Putting Downhill

To many golfers, putting downhill
is their worst nightmare! Unlike
uphill putting where the back of
the cup is slightly higher than
the front and acts as a backstop,
in downhill shots, the back of the
cup is slightly lower.


If the shot is too hard, the ball
can go over the lip and the back
wont stop it in the least.

In addition, when putting downhill
it is common for the ball to roll
quite a bit further than the
golfer planned. The key is a putt
that is soft enough to just topple
the ball into the hole.

What usually happens is that they
decelerate during the
through-stroke, tightening their
muscles and opening the club face
which starts the ball off the
target line, even if it catches
the lip, it spins violently out of
the cup and because it is downhill
it rolls to far to be a tap in.

There are two ways taught to avoid
the problems of a downhill putt,
the first is to strike the ball
with the toe of the putter.

Hitting away from the sweetspot
(or the best point on the club) it
applies less force causing the
ball to roll more slowly.

With this method however, you take
the chance of opening up the
putter face which causes a putt to
the right. Gripping the putter a
little more tightly keeps the face
from opening (turning).

Another means is to choke down on
the putter, in some instances
actually gripping the shaft rather
than the handle. This effectively
shortens the club allowing less
power on impact.

If the downhill is extreme, dont
be afraid to grip almost to the
putter face, it is more difficult,
but can be done with practice.

After learning and practicing this
method, you will find it is easy
to hit a short, controllable
distance, even on a fast downhill