Putting usually
occurs on a predetermined surface called a green where the suface of
the grass is cut very short to facilitate rolling
the ball toward a 4 1/2 inch diameter hole.
The Proper Club:
Make sure the
putter is the right length. Although it is
the shortest club in the bag, it may still need to be shortened
further to adapte to your particular style.
Determining
your line:
Place yourself behind the ball to determine the
line that you want to hit the ball on, to get it in the hole.
The
Set-Up:
The set-up incorporates the same
5
fundamentals as for a full shot.
1- Alignment:
After you have determined
your
line, you need to align yourself accordingly:
The first thing is
to align the club head in the direction of where the
ball shall travel.
2-
Foot Position (Stance):
Place your feet parallel to your target line far enough apart to
maintain balance with your knees slightly flexed.
Keeping your arms relaxed and hanging naturally
close to the body will promote a swing that will stay longer on the
target path.
1. Hand position is too
far! 2.
Better hand position!
3-
Ball Position:
The
ball position is a personal preference because
of different styles.
Place
the ball at or slightly forward of the middle of your stance in order
to let the club strike the ball at or just past the bottom of the swing
arc.
4- Posture:
Flex the knees slightly with the feet
comfortably apart to maintain balance.
Bend
more from the upper body with the shoulders rounded being sure to keep
the lower back relatively straight.
The arms should be relaxed and slightly bent as they hang
naturally close to the body.
This should place your eyes almost directly
over the ball.
5- The Grip:
There are different variations on holding the
club. I prefer to place the club in the palm of my right hand first
with my thumb on top of the grip.
I than place the palm of my left hand on the
grip so that the thumb is on top of the grip and it rests against
the crease of the heel pad and thumb pad of the right hand. My
index finger overlaps the ring finger of my right hand.
This is called the reverse overlap grip.
Be
sure to hold the putter lightly with both hands.
This
will help eliminate any tension in the arms and hands.
