Golf Tip
Golf Tip: Three Tips to Improve Your Putting
When most players look to improve, they typically go straight to the driving range. However, it is important to practice your short game just as much as you practice your long game. Short-game strokes during course play equate to about 70% of your total strokes while putting accounts for approximately 40-45%. That means putting accounts for almost half your total strokes and it is the difference between making par or adding a couple of strokes to your overall score. Therefore, use these three tips below to well-prepare yourself and evidently lower your score. If you enjoy reading tips like these, check out our Nike Junior Golf Camps!
Tip #1 - Perfect your Aim:
Aim is essential for sinking putts with the least amount of strokes. A helpful tip for aim is to visualize a target line from your ball to the hole and understand what path your ball needs to take to fall in. It is also important to ensure that your putter face is perfectly square during impact, so your ball stays straight.
In addition, creating an intermediate target will help you focus on a shorter distance, rather than the overall distance. To create an intermediate target, pick a spot about an inch in front of your ball that is aligned with your target line.
Tip #2 - Speed Control:
Speed is very important while on the green. A player can read the slope perfectly and hit their ball on target, but if your speed is out of control then your ball will not fall into the hole. One thing that controls your speed or distance is your backstroke. Depending on your distance to the hole, you should limit or increase your backstroke to deliver enough speed for your ball to go in.
A helpful tip is to practice your putts from 3-feet, 5-feet, and 7-feet. By continuously practicing these distances, you will grasp a better understanding of how much speed you need for each shot.
Tip #3 - Reading the Green:
Every green is different and therefore, you need to understand slope, distance, and break in order to make for an accurate putt. For example, if the slope is descending from right to left, then you will need to aim right so your ball breaks towards the hole.
If you are playing with others, it is always helpful to watch how their ball plays once they putt. This will help you understand what direction the ball breaks, what speed it is going at, and how it will affect your putt. For more tips on how to read the green, check out The Best Way to Read the Greens.
About Nike Junior Golf Camps
Nike Junior Golf Camps is a division of US Sports Camps, Inc (USSC). Headquartered in San Rafael, California, USSC is America’s largest sports camp network and the licensed operator of Nike Sports Camps. The company has offered summer camps in the U.S. since 1975 with the same mission that defines it today: to shape a lifelong enjoyment of athletics through high-quality sports education and skill enhancement. Nike Junior Golf Camps offers junior overnight and day camps, as well as advanced player camps at over 130 locations nationwide. Since 1994, more than 200,000 junior golfers have participated in the camps.