Yet, I don’t see these same people practicing a part of their game that they are sure to encounter multiple times during their round of golf.

I’m referring to practicing the long putts.

By that I mean in excess of 25 to 30 feet or even more.

What’s to practice… you say?

When you’re that far away you just try to get it close right?

That’s partially true… but there is a bit more, and a more refined strategy. Let’s take a look.

On your longer putts it’s all about speed. Pick out your line, trust it, and then focus on the pace you put on the ball. With longer putts, many golfers focus too much on line and end up leaving the putt too short or too long.

Think pace and distance.

On your shorter putts, if there is but one piece of advice I could give you; it would be to keep your body and your head completely still.

It’s those shorter putts we all feel like we should make; and we want to make; so everyone has the tendency to want to watch the ball as it leaves the putter. This causes even the slightest bit of head movement and creates problems. Remain still. If you’ve picked the right line and applied the correct pace, the ball will go in whether you watch it or not.

Here’s a quick putting drill for you. Pick out a nine hole course on your putting green. I want you to pick out nine holes where the putts will have a substantial break to them. Vary your distances from about 6 feet to 40 feet.

Now, with your course in mind; making the putt, of course, is optimal but here is the drill.

Don’t leave the putt below the hole when you miss.

Work on hitting your putts so that when you do miss, you miss on the high side of the hole. If you get in the habit of reading the break and putting to the high side of the hole you’ll find that more of your putts will drop.

If you’re putting to the high side of the hole, and over read the break a bit, but under deliver the speed just a bit… you make the putt.

If you under read the break (from the high side of the hole) but over cook your speed just a bit… you make the putt.

If your putt never achieves the high side of the hole… you make nothing whether you get the pace correct or not.

Tee off on your putting course and give yourself something like two points if you leave the putt on the high side, and penalize yourself five points if you don’t.

Keep track of your scores and your personal bests; and have fun improving your putting game, and improving your golf game.

Yet it amazes me still how few mid to higher handicappers that I will actually see working on the aforementioned skill of putting.

Working on improving your putting should be a given routine of your practice time.

It doesn’t take a lot of time, nor does it require the physical energy of working on your full swing.

It does, however, require that you take your practice putting time seriously and engage in it with full concentration.

Improving your putting is simple math. Conservatively speaking… and be honest with yourself… if you are a mid to high handicapper; you could easily take 10 strokes of your game just by consistently making those mid to short range putts and by not three putting.

In fact, over the course of a round of 18 holes of golf, I would say the 10 strokes may be understated from what I see on the putting greens.

Think about it for a moment. On a par 4 hole… if you are on the green in regulation… 2 shots… the other 2 shots to make par… is your putter. In other words, 50% of par 4 holes fall to the responsibility of your putter!

Why would not take the opportunity to improve this part of your game?

And if you are mid handicapper… by improving your putting and gaining confidence in your putting skills, just think of the amount of pressure you’ll be taking off the rest of your game… and momentum will continue.

So, stop using all your practice time to just bang golf balls on the range and get yourself over to the putting green… consistently!

There are a multitude of putting drills that you can use to improve your putting, so find a few that make you focus and one’s that you can track your results with.

No, matter what type of drills you ultimately use, the two high level areas of your putting that you must work on are your line and hitting the line with a straight putt; and distance control.

Remember, direction control, and distance control… with these improvements in mind, you’ll begin to eliminate those three putts from afar and you’ll keep strokes (and your money) in pocket on those 4 to 6 footers.

There is an abundance of both on the market. Even the less traditional looking golf putter heads are really a hybrid of both styles.

The classic shaped golf putters are the blade design or where the term ‘flat stick’ comes from.

This design probably still reigns most popular with the higher skilled, steadier nerved players because of the ‘feel’ they afford the player.

You’ll notice that most of today’s blade putters employ cavity back technology. This type of design is to help reduce any twisting of the putter face at contact.

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The mallet golf putters resemble their namesake. The mallet design allows for an even weight distribution across a large area which will give the feel of a pendulum and allow for a consistent smooth stroke and get the distance needed with having to feel like you need to accelerate the putter head.

Other design considerations that you will see with golf putters will be center shafted or heel shafted. You’ll also note various degrees in the offset of the hosel.

This is where is looks like the shaft is bent forward of the putter head just before the two come together. Golf putter faces may also have inserts in them to provide the golfer with different ‘feels’ to the sweet spots. Putters even have varying degrees of loft to the putter face themselves.

I am often asked “what is the proper length of a golf putter?”

Today there isn’t a length that a shaft can’t be cut to. So the proper length of the putter is what feels best and above all what works best for you. You should pick out a putter length that matches your height and your posture over the ball.

The bottom line when picking out a golf putter that is right for you is to try out as many looks and feels as you can. Needless to say is to hit as many puts as you can when you are demo-ing golf putters for yourself.

Hit long puts, short puts, and in between puts. Golf putters that may work for me may be the worst choice you could make.

Don’t go by recommendations go by what you like. And never ever give away or get rid of that old putter… one day it might be your best friend again.

Oh sure, you see people on the putting green.

Some with a few golf balls around them. But rarely do I see much of any serious practice time spent with golf putters.

So… it’s time for some talk about golf putters.

When it comes to reducing (or maybe better said, saving) your score the putter should become your closest friend.

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Golf putters, the flat blade, the club you literally live and die by, is a club of many styles and faces.

Players of all levels pick and choose their putters by how the putter looks and feels to them. And above all, how much confidence they have in this club.

All of the mechanics of putting aside, the art of putting is as much look, feel, and confidence as anything else. The putter, more than any other golf club is in a players bag because they like they way it looks and feels and the confidence level it brings to their putting stroke. Choosing and settling on a particular putter can be a difficult task.

Since there are so many different makes, models, and styles of golf putters on the market, let’s take a look at a few of the aspects that make up this old friend of ours and maybe this will give you some food for thought.

The vast majority of the focus when considering buying a putter is on the putter head. As far as the material used in putter heads, this is as varied as the number of metals, and alloys there are available.

But again, putting is such touch and feel, don’t get caught up in what the putter head is made of, be comfortable with how the length and weight feel in your hands.

Keep in mind that lighter golf putters heads will have a tendency for you to impart a quick more hands oriented stroke while a heavier putter will probably slow your stroke down.

Keep in mind, if this is a weight change for you, you may see your putts come up short or long for awhile depending upon if you move to a lighter or heavier putter head.