Putting Game Blueprint

TTThhheee BBBllluuueeeppprrriiinnnttt FFFooorrr LLLooonnnggg

GGGaaammmeee CCCooonnnsssiiisssttteeennncccyyy

AAAnnnddd SSSuuucccccceeessssss

Putting Game Blueprint With

Steve Cowle Golf

Putting Game Blueprint with Steve Cowle Golf

Page 2

Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................ 3

Part 1 - Attitude .......................................................................... 4

Part 2 - Equipment ...................................................................... 9

Part 3 - Setup And Alignment ....................................................... 15

Part 4 - Physical And Mental Pre-Shot Routine ................................ 17

Part 5 - Power, Path And Face Angle ............................................. 19

Part 6 - Acceleration, Rhythm And Ball Contact ............................ 233

Part 7 - Feel/Touch And Green Reading ......................................... 26

Conclusion ................................................................................. 30


Page 3

Introduction

Welcome to The Putting Game Blueprint. Now before we begin this blueprint I need to make one thing clear...

Putting is a separate game within the game of golf, because no other

shot in golf has the same objective as a putt has, which is to….

Roll the ball along the best line with the best speed, so the ball

rolls gently into the hole.

And if you want to become the best putter you can then you SHOULDN'T use a throttled down driver swing. Equally you won't

want to use your putting technique to drive with.

You see, to become a great putter you need a different technique than

you do to become a great driver of the ball (or any other part of golf for that matter). And that's a great thing because it means you don't

need any special athletic ability to become a great putter.

You simply need to know what to do to improve and then do it.

Now knowing what you need to do to become a great putter is not easy. Because there's a million and one things you could focus on to

improve, but a lot of them will simply waste your time or even make you worse!

This 7 part blueprint will be your roadmap to putting success.

It will save you a lot of time and effort too.

Because instead of trying one thing after another in a desperate attempt to improve your putting you'll know exactly what you need

to focus on to improve. Then once you know what you need to focus on then you need to have a proven step-by-step practice plan that

outlines exactly what you need to do to improve. Then it's simply up to you to put into action the steps in the plan.

It's only through having an intelligent practice plan and then acting

on it that will really make a noticeable difference to your putting.


Page 4

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that trying one thing after

another without any real plan will NOT lead you to improvement. You'll be wasting your valuable time doing that.

Reading this blueprint for putting game success is the start of you becoming the great putter you've always wanted to become. So let's

make a start by looking at...

Part 1 - Attitude

You've probably heard a figure bandied around on how much the task

of putting makes up a game of golf. If you haven't, studies have proven that putting makes up 43 percent of a game of golf (give or

take a percent or two either side).

That's a HUGE chunk of the game, I'm sure you'll agree!

So it makes perfectly logical sense to learn how to become a great putter.

Because when you do you'll hole more putts which will lower your

scores and this will allow you to get more enjoyment from playing golf.

And as I've already said, the great thing about putting is that anyone of any size, shape, gender, strength or athletic ability can realistically

perform this task as well as, if not better than, the best golf professionals in the world.

However, to help you achieve that here's the putting success formula

you need to follow...

Step 1: Know where you are.

Step 2: Know where you want to be.

Important Note: A planned, structured, step-by-step approach to improving your putting will always get better, more consistent results than any other approach.


Page 5

Step 3: Make a plan of what you need to do to help you to get

to where you want to be.

Step 4: Take action on the steps outlined in the plan.

Step 5: Notice the results you're getting from your practice and then if necessary make changes to what you're doing to help

you get where you want to be.

So let's go through each of these steps so you understand what is involved.

The first step is to know where you are. And in putting you can do that

simply by keeping track of how many putts you have each round. If you're already doing this, great. But if you're not please start now.

And to do it simply, add up every putt you have on every hole you play

and keep the total putts you have for each game.

Once you have done this for at least 5 games of golf then you can

figure out how many putts you average per round simply by adding up your total putts for the 5 games and dividing it by 5.

So let's say after doing this you find that you average 36.56 putts per

round of golf.

After getting that information the next step in the putting success

formula is for you to decide where you want to be.

Maybe you want to be as good a putter as a PGA Tour pro. And if you looked at the PGA Tour Putting Stats for the last five years you would

find that over the last 5 years the leading putters have averaged just 27 putts per round.

How low would your handicap be if you putted like that?

Important Note: When you're doing this remember to only count putts that are on the green. If you're on the fringe but are using your putter don't count that as a putt towards your average putts per round total.


Page 6

So you need to make a decision as to how many putts per round you

want to average.

