Have you ever considered that 50% of the shots you hit on the course are putts?
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The likelihood that you practice your putting for as long as you hit balls or hit chip shots is slim. But quality of practice is always more important than time spent. Putting is an integral part of the game and maintaining it can be just as tough, particularly in the summer whilst the greens speed up, the wind changes and you venture to different courses. This article will discuss methods for you to explore to become a great putter.
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Let’s talk putting aids:
Putting Mirror
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Putting mirrors are great to help with alignment and putting stroke path. Usually, they will come with a guideline which aligns your eyes, shoulders, feet and clubface correctly. There is no doubt that you will become a better aimer of the ball if you can learn to effectively use a putting mirror. Putting mirrors are super portable you can keep the sturdy ones in your golf bag, otherwise in the boot of your car, so you never forget it. A relatively inexpensive tool for those seeking to turn the hole into a dustbin.
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How to use it properly – Find a non-breaking putt and have a focus of trying to aim perfectly with the assistance of the guidelines and whilst trying to hole 50 putts in a row from 5 foot – each time you miss… Start again. By the end of your session, you may well have hit 500 high quality and precisely aimed putts. If you do this once every two week or month you will see a substantial increase in the putts holed, particularly on 5-foot putts.
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Helps with alignment thanks to the built in guidelines.
Smaller holes
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You can buy plastic holes that make the actual golf hole smaller. This aid will help you with a few things, speed of putt and aiming smaller. If you hit the ball too hard it will simply run over the hole. Also, if you aim small which in turn means you miss small.
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This putting aid is brilliant because although you are missing putts, you would still likely make them on the course, so the hole genuinely appears bigger. So, when you are out on the course you can aim at specs in the cup and if you miss them, you will still likely hole putts as the actual hole is so much bigger.
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Helps with alignment thanks to the target being smaller so having a smaller miss enables you to hole more.
Chalk line
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Yes, you read that correctly. A builder’s chalk line is a great putting aid. You can pop a chalk line down on the floor and practice your stroke, green reading or even pace. The perks of a chalk line are that it washes away in the rain, it fits in your bag and it also provides great feedback.
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How to use it properly – Put one end a few feet behind your balls starting position and the other end a few feet behind the hole. The line should run directly through your ball and the middle of the hole. From here you can work on alignment, stoke or even reading greens
Helps with alignment thanks to the line being so direct to the hole. If you aim around the line you will be aimed at the hole.
Spirit level
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A building level is perfect for reading greens, if you struggle to read greens you can pop your spirit level down on the practice green and learn to feel the break in your feet. Close your eyes and figure out if your weight is left or right and then confirm with the spirit level. When you are in between reads with a putt when you play you can then turn to your weight distribution for the answer.
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How to use it properly – Pop the spirit level down at intervals of a few feet depending on length of putt. Learn to pick your read first then measure if the break is the same. If you didn’t want to use weight distribution you look towards aim point express which this method derives from.
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Helps with alignment as it will encourage you to read breaking putts better. This means that you will read putts more accurately.
In all the prementioned putting aids are all relatively inexpensive, but they are worth their weight in gold during the season when you’re more able to win competitions and beat your friends. Golf putting aids are extremely helpful tools and if implemented correctly they will improve your putting. Irrespective of your ability there is a putting aid out there which can really help you dial in your accuracy, pace, and ability to hole out under pressure.