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One of the best golf putting tips that I can give you is this: NEVER pass-up the opportunity to use the practice green before you play PUTTING is half of the game of golf, 36 strokes of a par 72 are putts! Most golf courses, if they are kept to a reasonable standard, will have an area set aside which can be used for putting practice. This is usually 9 - 12 holes cut into a large green, on which several golfers can practise at the same time. Why should you practice at all? The greens on a golf course can change their characteristics daily, depending on several factors - weather conditions, air temperature, if they`ve been watered etc. Therefore, the greens will react very differently on damp days - running slowly - to how they will on warm, sunny days - running fast. So, spending ten or fifteen minutes practising beforehand will give you an insight of what to expect on the first green. The second of my golf putting tips focuses on length. How often have you seen this - a guy goes onto the practise green with 3 or 4 golf balls. He finds the longest possible diameter on the green and proceeds to hit 25 and 30 feet putts right across it. To me, this is totally pointless.These 25 and 30 footers are considered to be lag putts, even to professional golfers, and most amateurs would be happy to finish within 3 or 4 feet. Secondly - as the idea of practicing is to watch the reaction of the ball as it travels across the green - as the ball nears the hole, how can he observe its reaction when he`s standing 30 feet away! Mid to high handicappers, in my opinion, should be practicing putts 4 - 8 feet. Less than 4 feet is probably 99% certain and longer than 8 feet would not be expected to be holed every time. It`s that bit between the 4 and the 8 that causes the most trouble. Imagine, your an 18 handicap, you have a decent round of golf and come in with a 92 (net 74). Your feeling quite happy as you sip your well-earned refreshment and re-live, in your mind, the morning`s entertainment shot-by-shot. Then your face drops as you remember the three short-ish putts that you missed - all three of them just 5 or 6 feet, oh if only........OK I'm getting a bit carried away now, but you can see my point. Practicing putts at that kind of distance is far more effective, and valuable, than just hitting random thirty footers. Take our imaginary 18 handicapper, now imagine he`d practiced 4 -8 feet putts, now imagine he`d practiced these twice a week for 6 months, now imagine that - on that rueful day 6 months ago -he didn`t miss those three 5 or 6 feet putts, and now (and you`ll have to use your imagination here) think what this does to his score - his well-earned refreshment has become a large one, as this is the first time he`s ever broken 90 - and his net score is now 71, the only time he's ever been sub-par -So now he`s drinking double large ones and somebody needs to take his car keys from him! Don't forget, putting is ½ - 50% - 2/4 - 0.5 - 3/6 - 1:2 - and most importantly 36/72 of the game of golf. I hope you enjoyed these golf putting tips and that you can make use (and sense) of them. I hope you found this article interesting and informative. Get more articles and tips about golf practise aids. You can also visit How to get the correct golf swing for hints, tips and advice on everything golf.
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