To help you, as a general guideline, averaging below 30 putts per round should be the goal of every golfer (once you can do that

consistently then you should set a new, more challenging goal).

Averaging less than 30 putts per round is very attainable for every golfer too, because with putting you simply need to know what you

need to improve and then do it....no special athletic ability is required.

Just the correct knowledge and then the correct action.

OK, once you know where you are and you know where you want to be, the next step is to create or get a plan of what you need to do to

help you get there.

Then obviously the next step is to take action on the plan and tweak

what you're doing to get the results you want.

So that's an overview of putting and the putting success formula, it's now time to start finding out what you need to focus on to become a

great putter. Let's get straight into it...

The very first thing you must do to become a great putter is you

MUST learn to love and enjoy putting.

If you don't find out how to love and enjoy putting then you'll never become a great putter. Trust me, this is the first and most

important fundamental of putting.

So anytime you're faced with a putt that you're NOT looking forward

to then it won't matter if you have a perfect stroke or you're a great green reader etc. because you'll never putt consistently to a high

standard if you have a negative attitude like that.

But great putters don't only love and enjoy putting but they also believe and see themselves as great putters.

Conversely average or poor putters see themselves as streaky putters

or bad putters. And the main reason I believe average/poor putters have a bad self image about themselves is because they "choose" to

focus on the putts they've missed rather than the putts they've


Page 7

made. Sadly it's impossible to gain self-confidence about anything if

you're focusing on the things that didn't turn out how you wanted.

And talking about confidence, it's obviously crucial that you have a lot of self-confidence if you're going to become a great putter.

But as far as confidence is concerned you must understand that there

are two types of confidence that can be created. The first one is external confidence.

And the extent of your external confidence is governed by what is

happening outside of yourself. For example, if you're holing lots of putts you will generally have high external confidence. But external

confidence comes and goes depending on what is happening. For example, if you're putting well you'll have high external self-

confidence, but if you're not putting well then your external self-

confidence will be low.

The catch 22 with external self-confidence is that you're basing your confidence on something outside of your control, i.e. putts going in the

hole.

The only thing you can control in putting is the starting line of the putt and the speed which the ball starts. Whether or not the ball goes in

the hole is out of your hands.

So having external confidence is NOT very good.

Instead it's much better to have internal confidence as this isn't dependent upon

results, but funnily enough it produces better

results.

What is internal confidence?

It's a deep belief about something, and that deep belief can't be taken away from you by

outside events and circumstances. This type of confidence is built up over a period of time.

An example of this outside of golf is a parent.

You see, if parents constantly tell a child they love them and show

physical affection to that child then over time that child will have a


Page 8

deep belief that their parents love them. So if that child is disciplined

for doing something wrong then that shouldn't stop that child from believing that their parents love them.

So...you need to create a deep belief like this for your putting

game. That way, no matter what happens you'll believe you're a great putter.

And when you gain internal confidence you will not be so tempted

to make big changes to your mechanics even if you were to miss a lot of putts in a game.

If you look at great putters you won't very often see them change

anything about their mechanics. Also you'll often see great putters using the same putter for many years. Because you should only ever

change a putter if it no longer matches or enhances your setup and

stroke, or if there is some technological advancement that warrants a change. But I doubt that is ever going to happen in the putting game

because a good putter now will remain one for many years.

Great putters believe that they can hole every putt. Of course they don't hole every putt, but they do hole a lot more putts than the

golfers that believe they can't hole every putt. So if you want to become a great putter you must think, act and fully believe that

you can hole every putt you're faced with.

The final thing that all great putters believe is that their putting strokes are solid, repeatable and they trust them 100%. If you doubt

your putting stroke or you change your putting stroke a lot, that's a sure sign you don't trust your putting stroke.

So here's a summary of the mental attitude you need to have to become a great putter:

You must love and enjoy putting

You must believe you're a great putter no matter whether you hole a putt or not.

You must believe you can hole every putt. You must believe your putting stroke is smooth, reliable and

consistent so you trust it 100%.


Page 9

Also, you need to improve the following mental skills:

Relaxation

Concentration Visualization

And finally on this topic of mental toughness/attitude, when you're

stroking your putts on the golf course you should NOT focus on anything mechanical. You should simply putt the ball automatically

with your subconscious mind.

A non-golf example of using your subconscious mind to perform a physical activity is driving a car. Because instead of thinking of

everything you should be doing as you're driving you just do it --automatically! And when you're making a putting stroke you need to

use your subconscious mind as well.

You should never think your way through your putting stroke.

