Geoff:

I am a fairly good ball striker, but I don't score as well as I should. This is because I am a horibble putter. I have made a committment to become a much better putter this year. What advice(or training program) would you suggest. I am sure I will maintain a good work ethic. I just need to know how to start. I would appreciate any comments you might have.

Thanks, Scott

Dear Scott,

The best advice I can give is to build upward from tempo. That way, every putt motion is always the same, and touch is instinctive. This reliance upon tempo allows distance control to come into hand in a non-conscious way, and this completely frees up your attention to actually sinking the putt. So tempo feeds your gains in accuracy for reading putts, stroke control, and distance all at once.

I personally recommend a gravity-based tempo that lets the putter head do the work, and that lets the putter move itself. I have written a number of tips articles about this in the MyTips section of my website.

I wouldn't worry much about the stroke or actually sinking lots of putts until my stroke always had the same timing from top of backstroke to top of thru-stroke for all lengths of strokes. Go easy, and focus on tempo, and then you'll find all putts start to look alike.

Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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