FAULT NO.41 Poor putting - faulty set-up

By its very nature, putting is a hugely personal matter. But whatever style you choose to trust on the greens, I believe it's important that you develop the ability to repeat a stroke which produces overspin; one which guarantees a consistent roll on the ball. Naturally, the quality of your address position has a direct bearing on your ability to achieve this. The way you set up dictates how easily your arms and upper body are able to work together, which in turn determines the path of your stroke and the position of the putter-face at impact.

There are two common faults that I see. First, there's the example of the player who stands very tall at address, with his legs stiff, his arms straight and his eyes outside the ball-to-taarget line (1). Then there's the player who does just the opposite; he tends to sit down too much, his elbows are usually very bent, and his eyes too far inside the ball-to-target line (2). Neither of these positions does much to encourage a uniform stroke. The arms and hands tend to work independently, rather than as a single unit in tandem with the chest and sholders.

FIX NO.41
Get set for a rock-steady stroke

I believe that the shoulder-controlled, pendulum-type stroke is the most effective for consistent putting. But for this method to work, your posture must allow your arms complete freedom of movement.

Let's build it from the ground up. In front of a mirror, take a comfortably wide stance, and flex your knees a little, as if you were just about to sit down.Feel that your weight favours your left sie a touch, and keep your elbows relaxed and spread to the point where your upper arms rest lightly on your rib cage (1). Your eyes should be directly over - or very slightly inside - the ball-to-target line; the ball itself should be opposite your left eye. (Quick check: test yourself by dropping a ball from your left eye, and noting where it lands.)

Next, your alignment. Following the example that we set in the full swing, aim the putter-face squarely to your target line, and then try to align your body parts - ie. your feet, knees, hips, forearms, shoulders and eyes - parallel to it (2). As long as you stay relaxed, your hands comfortably positioned either in line with, or slightly ahead of the ball (and directly beneath your shoulders), you are now in the perfect position to make a smooth stroke in which your bands, arms and shoulders work together.