Press For Success

Take a look at 99 percent of the putters designed today and you'll notice that if you hold the face up to a flat edge, the shaft actually leans away from the target. Manufacturers use this design to ensure that you press your hands forward at address, preserving the loft of the club and promoting more consistent impact. The key to understanding and using this fact to your advantage is to make sure you're setting up in the correct fashion at address. To accomplish this, press your hands forward to the belt loop of your pants, just to the target side of your belt buckle. If you do this in front of a mirror, you'll be surprised how far forward you feel you have to press your hands so that they're not behind the ball. Experiment with finding your proper address position and I guarantee you'll strike the ball more solidly and sink more putts._Ê

PGA professional Tom Stickney is the director of instruction at The Club at Cordillera (www.tomstickneygolf.com) in Vail, Colo.