The place to improve and groove your physical putting stroke is at

home. The golf course is the place to hole your putts...without conscious thought about your putting stroke. And to do that you must

stroke your putts with your subconscious mind.

So that's the first and most important aspects of your putting game that you need to improve.

Part 2 - Equipment

In this second part of this 7 part Putting Game Blueprint I'm going to talk about the putter...and more specifically -- what the two most

important aspects of any putter you choose are.


Page 10

But first of all....putters come in many, many different shapes, styles, types and variations as the pictures above clearly demonstrate!

And a lot of putter selection is personal preference (more on that

later). But there are two things that should NOT be personal preference if you want to putt your best -- consistently.

The two things I'm referring to are the putter length and putter lie.

You see, if you're serious about holing more putts and lowering your

scores you must get a putter fit for you and the putting style you're

using (or about to use).

Why?

Because if the length or the lie of a putter is not fitted for you and the type of stroke you're trying to produce, then you'll basically be forced

to make compensations in your stroke to make the putt roll where you want it to. And compensations are NOT good in a putting stroke!

Now there's two main ways a putter is fit for a golfer.

The first is the "now" fit, which basically assumes that the golfer will

never change his putting style from what they are doing currently. So if a golfer stands very open and has their hands very low the "now"

putter would have a very flat lie, as well as other modifications to help

the golfer strike his putts squarely and accurately.

Obviously the problem with getting a putter fit like this is that if the golfer then changes their putting style the "now" fit putter will not be

suited to them anymore.

The other main way to fit a putter is called the "pendulum" fit.


Page 11

To get fit for a putter like this you've got to make a commitment that

you'll learn to putt from a setup position that will encourage a pendulum stroke, and for this you need a putter that is the correct

length and lie to fit your body size and shape.

And like the "now" fit putter if you get a "pendulum" fit putter and you change your putting style then your putter will not suit you

anymore.

So I suggest you make a decision as to the style of putting you're going to use and stick with it for at least 12 months!

And the putting style I recommend and teach all of my students is the

pendulum putting style.

Why?

Simply because it's the easiest and most consistent way to putt. That's

why most of the best putters in the world use that method of putting (I'll talk more about this in later instalments). And that's the method

I'm going to be explaining in the rest of this blueprint.

But if you follow my advice and learn to putt with a pendulum stroke it doesn't mean you have to stick with one putter forever (although if

you find a great putter that is fit to you then you should).

No!

It simply means you keep the same style of putting but you know what specs you need in a putter, i.e. the lie and length when you decide you

want to try a new putter.

So again I want to stress this, it's very important that you select a

style of putting that you will stick with for at least 12 months and then get a putter specifically fitted to suit that style. And the putting style

I suggest you learn and use for the next 12 months is the pendulum putting style.

Now after you get a putter that is fitted for you and the putting style

you're going to use (hopefully the pendulum putting style) here's some things you may want to experiment with...


Page 12

Shaft Flex

You can experiment with shaft flexes in putters but I've found that a

firm shaft is good when using the pendulum putting method.

But there's no hard and fast rules on this because with experimentation you may find

something else works better for you. An example of this is Ben Crenshaw who has a

very flexible shaft in his putter because he likes to feel the shaft flex as he putts.

Apparently it helps him to feel when his putterhead is in perfect rhythm with his stroke

and so he gets feedback when his rhythm is off.

Then other professional golfers want the stiffest shaft they can get in their putter. An

example of this is Deane Beman, who was a great putter.

So it's very much a personal preference. But I suggest you have a firm putter shaft to start and then if you want to, experiment with other

different shaft options to see if they help you to putt better.

Use results as your guide on this and all the "suggestions" below.

Face Balance

Putters can be perfectly face balanced, no face balance or somewhere in between.

You can easily check to see if a putter head is perfectly balanced or not simply by laying the

clubshaft across the top of your extended forefinger and balancing the putter there. If

the putter head is perfectly balanced it will be horizontal with the ground.

But if you do this and your putter is on say, a

45 degree angle then it is not face balanced.

Now the advantages of a face balanced putter is that it will help a golfer to keep the putterface square to the

starting line of their putt throughout the putting stroke. However,


Page 13

please don't be convinced by marketing hype that a putter that is

perfectly face balanced is suddenly going to have you holing putts from everywhere. Because you'll be very disappointed if you believe

that.

Face balanced putters are game improvement clubs in my opinion. They're in the same class as game improvement irons and woods.

