simple drill to encourage an accelerating stroke on the putting green. Simply putt to a hole about 5-10 feet away, but place a headcover / ball / range bucket in the way of your backswing to keep it short. This forces you to accelerate into the ball and the results are immediate.

I would recommend everyone try this drill, because sometime spotting that you are decelerating is difficult. Don’t miss it!

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3-Step Drill to Cure The Yips

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The putting yips are all golfer worst nightmare. Studies show that golfer who suffer from the yips can add about 6 strokes to your score.  Players of all levels have suffered from the yips, from amateurs to PGA professionals.  I have suffered them myself, and the tips below helped me get through them.

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HELP! I'm pulling my putts!

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A reader's e-mail:

I am a seven handicapper with a long game of a much better player but what is holding me back is my putting. All my putts are off center, and are very often pulled. I am told this by playing mates and can also feel it in my hands. So could you recommend some drills which will see me constantly hit putts out of the middle of the clubface and stop pulling them?

Many Thanks

Niall

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Lining Up Your Logo May Be Making You Yip

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There’s a reason the anchored putting stroke was banned. Same thing for Sam Snead’s initial side saddle putting stroke that saw him straddling the line of play. The reason being that it provided an unfair advantage (in the eyes of some), but mostly that it was a departure from tradition in the eyes of the … Read more

Focus on the Cup

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Putting can one of the most infuriating parts of the game despite its simplicity. For those of you suffering from the yips or simply looking for a new way to try and reprogram your putting stroke here’s a drill you can try to help out. For most players struggling with their putting, its not their … Read more

3 Simple Yip Cures You’ve Likely Never Tried

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I hate the yips. It seems that every two years or so, after missing a couple of short putts – my mind goes into “don’t miss it” mode, and I’m faced with another couple weeks of awful, yip-filled rounds of golf. Now I guess I really shouldn’t complain, I’ve heard the horror stories of players quitting the game because their yips got so bad, or even people whose yips have progressed to affect their chipping and full-swing shots. I’m glad I’m not suffering that bad.

With all this said, I’ve spent countless hours on the putting green working on different things to help cure myself of the yips. I’ve tried different putting strokes, different setup routines, different putters and various drills – you name it, I’ve tried it. Oddly enough, I’ve found that some of the simplest changes to my putting stroke have made all the difference. In this post, I’m going to share with you those simple changes – so that you too can benefit – enjoy.

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The Putting Yips Reboot

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For those of you who suffer from the yips, it doesn’t seem to matter what “cure” you try, because nothing works. What you have to realize is that the yips is a mental issue, not a swing fault. Your brain is telling your wrists to twitch before impact, because your brain is not 100% sure of the putt you’re about to make. What you need to do is re-boot your brain thinking process when it comes to putting. Forget all the missed short putts, and lost strokes are start the learning process over again. A great way to do this is to forget about the hole entirely.

Lets face it the hole is a small target, too small, and you need to think BIG. Work on your basic putting setup and alignment to a range bucket or towel from 10 feet away. Your successes will improve… and so will your confidence in your putting. With this approach, you can start trusting your putting stroke again and your yips should go away. Once you become more confident with your fundamentals, and you have successfully re-booted your putting stroke using the larger target… slowly work your way down to the hole again.

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