Golf Putt Training Aid Alignment

How to Improve your Putting stroke
Lets start by saying that a putt of 5 to 7 feet are the putts we expect to make, yet have the most trouble with. These are the putts we need to improve on. Everyone can sink a 3 foot putt. If you're more than 8 feet away, the percentage of a putt sinking go down drastically to where you can accept that it will require 2 strokes to put it in the hole. So the 4 to 6, 5 to 7 foot shot will be where we want to spend our time working on improvement. It is well known that the Pros sink only about 50% of their putts from 5 to 7 feet, so there is no point in getting to upset with yourself when you miss these putts, but we can improve this, so lets work and see if we can improve our success rate for the 5 to 7 foot putt.

So you're at the local practice putting green. Grab a hand full of balls and lets get started. Start with the balls about 5 feet from the hole. We will be keeping 2 things in mind as we putt. Our alignment and our stroke.

It is very important to have the correct alignment in order to get a strait shot. When we have our alignment fixed, we can then go on to focus on our stroke.

If you regularly miss strait putts where there is no break, your alignment is slightly off or your stroke is off. If you are missing putts with a break, your stroke may be good, but your speed may be off. For the drill, find an area without a break. Lets fix our strait putts before being concerned with the Putts that break.

There are a myriad of putting improvement aids on the market. The Odyssey putter employees a 2-ball technology that aids in alignment which is as I described, the most important part of putting. However, the Odyssey putter is quite expensive and you don't need to spend $239 to improve your putting. What I have found works best is a neat little aid called the 2-Way Putter Alignment System. Its a small metal gizmo with a magnet on the base that allows the 2-Way to be applied to your existing putter head. line it up over the ball or behind in the traditional 2-Ball mode and you have the 2-ball technology to use for putting practice. Here is a link to the 2-Way Putter Alignment System if you are interested.

I recommend practicing with either the Odyssey 2-Ball putter, or the 2-Way Putter Alignment System, because the 2-Ball technology is so absolutely effective. As the 2 white circles that comprise the 2-Ball technology pass through with the stroke, an imperfection in the alignment of your putting stroke shows up like a sore thumb. This is quality feedback to the individual wanting to improve their putting.

Now We start putting, Keep in mind our 2 concerns. Alignment and stroke. Align the putter head square as best you can towards the hole. The 2-Way will help here. Remember, this is the biggest problem with poor putting and takes the most time and effort in practice to fix. Once you have corrected your alignment, You will see a great improvement. Now make sure the putter head is going strait back on the swing. There cannot be any movement to or away from your body.

Lets set yourself a goal. We will Sink 50 in a row from between 4 to 7 feet. This is going to be hard to achieve, but it is possible. Remember, if you miss a single putt, you have to start over at 1. This will teach you to putt under pressure. You know how you will feel as you get into the 40's. You will feel the pressure and you have to press on and sink the rest or you go back to 1. That's pressure. This will help you improve your concentration and your putting stroke.

As you improve your stroke, you will notice that you will become more and more confident in the short putt to the point where you will be able to step back a few feet to 7 and 8 feet and farther with a greater confidence in your putting ability.

This putting drill will work anywhere. If you happen to be home or goofing off in the office. You can practice on the carpet. The point is, Alignment and Stroke. Work on that and use the technique described and before you know it, you will be an impressive putter. And its all about being impressive.