Great putting is the ultimate stroke saver. You can read this statement over and over again at The Grateful Golfer because I believe that finding your putting stroke is key to lower golf scores. Of course there are thousands of different methods of putting because each player has to find that one method that works for them. Whether it is the grip, stance, ball position, or tempo, each putting stroke is different. I have several tips on putting that help build an awesome foundation with the flat stick, but today I want to focus on holding your putting position after contact.
What exactly do I mean about holding our putting position after contact? That is a great question that is easy to understand if I describe it well. So, here we go.
You are all aware of my back 6 forward 12 technique which works for me 100% of the time. There is an important aspect of this or any putting stroke is to hold our finish for a count of one after contact before looking up and watching the ball roll. This minor, yet critical, point on holding our putting position after contact ensures that the putting makes the same solid contact on every putt. It allows for us to ‘stay in the shot’ until it is complete.
To help drive my point home, there is a video by Michael Breed that talks all about my points of great putting:
The penny tip at the end is perfect for holding your putting position after contact. This minor swing mechanic is important across all strokes, but critical during putting. It will allow us to hit a consistent, straight and repeatable putting stroke that will inturn lower our golf scores.
In golf, the smallest of tips offer a tremendous benefit to our game. In this case, holding our finish by staring at the penny is a diamond in the rough. I do not use a coin when I practice, but the technique is exactly the same. I hold my position for a count of one before watching my ball roll into the hole. This is one tip that will a dramatic affect on your short game.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, great tip. Lifting my head too early is my bugaboo and causes the face to open. Will try this drill this weekend.
Thanks!
Brian
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Brian,
Let me know how it works out.
Cheers Jim
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My routine is to read the putt, then align the putter. To step into the putt my right foot goes in first and is placed directly behind the big white ball at the back of my Odyssey Stroke Lab R-Ball putter (The R Ball just has one ball instead of two. It’s on the back with alignment lines between it and the face).
Then the left foot takes distance from the right. The aim there is have a about a foot of separation between them. That leaves me with a small amount of forward press, and with the ball slightly behind center stance (maybe even that 60/40 Michael mentions in the video. I’ll use the 1/3 back, 2/3rds forward for aggressive putts. For lags it’s more 50/50 and the ball will be closer to center but still just short of it. I find that a little more accurate with speed control on the longer putts. And all I have to do to achieve it is place the right toe just behind that big white ball painted on my putter instead of even with it.
The routine is repeatable, provides me consistently correct positioning for a slight downward strike on the ball and with the loft of my putter that makes the ball come off rolling right away. Having the ball a little back of center also helps with another issue I found with changing from a blade with a big toe hang to a face balanced mallet. I don’t get many pulls. If I miss a line, I’ll now almost always miss it right. And that’s something I can better protect from disasters than the bigger mix of pushes and pulls I got with the blade.
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Kevin
Your routine sounds excellent. Very repeatable and you are obviously comfortable with it. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers Jim
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