Putting—

One of the most important parts of the game of golf, if not THE most important, is putting. Thus the saying, “Drive for show, Putt for dough”.  There are many preferences that go along with putting and only a couple of real fundamentals. 

Two fundamentals of putting:  eye line over the ball and ball position, each play a big part in how effective one can become, as a putter.   Ball positioning should be just off center of the stance, a couple of inches toward the front foot.  Finding the eye line is a bit harder to accomplish, sometimes having it too far over the ball or not far enough over the ball and rarely, with the average golfer, right over the ball. 

I have found one easy way to find the right position is to pretend you are on a cliff.  As you approach your ball, lean over as if you were looking over the cliff.  The ball represents the edge of the cliff.  You will be able to gage exactly where you are in comparison to the ball and have good success in making the ball roll on your intended line.  If you are good at reading the greens, then you will now have a better chance of becoming a great putter!

Sincerely,

Mark Owen
Head Pro Mick Riley Golf Course