So by all means try a face balanced putter and see if it helps you to

putt better. But always remember, it's much more important you have a putter that is fitted perfectly for you (i.e. the correct lie and length)

than it is to have a perfectly face balanced putter.

Head Weight

You can get putters that are light or heavy and

you can even get putters that allow you to change the head weight yourself, anytime you

wish. But like shaft flex and face balance, head weight is a personal preference.

Some golfers putt better with light putters,

some with heavy putters. Personally I've found that a medium to heavy putter helps to produce

a pendulum putting stroke. But don't use that as a rule. That's only what I've found.

Experiment and find what works best for you .

The Grip

Grips comes in many different shapes, colors and styles. And

on this aspect of a putter I believe it's much better to have a thicker grip because that encourages a firm-wristed stroke

which is what you want with a pendulum putting stroke.

Thin grips I've found tend to promote wristier strokes.

But again, experiment and find what works best with you. However on the putting grip I strongly suggest you err on the

thicker side.

Now that's a selection of the major components of a putter that will have some impact on your putting results.


Page 14

Of course there's lots of other things you can experiment with in

putters, e.g. putter design (blade, mallet etc.), putter face material, colour, alignment aids etc. etc.

There's no right or wrong with any of that.

But if you're going to successfully putt with a pendulum putting style

you MUST find out what length and lie you need for your putter. And I give my students a way in which they can work that out at home.

So after you've found out the length and lie you need for your putter you can then experiment all you want with the other things as long as

those two things always remain the same.

So to sum up this instalment....you need to pick a style of putting and stick to it for at least 12 months. And I strongly recommend

the pendulum putting method and that's what I'm going to be outlining

in this blueprint.

Once you've decided on the putting style you're going to use for the next 12 months, you then need to find out the putter lie and length

that will help you to consistently putt with the putting style you've chosen, without compensations having to be made in your putting

stroke.

OK, that's the end of Part 2. Next in Part 3 you'll find out about putting setup and putter face aiming. And in that part I'll explain the

setup needed for the pendulum putting method. So go to the next page to get Part 3 now…


Page 15

Part 3 - Setup And Alignment

In this instalment we're going to be looking at the putting setup and

putterface alignment. And to start this off let's take a look at the grip.

Now there are a lot of different ways to grip a putter, and there is no one "right" way. I do however have a theory on how most golfers

should grip the putter which I teach my students. But no matter how

you grip the putter you must be able to repeat that grip consistently.

Why?

Because if you can grip the putter the same way every time then obviously you'll be a more consistent putter.

So you need to work out references for your putting grip so you can

repeat the same putting grip every time you hold your putter. Then once you've done this, you then need a procedure so you can form

your grip the same way consistently.

OK, let's now look at the other components of the putting setup starting with ball position.

If you were to putt with a putter face that is opening and closing a lot during the putting stroke then ball position is critical. Because for a

putting stroke like this, the ball needs to be positioned at a place in your stance EXACTLY where the putter face will be square at impact.

If it's not then naturally the ball will start on a line that you did not intend.

But in the putting stroke I teach the putterface remains pretty square

to the starting line of the putt at all times during the stroke (more on this in future instalments). That way, it's NOT critical that the ball is

positioned perfectly every putt.

Having said that, there is a place in your stance that will help you to putt better but it doesn't have anything to do with the squareness or

lack thereof of the putterface. What I'm talking about is the launch

angle of your putts.

Yes, your ball does launch when it is hit with the putter!

Where you position the ball at setup largely determines the launch angle on your putts. And what you want to happen when you putt is


Page 16

that your putterface should contact the ball so it is launched slightly

upwards at impact. The reason you want to do this is so the ball rolls on top of the grass from the beginning of the putt instead of down and

through the grass.

If the ball is hit down even slightly into the ground at impact it will create inconsistent results in your putting, because the ball will be

more affected by the imperfections of the green than it will if the ball is hit slightly upwards at impact.

So to launch your putts slightly upwards you need to position the ball

in your stance just in front of the lowest point of your putting stroke.

All right, let's move on and have a look at your setup alignment.

There are three very important parts of your body as far as this is

concerned. And the three parts I'm talking about are your eyes, shoulders and forearms.

You must have your eyes, shoulders and forearms parallel to the

starting line of your putt. If you don't you'll be forced to make compensations in your putting stroke. And the more compensations

you make in your putting stroke the harder it will be for you to be consistent.

Something else in your putting setup that you must do is position your

eyes directly over the starting line of your putt. Notice I didn't say your head needs to be directly over the ball. It doesn't, but your eyes

do need to be over the starting line of your putt.....even if your head is behind your ball. And remember, your eyes need to be parallel to the

starting line of your putt as well. To achieve this you need to be the

correct distance away from the ball.

