Womens Golf: Putting

Improving your putting skills… of course it sounds easy enough to do every time my husband, who is my current instructor, says it to me, but it is one of the things that is completely driving me nuts!!

Being new to the game of golf, I decided early on that the quickest way for me to make a difference in my game and to lower my score was to improve my short game, specifically to learn to putt.

Being successful at women’s golf is a constant challenge, but I am convinced if I can only learn to putt then I can have the biggest and quickest impact on my game.

I realize that it will take me years to become really comfortable with golf, and so my initial goal is to do one thing and to do that really well while I continue to learn the game. So for me improving my putting skills is the answer.

As a student of the game of golf, I found a fair amount of resources available to help me learn to putt. One of my favorite putting tips and the one that keeps me on the practice green is the fact that putting makes up almost 40% of the strokes in every round…so it only makes sense to incorporate putting practice into every outing to the golf course.

My husband taught me to work on the tempo of my swing when I was first learning to putt. He would say over and over, tick-tock, tick-tock… swing the putter like the pendulum on the clock. The more I repeated this mantra in my head, the smoother my golf swing became. So I would take my putter to the green and for hours I would work on my putting. At first I didn’t even concentrate on “reading the green” I just concentrated on the mechanics of the swing.

When putting between 8 and 10 feet, I stand with my feet about shoulder length apart. Then I start my tick-tock routine, keeping my hands quiet and moving my putter, hands, elbows and shoulders in one movement… moving them all together.

I swing my putter as far back as my back foot and as far forward as my front foot always being certain to follow through. For me, the key is to keep my club moving in the same smooth fashion with the same back speed as forward speed.

I can definitely tend to rush my forward putting swing and we all know how ugly that can be. When I am working on those longer putts, I simply widen my stance and keep up the same routine. For me being consistent with every putting setup and follow through has been a challenge. I am still a bit nervous on the golf course and can get in a hurry and rush my putts.

Women’s golf is fascinating and all the golf instruction books make it seem so simple. If you have a short little putt, then use a short little swing. A little bit longer putt, then use a little bit longer swing. Seems so simple doesn’t it! But it’s when you have to put the speed of the swing, the length of the back swing and forward swing, the tempo of the swing… and of course don’t forget to read the green and keep your head down…oh how I love this game!

Improving your putting is critical to your success in the game of golf. So remember, if almost 40% of your game is going to be spent taking shots on the putting green, then make sure you pay your dues and spend practice time on the green. You’ll be glad you did!