Are you ready to putt like a pro and stop wasting shots on the greens? If you want to have the confidence to master the greens and eliminate three putts, you’re in the right place.
Luckily for beginner golfers, putting is one of the easiest areas to improve and with practice, can make a huge difference in your scoring average. Stop spending all your time on the driving range and more time on the practice putting green if you truly want to start shooting lower scores…fast.
Today we’re sharing our top five putting tips when it comes to golf for beginners!
5 Beginner Golf Putting Tips
1. Maintain a Light Grip Pressure
The first putting tip is to check your grip pressure, as it plays a pivotal role in rolling putts.
“Too often amateurs strangle the club, especially when they think they have to hit the putt harder for the ball to reach the hole. The problem is, the tighter your grip, the worse your chances of having any feel for distance.” – Golf Digest
Imagine grip pressure on a scale from 1 to 10; one is very light grip pressure, while a 10 is a death grip. With both long and short putts, you want to maintain a 4-5 pressure to improve feel and overall consistency.
If you grip it too lightly, you might involve the wrists too much – while too much of a “strangle” grip and you’ll lose all feel. Every round, focus on maintaining a light grip pressure for a more consistent stroke.
2. Get Your Eyes Positioned Correctly
The second putting tip is to get your eyes positioned correctly over the ball. Your setup position is not only wildly important for your full swing but putting too.
Many mistakes for beginner golfers can be avoided by simply getting your eyes positioned correctly over the ball. There are three ways to position your eyes over the ball; two of them are ideal, while one can ruin your putting.
- Eyes over the ball. Imagine dropping a golf ball down directly from your nose and it hits the ball. This is a neutral position that is encouraged by a lot of top teachers.
- Eyes inside the ball. This is another common position that works in your favor when standing over a putt. Having your eyes placed “inside” the ball means looking slightly above and to the left (for right-handed golfers). It gives you a slightly different perspective and can help see the line of a putt better.
- Eyes outside the ball. This is the wrong position that can make putting significantly harder, as it manipulates how you see the break of the putt. Not to mention mess with your stroke too.
Use a putting mirror to easily check your eye position so you can set up to the putt the same and make a more consistent stroke.
3. Simplify Green Reading
Reading greens is such an important part of putting. Because even if you have the perfect putter and a consistent stroke, if your read is off, you’ll still miss a lot of putts.
The easiest tip for beginners when it comes to green reading is to trust your gut.
If you mark your ball, give it a quick read and instantly think, “This is a left to right putt that starts just outside the hole” chances are, you’re right.
Your instincts (call it intuition or gut feeling) are right most of the time when it comes to reading greens. Go with your gut more often to trust your read and hit a more committed putt at your target.
Also make sure to learn 11 other tips in our green reading guide.
4. Line Up Your Putts
If you follow the first three tips, you’re well on your way to becoming a consistent putter. However, there is another trick you can practice to help get the ball rolling at your intended start line more often.
Use any indicators on the ball (like lines or the logo) or draw a straight line (there are simple training aids online) to mark your alignment. Once you read the green and feel confident about the speed, make sure to line some part of your ball up to the intended start line.
When your ball is lined up at the intended start line, you’ll have a lot more confidence on every putt. This is a super simple trick and something you’ll often see when watching professional golf on TV.
Yet, most amateur golfers don’t use any sort of alignment and wonder why they’re missing so many putts.
Always line your ball up to get the ball started on the proper line and increase your chances of making it.
5. Practice Distance Control
The final tip for putting is to improve your distance control for mid to long putts. Because the truth is, no matter how good you get at golf, lag putting is always an essential part of the game.
The key is to learn how to not 3-putt (or 4-putt) so you can save shots on the green. During your practice sessions, make sure to focus on these easy tips:
- Maintain a light grip pressure.
- Take a slightly wider stance to help make a longer stroke.
- Keep your head and body still – make it a motion of arms and upper body only.
- Maintain the same 2:1 tempo in your putting stroke (you can use a metronome app on your phone to time it).
Lastly, don’t forget to always take some time to practice on the putting green before the round starts. While warming up properly on the range is a good idea, don’t skip putting, or you might be off on your speed control all day.
Get Ready to Putt Like a Pro
The sooner you can improve your putting, the better. Even if you’re just getting started, putting is a lot easier than your full swing, as it’s a simple motion and not done at high speeds.
Do you want to learn seven more proven putting tips? Click here to read our full guide now.
Also, if you’re ready to eliminate three putts for good, check out Hot Stick Putting by Kevin Weeks. Using his simple 3-step method you can cure the yips, eliminate three putts, and start averaging less than 30 putts per round.