So that's the important elements of the putting setup covered. But there's one last very, very important aspect of your putting setup I

need to discuss. And that's putterface alignment.

You see, the more accurately you aim your putterface to where you want your ball to start, the easier it is to putt. But the sad truth is that

most golfers aim their putterface very poorly. This causes big problems in the stroke, because once you're aimed incorrectly you then have to

make compensations in your putting stroke to try and compensate for this error. And the more compensations you make in your putting

stroke the more complicated it becomes.


Page 17

Always remember....simpler is better!

So your goal should be to aim your putterface the most accurately you can for every single putt. And to learn how to do this you should NOT

go anywhere near a green. Because on a putting green there is no feedback on where your putter is aiming.

You need to practice at home aiming your putterface directly at where

you want your ball to start. And you need to do this so much that it becomes such a habit so that out on the golf course you just do it

automatically....without thinking.

OK, that's an outline of the putting setup needed to become a consistently great putter. But it's very important that when you

setup to a putt you do things the same way every time. Because that

greatly helps consistency in your putting from one putt to the next.

Part 4 - Physical And Mental Pre-Shot Routine

In this instalment I'm going to talk about creating a physical and

mental pre-shot putting routine.

Now if you remember, in Part 3 I talked about the necessary elements needed for a great putting setup. But it's pointless having a great

putting setup if you can't repeat it consistently when you're setting up to a putt.

That's where a physical pre-shot putting routine comes in!

Because if you want to hole more putts -- more consistently -- then

you need to create a physical pre-shot routine that will add...

order

sequence routine, and

rhythm

....to the way you setup to each putt.


Page 18

And when you create your physical pre-shot routine it's very important that it takes the same amount of time to complete each

time you putt.

Why?

Because studies have proven that the best putters in the world take almost the same amount of time before and over each and every putt.

Now even if you create a great physical pre-shot routine that has good

order, sequence, routine and rhythm to it....you could still putt terribly. The reason for this could be lack of a mental pre-shot routine.

So you need to create a mental pre-shot routine

to go along with your physical pre-shot routine.

And the main part you need to focus on when creating a mental pre-shot routine for putting are

the questions you ask yourself before each putt.

You see, before every putt you need to ask the

appropriate questions so you can make a firm decision as to the line and pace your ball needs

to travel on so it will go in the hole.

Always remember, if you ask intelligent questions you'll get intelligent answers. And when you become a student of mine I tell you the exact

questions you need to ask before a putt to give yourself the most chance of holing it.

Also, another important aspect of your routine is that you walk up to each putt with absolute confidence. Even if you don't feel confident

you simply must act as if. It's a strange thing but if you move your body confidently it will produce a mindset that will help you to hole

more putts.

So to sum up this instalment, you need to create a physical routine that consistently gets you into the same great putting setup position

putt after putt. And your physical routine should take pretty much the same amount of time every time you do it.

Then you need to create a mental pre-shot routine that gives you

certainty for every putt about the line and pace you need to stroke


Page 19

each putt for the ball to go in the hole. And when you're performing

your physical and mental pre-shot routines you must remember to move your body with confidence at all times.

Part 5 - Power, Path And Face Angle

In this instalment I'm going to discuss what you should do to power

your putts along with the putter path and putter face angle you should be using when you're putting.

First of all, let's look at the way you power your putts.

Now as I like to keep everything as simple as possible I'm going to go

through each part of your body and explain what it should be doing (or not doing) as you stroke your putts....

Feet, Ankles, Knees, Legs, Hips - Nothing

Shoulders - Moving on a vertical plane (more on this later)

Arms and Wrists - Moving as a result of the shoulder movement, but there should be no independent movements

from these muscles

Head - Nothing

As you can see from this....there is hardly any movement needed in a putting stroke. The only movement needed to hit putts the required

distance and direction consistently is from your arms, wrists and shoulders.

Now before we take a look at the parts of your body that move when

putting let's take a look at the ones that don't....and we'll start with the head first.

A lot of people move their head when putting -- in fact I'd say that most people move their head when putting.

But to be the best putter you can be your head should not move at

all as you're stroking a putt. Because if your head moves when you're


Page 20

stroking your putts it will add power to your putts. And that extra

power is something you wouldn't have factored in when you're calculating the best speed and line for your putt.

So it's very important that you learn to stroke your putts without

moving your head.

Now let's look at your lower body.

