Putt With Confidence

A good senior golfer can make any putt look simple…almost too simple, because in fact, mastering the art of putting can be very challenging. There are so many things to keep in mind when making a good putt that golfers can overlook vital steps or end up confusing themselves.

The most obvious example of this is concentrating too hard on your target. The point of putting is to get that ball in the hole and some golfers become so focused on setting up a good line that they forget to gauge the speed of their putt.

Your target line can easily hypnotize you into forgetting the little, but vital details that go into making a successful putt – especially on a green that is very contoured and a lot of break. You can simplify your putting and start putting with confidence using these two simple steps.

First You’ll Set Your Line

You first matter of business when you step up to your putt is to read the break. Taking into account the contours of the green, create an imaginary line that will be the ball’s path of travel. Now concentrate on a spot mid-distance between the ball and the hole, adjusting your aim based on this spot.

Always mark your ball and line up your putt from behind. When you’ve found your line and see the mid-point mark you’re lining up to, you can use a little trick that many good putters use. Take a line or wording on your golf ball and line them up towards your target spot. Now, when you are standing over your ball you only need to align to the line or wording on the golf ball and trust your line!

Now You Gauge Your Speed

Once you have determined your line, let it go. Clear your thoughts and focus your attention now on giving the ball enough speed to follow your line into the hole. Again, the contours of the green and where the ball breaks will play an enormous part on how much speed you will need.

Remember that target spot you created mid-distance between the ball and the hole? If you have a short putt, you can bring that point closer to you; if you are facing a longer putt that requires more power, move the spot further towards the hole. This is a great way to keep from over or under-powering your putts.

Breaking apart the putt into these two steps makes the process much easier, but you aren’t going to see those fantastic putts the pros make unless you practice, practice, practice! To become a master with your putter you are going to need to build your comfort and confidence with putting on any green from any distance, you are going to need to develop a natural sense of speed and distance which comes only from hours of practice on the putting green.

There is an excellent program to help you cut putts off your score. Most golfers putt between 33 and 40 times per round. Imagine cutting just 6-8 putts per round off of your score!

The program is called “Breakthrough Putting Secrets Revealed” and they offer a free report on “3 Days to Stop 3-Putting”. This is a very good program and I encourage you to check out their site and read more.

Two Common Short Game Mistakes To Avoid

Every golfer knows that it’s not your driving distance but your short game that makes or breaks your score, and that’s unfortunate because nothing can be more frustrating than trying to overcome short game shortcomings.

Here are some common short game mistakes for golfers over 50 to avoid that can take a few strokes off of your score:

Using the Wrong Club

The biggest mistake a golfer can make is in not knowing their equipment. It is important to become comfortable with your clubs on the practice green, making note of which clubs achieve what distances with how much force. This takes the guessing out of any short game challenges.

As an example, you might be comfortable and confident in using a 7 iron for a short bump-and-run chip shots. So use it on the course and don’t waver. Don’t let any book, video or other golfer tell you which club goes what distance. It’s completely personal and you can only know by familiarizing yourself with your equipment.

When Tiger Woods faces a shot from anywhere around the green he generally uses his 60 degree wedge. With simple adjustments to his technique, Tiger will use that 60-degree wedge to hit a flop shot where the ball only goes 25 feet, or he’ll use it to hit a shot from 60 yards. He doesn’t try to use several wedges. After playing that wedge for years Tiger knows it works for him; he is most comfortable with that particular club.

So you see, short game success is just as much about your familiarity and confidence with your equipment as it is about specific techniques. You can have a better short game, more fun and a lower score just by familiarizing yourself with your equipment.

Over-thinking the Shot

Golf as a sport is first and foremost about enjoyment. Every round played is a chance to build confidence, relax and have fun. This is almost impossible to do if you are over-analyzing every aspect of your short game. Odds are you will have your best days out when you let the game just happen.

Put into perspective, chances are you have a few golf lessons under your belt, additional knowledge gained from golf television and websites, and you’ve notched off hours of practice time. You might as well just take your swing and let all of that experience speak for itself.

If you spend too much time analyzing every little detail of your short game you are probably only going to overwhelm and frustrate yourself. Every golfer knows it’s impossible to play well when you have too much in your head, so a simple but big part of bringing your short game together is just enjoying golf. It’s OK to concentrate when a difficult shot presents itself, but not every mistake you make needs a solution to fix.

Know your equipment, play your favorite clubs around the green, and relax. Don’t over-think your shots on the course – leave that for the practice green.

Short Game “Secrets” To Better Golf

Golf is a game with countless ups and downs. Many experienced golfers over 50 find that no matter how many lessons they’ve taken, rounds they’ve played or how much top-of-the-line equipment they own, nothing can be enough on an off day. Golf, therefore, is not a game to be mastered but a game to adventure through.

If even the most seasoned veterans have a bad day from time to time it’s easy to understand the frustration from a new player’s perspective. Some new players have yet to hit a straight drive, let alone make par. So are there any secrets to lower scores in golf?

Forget about all of the tips and techniques you get from the golf magazines, television programs and Internet articles. Nothing is going to improve your game faster than practice, practice, practice. And the only surefire way to take your golf game to the next level is to improve your short game consistency. Here are some tips to shape your short game up and lower your scores:

1) Practice, Practice, Practice! Golf courses build those practice greens for a reason. New players especially should be spending more time on the practice greens than playing the actual course. “Practice” doesn’t just mean a trip to the driving range either. Put your driver down! Hitting balls blindly at full swing is not the most effective way to lower scores. Your long game is only a small handful of shots throughout a round but your short game will be the difference on your scorecard.

2) The golf short game is composed of several equally important skill sets. Take time to practice your pitch shots, chip shots, bunker shots, flop shots and the most important of all – putting. You will face many of these shots on every hole (certainly putting!). So, it pays to be equally comfortable with all of them.

3) Remember, a round of golf can be a real roller coaster – especially into the short game. It’s important to maintain a positive attitude and approach each challenge and its outcome with a proper mindset. If you mis-hit a particular shot, shrug it off and continue with your next shot. One guarantee in golf: things will not go your way. You can get all upset as you want but the only things that will change is your ability to concentrate, which only leads to further frustration.

With some practice you will soon be comfortable taking on any shot you encounter through the short game. It’s really no secret at all – a positive approach to the game along with experience and the skills you acquired through practice are all that you need to start lowering your scores!