Putting

I have been known as the Golf Anti-practice expert for some time now. What does that really mean? Well, I’ll tell you in a nutshell that it means that I know that you can improve your game without going to the practice range. That’s really it. I teach folks that most of what they should be doing for game improvement lies in their head. The funny thing is that they know it…and yet they still are fighting the brainwashing that has been programmed over the years into them.

So what I really mean is…you can improve without traditional practice. That is throwing your clubs in the car, driving down to the course or range, and then getting a bucket to beat some balls.

For instance, can you improve your game on the green by indoor golf putting? Of course! The beauty of it is that because it is convenient (it’s in your own living room), you’ll actually do it. How many of us say things like “well, just as soon as that project at work is over, then I’ll get down to the range and work on my game.”

And the projects never end do they? Another one comes up right after the last one and after awhile, you stop making promises to yourself and just live with the lousy scores you’re getting used to.

It doesn’t have to be this way!

Yes, indoor golf putting is not quite the same as putting on a real green, I’ll give you that. But what can we gain from putting on your carpet at home? A lot. Here’s 4 big tips that if you start focusing on, will pay off in big dividends in lower score. And you can do them right in your own home.

1. For starters, whenever possible, inject some pressure into your putting indoors. Make up a game with a friend and put a few bucks on it. You will be training yourself on how to play under pressure. Whether or not you are on carpet or grass makes no difference there.

2. Take some time to putt for fun (not practice) while totally just focusing on keeping your body still. You can and should do this while watching TV. Pay attention to how it feels when you are still and only moving your shoulders. This is valuable no matter what method you use. You always want minimal movement in putting.

3. Get one of those tools that puts a straight line on a golf ball. Work solely on striking the ball and making the ball roll so that the line stays straight as the ball rolls and doesn’t wiggle. Folks, this is huge! If you can do this on your carpet, you can do this on a putting green. And when you do it for real, the ball goes exactly where you aim it. Many folks are totally unaware that they put sidespin on the ball while putting.

4. Hit balls one after the other with this as the goal: I will listen for the ball to go in the cup. I will not look up until the ball is still.

5. Stroke the ball with the non-dominant hand only as a drill. This imbeds a fluid follow through.

How many golfers will actually do this even though it is so easy?

These indoor golf putting tips are so easy and yet so powerful. The problem is, you don’t think that they will pay off. Get that in your mind first and convince yourself. Watch pro putters on TV or live and see that they do these things consistently. Do you?

You can isolate out different aspects of your putting routine at home and indoors to ingrain perfect technique. Then, we you get to the course, you don’t have to think about it, it just happens on auto pilot.

Are you starting to get the picture? Use this kind of idea at home, at your office, anywhere that you can work on your game for just a couple minutes if nothing else. Think out of the box on how you can improve your golf. Many of us are just so busy with our lives and jobs that going down to the range just never happens now does it?

But you can lower your scores anyway.

Greens and fairways,

Craig

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Have you heard the old saying that we only use 10% of our mind power? Whether it’s 5% or 10% or 20%, you know it’s definitely true as you have experienced times in your life, on and off the course where you have had absolute flashes of brilliance and wondered why you can’t do it all the time…guess what? You can!If you’ve hit a great shot with your clubs just once before, there is absolutely no reason you can’t do it again. What do you do differently when you don’t repeat a great shot? I’ll tell you…you run your mind a certain way that produces those results…simple. Break 80 Without Practice

If you would like to begin to unlock the secrets to the other 90% that you are leaving on the table of your performance, you need to check out:

Break 80 Without Practice

For golf putting instruction and improvement, Mangrum places good balance as the first consideration in good putting. Keep the feet close together with an Lloyd Mangrum even distribution of weight, bending at the waist so the head is over the ball, but never leaning forward.

Play the ball from the center between the two feet and make sure the backstroke is a slow easy motion, hands working in unison with no turning of the wrists. The cardinal principle of good putting is to keep the wrists from getting into the act.

Golf putting improvement depends on this: The length of the putt should govern the length of the backstroke, and the tempo of the stroke should remain the same throughout: (i.e., the same speed hitting the ball as it was taken back).

Distance of hitting should be learned by practice, although judgment usually has a lot to do with it as well, says Mangrum. Golf Putting improvement is an art which is not easily acquired and can disappear in a flash. It must be wooed constantly.

One thing which separates the pros from the dubs is their preparation for a putt; in other words, the lining-up. This is a painstaking process for most of the experts, in which they attempt to study and analyze every inch of the putt, particularly the long ones.

Length, the various �breaks� over mounds or along them, the texture of the grass and the weather all must be taken into consideration. Though partners may murmur sarcastically about taking all day, Lloyd believes a putt should not be hit until the player is satisfied he knows exactly how he is going to hit it.

He may not achieve what he planned, but his approach to the problem is correct.

Once the stance for a putt has been taken, concentrate on stroking the ball. There is no time to worry about the contour or variation once you are in hitting position and any lingering doubt will ruin the entire operation.

Putting touch will vary and it may be an advantage not only to change style of club but even the posture when you find you can’t seem to putt well. Lloyd Mangrum, deep student of putting, does not hesitate to try something new when his greens play goes awry. Avoid any extreme stance however in your golf putting improvement attempts.

Mangrum Putting