Your feet, ankles, legs and hips should NOT move at all when you putt. You need to keep your lower body still when you're putting. If

you move your lower body when you're putting then, again, you'll add power to your putt which you haven't counted on.

OK, so you now know that your head and lower body should remain

perfectly still as you're putting. Let's now look at the parts of your

body that should move when you're putting.

When you putt using the pendulum putting method your shoulders, arms, wrists and hands should all move as a unit. But the main

controller of this action should be from your shoulders and the way you move your shoulders should control your putters path.

There are two main ways to move your shoulders as you putt.

1. You can move your shoulders on a tilted horizontal plane (i.e.

they turn around) just like the way you use them for every other shot in golf.

2. You can move your shoulders in a vertical plane.

If you move your shoulders on a tilted horizontal plane then the putters path should be curved -- so long as you don't manipulate your

arms, wrists and hands. And if you move your shoulders on a vertical plane then the putters path will be straight back and through -- again,

as long as you don't manipulate anything else.

So which shoulder movement do I suggest?

Both!

Let me explain.


Page 21

I teach my online students to move their shoulders on a vertical plane

which naturally moves the putter straight back and through. And while they're doing this I get them to practice keeping the putterface aligned

squarely to the starting line of the putt at all times in the stroke. BUT I only get them to practice this stroke for putts of up to 10 feet in

length. And I only get them to practice this at home....NEVER at the golf course.

When you practice your putting mechanics you should ALWAYS do it

at home. I'll explain in a later instalment why and what you should do at the golf course, but for now please understand that mechanics

should only be practiced at home.

Now you may be wondering why I only get my students to practice a straight back and through putting stroke for 10 footers or less.

Well it's simply because for putts less than 10 feet getting the ball to start on the chosen line is very important to the outcome of the putt.

But for putts further than 10 feet from the starting line of the putt it becomes less important.

DO YOU KNOW....The best

putters in the world hole just over 25% of their putts from the

10 - 20 foot range.

As you've just read, the odds of holing a putt in the 10 - 20 foot range are not great, even for the best putters in the world. And outside of 20

feet the odds of success drop away quite sharply. Which again shows that distance control for longer putts is more important

than the starting line of a putt.

So if one of my students is faced with an 18 foot putt and they move

their putterface in a slight arc fashion along with a tilted horizontal shoulder plane I really don't care. What I'm more interested in seeing

is how far the ball has travelled.

And at the end of the day putter path is not a topic that needs a lot of attention or debate.

Why?

Simply because of this FACT....


Page 22

So if you want to consistently start the ball on the line you've chosen then you should concentrate on getting the putterface angle square at

impact much more than you should worry about the putter path.

Ironically however, through experimentation I've found that one of the easiest ways of practicing keeping the putterface angle square to the

starting line of the putt is to do it while taking the putter straight back and through. That's another important reason why I teach my to

practice a straight back and through putting stroke for 10 footers or

less....it kills two birds with one stone!

Plus this practice will influence their longer strokes as well -- helping them to start their ball more consistently on the line they want. But as

the strokes get longer and longer then naturally and automatically there will be some shoulder rotation causing the putter to move on an

arc path. And that's fine with me.

Don't ever get caught up in this straight back, straight through versus

arc argument. It's a waste of time, because as you've already learnt, the putters path has such a small influence on putting success.

OK let me sum up this instalment and what I teach (and indirectly

what I think you should do).

I get my students to practice taking the putter straight back and

straight through while keeping the putterface square at all times in the putting stroke. This is achieved by moving the shoulders in a vertical

manner and the arms, wrists and hands moving in unison.

But I only get golfers to practice this for putts of less than 10 feet. And only at home.

For putts longer than 10 feet they can let there natural habits take

over. In other words, they'll have some degree of arc in their stroke. But as I've said, for putts over 10 feet in length distance control is

Important Note: The putterface angle that you contact the ball with has 4 times more influence on the starting direction of your putt than the putter’s path.


Page 23

much more important than having a straight back, straight through

putting stroke.

Now no matter what type of stroke you're trying to groove at home if you go out to the golf course trying to take the putter straight back

and through or on an arc then you're going to putt badly.

You should do all of your mechanical practice at home. On the golf course you want to stroke the ball without conscious

thought.

I hope that makes sense to you. It makes sense to me and it's helping my students to consistently putt better than they ever have before.

Part 6 - Acceleration, Rhythm And Ball Contact

In this instalment we're going to look at three very important aspects

of the putting stroke....

1. Putter Acceleration/Stability

2. Putting Rhythm/Tempo

3. Ball Contact

All right, let's start by looking at putter acceleration/stability.

