Hitting a Stright Putt

Many golfers subconsciously make
the mistake of changing their
stance when working on a breaking
putt.

They may open their stance to
allow the ball to start a little
higher, or close it for the ball
to start a little lower.

These are moves that are usually
learned after they have had the
experience to know that they are
not playing enough break. It
would be much better for them to
aim farther away and make a
straight stroke.

Following the theory that every
putt is a straight putt; even if
it breaks you want to use a
straight stroke towards the target.

When shooting a breaking putt, the
target is no longer the hole; it
is a point to the side of the
hole. Aim for that point, make a
straight shot and let the slope of
the land move the ball into the
hole.

Avoid steering the putt into the
hole, read the green and decide on
your target, and putt at the right
speed to the target.

Dont think about the hole in a
breaking putt, or you may
subconsciously adjust your putt to
the hole. The target is what you
want to think about, it becomes
your hole.

It is common for golfers not to
like to play break, what they do
is hit the ball harder to minimize
the slopes influence.

However, hitting the putt harder
means that if the putt misses, the
ball travels a lot further, making
it harder to get the putt in the
next shot.

Breaking putts should only be hit
harder when they are short and
uphill and you want to make sure
you get the ball to the hole.

Thinking of a putt as straight
when you know it will break is
difficult, but you must continue
to use a straight stroke to learn
to consistently hit the right putt
for a break.

Your putting will only improve by
continually, in every situation,
using a straight stroke.