What skills do you need to be a good putter?
A good putter posses three main skills. These I refer to as the
- The ability to start the ball on the intended line.
- The ability to roll the ball at the proper speed.
- The ability to read the green so he/she knows what line and speed the putt should be started on.
This is the goal. If you have received suggestions on how to improve your putting, be sure to ask yourself if the suggestions goes directly to one of the three priorities listed above. Too often, suggestions from one player to another or even from a “golf instructor” are generated from the look of a stroke or stance. Watching tour players, I see many different postures and stances. We certainly see a variety of hand positions (cross-handed, claw grip) and of course we see every length putter imaginable (at least for now). Putting allows a variety of looks and styles. Many of the accepted “facts” surrounding putting are simply not true.
Take for example, eye position. I have had many conversations with students as well as coaches who go under the assumption that your eyes must be directly over the line of the putt. Upon further review, my most trusted putting mentors have confirmed that of all the tour players they work with, virtually none of those players have their eyes directly over the ball! Why? Because they are better at starting the ball on the intended line if they have their eyes slightly inside the line. Another way to say this is, they used the Big Three Priorities rather than old sayings to dictate how they set-up to putt. You should put any suggestion through a similar vetting process. If it directly addresses the Big Three, great. If it helps another, less important aspect of putting without being detrimental to the Big Three, that’s fine too.
connorgolf 
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