It's often taught that we need to have a putter that is

accelerating....but why?

Well, it's simply because when you have a putter that is accelerating as it strikes the ball it makes the clubhead more stable. And this helps

to resist any twisting and wobbling that can be caused if the ball is not hit squarely from the sweetspot of the putter.

Or in other words, if your putter is accelerating at impact you'll have better directional and distance control.


Page 24

But when golfers hear that they should accelerate their putters for

better direction and distance control they often exaggerate this, causing erratic results.

So to make sure that doesn't happen to you, you've got to realize that

you only need to accelerate your putter slightly to get the benefits of increased direction and distance control. And here's something that

may surprize you....

You should NOT "try" to accelerate your putter Instead, you simply need to swing the putter through further than

your backswing. But when you do this, it's very important that you swing your putter with a consistent tempo and that's what we're going

to discuss next.

You see, when you stroke a putt, whether it's a 3 footer or a 50 footer,

the time it takes for you to swing the putter should be exactly the same.

Yep, exactly the same!

That's called a consistent tempo. And one huge advantage of doing

this is that it makes it much easier to control the distance you hit your ball. Because if your stroke takes the same amount of time for every

putt then you simply need to increase the length of your stroke to hit the ball further.

This means you won't ever have to think about how hard or soft you

have to hit the ball. Instead you simply gauge the size of the stroke

you'll need and stroke the ball with that stroke. Doing this makes distance control a lot easier and it will reduce your 3 putts. And that's

why I get my students to focus on this one aspect with one simple exercise which trains them and teaches them how to do this.

But when you putt with the same tempo you also want

to have a nice, smooth rhythm to your stroke. You don't want a jerky motion when putting even if it takes

the same amount of time. A good image to have of what is required is that of a pendulum on a clock.


Page 25

All right, you now know that you need to accelerate your putter while

swinging the putter smoothly with the same tempo for every length of stroke. Next we're going to look at the ball contact.

When you stroke a putt you want your ball to contact your putterface

exactly on the sweet spot of your putter. And the more consistently you can do this the better you'll putt.

Why is the point of contact between your ball and the putterface so

important in determining how good you're going to putt?

Simply because where you contact the ball on your putterface determines the amount of energy that is transferred to the ball. And

the energy your golf ball receives controls....

a) how far your ball travels, and

b) how fast and how much your ball will curve.

So if you did two putting strokes exactly the same but on one putt you

hit the sweetspot of your putter and the other one you didn't, then the two balls would go different distances and curve different amounts.

Now when I say "sweetspot" what really does that term mean?

OK, let me explain....you know when you hit a great drive it feels

really good because the ball struck the very center of the clubface (i.e. the sweetspot)?

Well, in putting the same principle applies just on a smaller scale and

it's less noticeable as far as feel is concerned.

But if you can hit your putter's sweetspot consistently then you will be

able to control the speeds of your putts much, much better. And this will not only allow you to hole more putts, but you'll also reduce the

amount of 3 putts you have because you'll roll the ball closer to your target, i.e. the hole!

In short, if you want to become a great putter then you must

be able to control the speed you hit your putts -- because being able to hit putts consistently on the sweetspot is one of the

most important aspects of being able to do this.


Page 26

The things I've discussed here are very, very important. And next

we're going to discuss two more things which are equally as important which is....putting touch/feel and green reading. So go to the final part

to read that now…

Part 7 - Feel/Touch And Green Reading

In this final part of this blueprint for putting game consistency and

success I'm going to talk about putting feel/touch and green reading. First of all we'll look at putting feel/touch.

Now there's only one way to improve your putting feel/touch...and

that's to practice!

But you just can't go out to the practice putting green and knock balls around from hole to hole.

No!

Because if you do that you'll be wasting your time and you will probably get worse.

Instead you've got to use well thought out practice drills that give

you consistent feedback on how you're performing. And the best feel/touch drills allow you to compete against either yourself or an

opponent so you're always interested and motivated to improve.

That's very important.

Using drills and exercises to learn how to control the distance of your putts is so important to not only reducing any 3 putts, but also helping

you to hole more long putts.

But the type of drills and exercises that I give my students should only

be practiced on days when you're NOT playing a game of golf. They should NOT be used to warm up for a game of golf. Because when

you're getting ready to play a game of golf your putting warm-up should match as closely as possible to what you're going to be doing


Page 27

out on the golf course, i.e. putting with one golf ball, going through

your normal routine etc.

Now the most important element of putting touch/feel is distance control.

