Free Putting Drill for Short Putts

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An Easy Putting Drill for Short Putts

A Putting Drill Using Old VHS Tapes Can Help You Make Short Putts

Do you have any VHS cassettes lying around your house? If so, you have a great tool for improving your putting. Specifically putts inside of 10 feet. I know you may have to dig deep to find them, but trust me, go dust them off and I will show you a drill that will help lower your scores in a hurry.

Click here to watch the video version

Are you trying to lower your scores? If so, you will need to make more putts, plain and simple. You can’t lower your scores by having 3 putts, missing the putt on an up and down, or not converting a great birdie opportunity.

Many players who struggle with making short putts suffer from a poor putter path. Putts that are less than ten feet should be struck with a putting stroke that is straight back and straight through. For more information on how to strike putts with this type of stroke please click here to visit our putting stroke lesson. However, many players strike their balls with a putting stroke that cuts across the ball. That type of stroke makes it harder to start the ball on line towards the hole.

This drill is designed to help you develop a consistent putting stroke that goes straight back on the back swing and straight through on the follow through. This is the best way to get the ball started on line. Since we are working on shorts putts, distance control is not as big an issue. Most short putts that are missed are because of poor aim or a ball hit off line. Pace is typically not the issue.

Please use the following putting drill to make your path straight to hit your putts on line and lower your scores.

An Easy Putting Drill For Short Putts

The Short Putts Drill-Step 1

Take 4 VHS tapes and lay them on the ground.

The Short Putts Drill-Step 2

Put them in 2 rows.
Take your putter and separate the two rows so that they are slightly wider apart than the width of your putter head.

The Short Putts Drill-Step 3

Place a ball in the middle of the cassettes.

The Short Putts Drill-Step 4

Set up to the ball.

The Short Putts Drill-Step 5

After hitting a few putts. Place a soda can 3-5 feet in front of where you are aiming. The can is smaller than a regular hole which makes your practice even more effective.

The Short Putts Drill-Step 6

The object of this putting drill is to not let your putter touch the cassettes, as seen in the pictures above.

By grooving this path between the cassettes you will develop a consistent move back and through that will give you the best opportunity to start your ball on line and make more short putts.

If you would like to learn more about putting and how to lower your scores by holing out more often, please click here to see the entire Putting Lesson Series.

Good luck with your practicing and playing. May you ‘Play Your Golf Dreams’ sooner with the help of free-golf-lessons.com.

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PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Steve Stricker on his victory at the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

I believe the commentators said he has won 9 times in his 40s. That is amazing!I also agree with Sir Nick and Johnny Miller that his swing will be copied in the future. Technology has reduced the need for hand action in the golf swing to generate power. Watch the old videos of Bobby Jones to see how much action he created compared to that of Steve Stricker.

A great objective for any player is to eliminate any unnecessary movement. Stricker does a great job of that. His hands stay very quiet on the backswing. His wrists hardly hinge at the top of his backswing. You can see from the above video that his backswing is all shoulder turn.

His downswing starts from the hips and he simply turns everything through the golf ball at the same time. His hands and wrists release naturally without any effort. This is a great way to have a consistent rhythm through the golf ball on every shot. This swing delivers enough power to win on Tour.

European Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen and his victory at the 2012 Africa Open.

Louis burst onto the scene with his dominating performance at the Open Championship. Many have predicted multiple wins for this player. His victory this past weekend is likely one of many to come.

In the video above pay really close attention to when the video ends. Take a look at his left foot. Notice how all his weight his on his left heel. This is a great sign that he has cleared his hips properly.

One of the key reasons for starting the downswing with your lower body is to clear your hips out of the way to create more room for your arms to swing through impact. It is a great indicator as to how well you cleared your hips, when almost all your weight is on your heel.

If your weight is leaning on you toes or even the middle of your foot then you have not rotated and cleared your hips enough through your downswing and past impact. You really want to feel the pressure of your weight on your heel like Oosthuizen.

Make sure you start your downswing with your lower body. At the top of your backswing; either pull your left knee or your left hip (right handed player) towards the target. Also make sure your hips keep rotating through impact and into your finish position with your weight on the heel.