I've come to believe that the best way to learn putting is sort of backwards from what people usually do. Usually, I think, people read the putt and guestimate some starting line, and then make a stroke. This approach seems to me to encourage a stroke that is sometimes straight and sometimes compensatory. I teach learning first how to use a setup and stroke motion that always sends the ball straight away from the putterface so that the setup is square to the putterface and the stroke is always a straight repeating stroke. I then teach how to aim this system of putterface plus setup at any target. Then I teach how to read a putt in order to find a target to aim at. The end result is a staged process of read and find a target; aim the face at the target; setup to the putterface as aimed; stroke straight. The issue of distance control is pretty easy and separate, and once dealt with, has little about it to concern the golfer.
This approach puts the emphasis on the body and a straight stroke. Targeting and aiming the face is a lot about perceptions and planning, but the stroke itself ends up being thoughtless and simple.
I would welcome an invitation to visit with you and establish a set of exercises and drills for training the essential skills for putting and the overall approach to putting the pieces together seamlessly in a way that results in instinctive, simple putting with great accuracy and relaxation.
Or feel free to call me and we can discuss details by phone.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Intructor
PuttingZone.com
http://puttingzone.com
Golf's most advanced and comprehensive putting instruction.