You can lower your golf score dramatically by developing your putting touch. It has been my experience that more putts are missed by misjudging speed rather than direction. In order to develop a putting touch you must determine the speed with which you strike your putts given the conditions you are playing on. One thing that makes this difficult is that the greens are not perfectly smooth. This must be taken into consideration when trying to judge the speed with which to strike the putt.

Grasses vary from geographical areas to geographical areas. The grass on northern climate greens tends to be smoother than the Bermuda greens of the south. The type of grass must be considered when trying to develop a feel for putting.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to developing a feel for putting. Many fine players and instructors will tell you to strike the putt so that it goes in on its last revolution. I feel that  this method, because the putting surfaces that the average golfer plays on are far from pristine, is a most difficult way to improve your putting.

I believe a better way to develop a putting touch is to strike each putt as if you are trying to hit it 12 inches past the hole. As I have mentioned, golf greens are not perfectly smooth. Striking the ball hard enough to make it roll a foot past the cup will eliminate some of the bounce created by the uneven putting surface. A putt hit not as firmly is more susceptible to the irregularities on the green surface and more apt to be altered off line.

Practice putts of all different lengths, imagining that the hole is actually a foot farther away that it actually is. The speed with which you strike the putt will have a bearing on the amount of break in the putt. A firmer stroke means a little less break. Keep that in mind. Practice this method until you can consistently leave all your lag putts in an 18 inch circle around the hole.

Your practice time spent learning this putting method is well worth the effort. Watch your scores go down when you learn it.

I welcome your comments. Tell me about your putting problems. If you have not already done so please sign up for the oldproblog email club for special offers and discounts. Until next time,  Good Golfing  !!!!