Putting

Grip, stroke, green reading and distance control, which is the one that costs you most.

9 guides

How to Putt: Grip, Setup, Stroke and Distance Control

Putting is the largest single block of strokes in a round and the one almost nobody practises. It is also the part of golf where a beginner can reach a genuinely good standard fastest.

13 min read

Beginner

Putting Drills: Six Sessions, With Reps and Frequency

Most putting practice is rolling balls at a hole until it is time to tee off. A drill needs a rule, a score and a dose, or it is just fidgeting with a putter.

12 min read

Beginner

Putting Grip Styles: Conventional, Claw and Left Hand Low

A putting grip is not a smaller version of your full swing grip. It is built to do the opposite job, and most golfers have never been told what that job is.

11 min read

Beginner

Putting Stance and Setup: Eyes, Ball Position, Posture

Almost every putting fault that looks like a stroke problem is a setup problem that had nowhere else to go. Fix the address position and half the stroke work disappears.

11 min read

Beginner

Putting Stroke: The Pendulum, Path and Face Explained

The putting stroke is the smallest movement in golf and the one golfers overthink most. Almost all of the argument is about path, and almost all of the result comes from the face.

12 min read

Intermediate

Average Putts Per Round: What Good Putting Looks Like

Putts per round is the most quoted statistic in amateur golf and one of the most misleading, because it punishes you for hitting greens and rewards you for chipping close.

10 min read

Intermediate

How to Make Short Putts: The Three to Six Foot Fix

Nothing in golf costs more confidence per yard than a missed three-footer. The good news is that the gap between you and a tour player is smaller here than anywhere else in the game, and most of it is not technique.

11 min read

Intermediate

How to Read Greens: Slope, Speed, Grain and Break

Break is not a property of the putt. It is a property of the putt at the pace you choose to hit it, which is why two good players can read the same green differently and both be right.

12 min read

Intermediate

Putting Distance Control: How to Stop Three-Putting

Nobody holes long putts, including the people who are good at putting. The difference between a good lag putter and a poor one is entirely in where the ball stops.

12 min read