Golf and Golf Courses

A good quarter of your shots when playing a round of golf are putts, they’re also some of the more stressful shots with games won and lost on nail-biting finishes on the putting green. When watching professional golfers on TV you will often see them miss putts that many armchair spectators will claim they could have made but the putt can be one of the tougher shot varieties to get right.

Fortunately there are plenty of ways to improve your putting skills from reading the green to judging the weight of the putt needed to reach the cup. Firstly you need to get your stance and grip right, the putt is a shot that can be very unorthodox and many golfers claim their method is the best. Some hold the club in a way that it hangs like a pendulum whereas other golfers will have their rear hand acting like a piston pushing the club forward.

Whilst there are lots of theories there are some common rules that all golfers acknowledge such as making sure your palms are both facing each other when holding your putter. This should help alleviate any wobbling or shifting of the club head when putting. Another important factor is the tenseness of your grip, if your hands are too tense or holding the grip too tightly this will affect your putt, usually adding too much power.

You should have a fair level of grip with your forefingers and thumbs but you should be fairly loose when putting too. You shouldn’t be swinging when putting either; you should have more of a side sweeping, pushing motion. It looks like this because you are pushing the ball towards the hole; if you swing like a normal club then you could hit the ball with the bottom edge of the putter which can take a fair bit of travel out of the ball’s rolling motion.

Make sure when you practice to start far enough away to simulate the putt you’d take after a chip or approaching shot. You should aim to get to the hole but aiming for an imaginary circle one foot around the hole should leave you in good stead for getting the ball in the hole on your second putt.

Practicing on a putting green or on uneven surfaces will help you develop a sense of where to aim when on a slope which can help you shave off unnecessary putts too.

Learning and practicing techniques like this should help you lower your official handicap. When playing a lot of golf you should consider some form of golf insurance such as golf club cover or golf travel insurance to make sure you and your clubs are safe out on the course.

Tags: golf clubs, golf courses, golf insurance, golf tips