Golf Mistakes - Short Putting

Jay Golden: Hi! I'm PGA Member, Jay Golden, and this series is on Common Faults and Cures. Right now, we're going to take a look at short-putting. Does this look like you?

I have a few fundamentals that should help your short-putting tremendously. Number one, practice to a dot, practice in your house, practice to a couch leg, a chair leg. Bop the Dot, that's what I call it. Get 3 feet away and just keep hitting the dot, hitting the chair leg, hitting the chair leg, and then when you get on the golf course, visualize that dot, visualize that couch leg or chair leg.

On a straight putt, visualize it in the middle of the hole. If it breaks left to right, visualize it on the left lip, if it's right to left, visualize it on the right lip. Every putt is a straight putt. If you putt to your couch leg, your chair leg, bop the dot. I have a great 2x4 with a dot, and I practice all the time, that's number one.

Now, if you have trouble bopping the dot or hitting that chair leg, tip number two, follow through, get that club head moving towards that chair leg, couch leg, towards the dot. The further you follow through towards it, the straighter that ball is going to go, and you'll see that it's easier to bop the dot.

The final fundamental is reading the break in the green. I always had trouble reading the break in the green when I would look down and I would try to see the break, but I found the trick that works great, and that is, stand right behind your ball facing the hole and just say, which foot is higher? If your right foot is higher, it's going to break right to left. If your left foot is higher, it's going to break left to right, and you'll learn by the feel of the slope, how much it's going to break.

Obviously, if your feet are leveled, it's going to be a straight putt. In summary, every putt is a straight putt. Visualize that couch leg, chair leg dot, put that dot straight where you want to hit that ball, considering the break which you read with your feet. Bop the dot, read the break, follow through at your target and you are going to improve your short-putting.

The next segment, Chip Shots Around the Green, hit the lowest shot that will work.