Best Way to Play a Short Putting Stroke

Short putting requires good aiming and a good stroke. Find a perfectly flat putt on which to practice – just a putt the length of your putter.

A good putting stroke should always be back and through and stop. Remember to hang the putter slightly off the ground so that you are in control of it at address. This allows you to make a slow, not jerky, stroke. Swing the putter back a few inches – don’t be too fussy about the length – and then through into a stationary finish. The stroke should be from the arms and shoulders, with the left wrist staying firm. At the end of a good stroke the head and eyes should remain still, left wrist firm, putter face upward.

The most common faulty stroke is for the clubface to turn left through impact. At the end of the stroke your head should be down and your eyes focused on the grass where the ball was. Remember, it isn’t possible to lose a ball with a short putt! In fact, most people very rarely lose a ball with any length putt!

You should see the ball out of the corner of your left eye or simply hear it drop in the hole. As an exercise, practice with a coin behind the ball. Hang the club slightly off the ground, look at the coin and stay looking at the coin as the ball goes in the hole. This will train you to keep your head still and make you realize that you see it out the corner of your left eye. This is only an exercise and you mustn’t leave the coin or ball marker there on the green.

A good putting stroke is a combination of arms and shoulders with no wrist action. The head should stay still but the shoulders must move. As an exercise, lay another club down on the ground. Position your ball just opposite the end of the club.

This allows you to swing the clubhead slightly inside on the backswing. Whether inside or straight back doesn’t matter – just remember never outside. The key then is to keep your clubhead travelling through and up the line of the other club, never crossing it. To make a good stroke think: ‘Left shoulder up, ball in the cup.’ Not: ‘Right shoulder round, still above ground!’

Keep the head and eyes still, back through and stop in a face up position for perfect short putting.