And there are two elements to hitting putts the correct distance. The

first one is knowing what to do to achieve what you want, i.e. having a clear picture in your mind as to how hard you need to swing the

putter. The second is knowing how to achieve what you've pictured, i.e. how is the swing going to feel when you're putting the ball etc.

So to help you improve these two things one of the very first things

you should do is to know how long your putts are. And the only way of doing that is to measure them. The best way of

doing this accurately is to learn to walk so your

steps are three feet in distance apart.

You can learn this by placing markers every 3 feet for as long as you want and then walk from

one marker to the next making sure your strides are exactly three feet apart. After some

practice you'll be very good at pacing off 3 feet distances. And by being able to do this will

make it very easy to measure how far each putt is that you face.

Now when you measure the distance of your putts I don't want you to

get too tied up in learning to hit putts certain distances e.g. I stroke a putt this hard to hit it 6 feet etc. But instead keep track of how long

your putts are. By doing this it will help your subconscious to hit putts

the correct distance -- automatically. Plus it will help you to see what distance most of your putts are from and what distance area of your

putting you need to work on to improve.

All right, let's now look at green reading. Now there are many rules I could give you for reading greens like….

The faster the greens the more break there will be on longer putts.

Downhill putts break more than uphill putts. If you're putting with the grain your ball will travel further and

break less than normal. Firm greens are faster than soft greens.

Down hill putts are quicker than uphill putt.


Page 28

But the best way of starting to learn how to read a green is to putt and then learn from your result. It sounds simple but it's the truth.

And the best way of learning from every putt is to ask yourself

intelligent questions after each putt. For example, if you had a 20 foot putt that you thought had a 2 foot right to left break in it.....and you

hit the putt perfectly along the line you thought but the ball missed 3 feet below the hole you have to quickly figure out why you

miscalculated. Because if you don't, you'll keep repeating the same mistake over and over again...and that's not good.

If you want to become a truly great putter you need to learn

something from every putt. And there are four common reasons why a ball misses your target, (i.e. the hole), and they are…

1. You started the ball on the wrong line with the wrong speed.

2. You started the ball on the right line with the wrong speed.

3. You started the ball on the wrong line with the right speed.

4. You started the ball on the right line with the right speed but the ball interacted with something on the greens surface causing

it to miss.

There will be times when you hit a putt perfectly how you wanted and you will know this, but the ball won't go in. Then other times you'll hit

a putt not as you intended but the ball will go in.

That's just golf!

The point though is that a lot of golfers don't know when they've

stroked a putt how they wanted as opposed to one they haven't. Instead, most golfers hit putts and don't learn anything and hit the

next one, don't learn anything and so on. This means most golfers never learn anything from their putts and therefore don't

improve.

Sad but true.

So you must ask specific questions (there's one in particular that I always use and teach my students) after every putt to learn from what

just happened. And from asking intelligent question/s after each putt


Page 29

you'll be building up a database of experiences to help you putt better

in the future.

So the best way to start improving your green reading is simply by practicing and playing, and then learning as much as you can after

each putt. And again, you do this by asking the best questions you can after each putt.

Then once you've mastered doing that then you can look at more

advanced green reading techniques. But until you've mastered the fundamentals of green reading there's no point in doing that.

OK, to finish off this putting game success blueprint I want to quickly

discuss what you should do on the practice putting green, because it's very important.

When you go to practice your putting at the golf course you should be trying to improve one of these 3 things....

1. Putting touch/feel.

2. Green reading abilities.

3. Mental toughness/attitude e.g. confidence, belief etc., etc.

You should never try to work on improving the mechanics of your

putting stroke on a real putting green.

Why?

Because the greens aren't perfect.

You see, you could stroke putts badly on the green and the balls may

still go in the hole due to the imperfections in the greens. And if that happens you're more than likely to start grooving a bad putting stroke

than a good one.

Of course, the reverse is also true. If you putt balls with a near perfect putting stroke and the ball misses due to the imperfect greens you'll

probably think something is wrong with your stroke and start trying to fix it.


Page 30

So the place to work on your putting mechanics is at home, inside with

feedback devices. And that's exactly what I teach my online students to do.

Conclusion

OK, that's the end of this Putting Game Blueprint. I've shared with

you the putting fundamentals you need to work on to hole more putts. Now the matter turns to doing it.

If you tried to do this by yourself you'd probably be very confused as

to how you should become a great, consistent putter. So I've taken that problem away for you, because I have created a complete step-

by-step practice plan that outlines exactly what you need to practice to become a great putter.

There's no ifs, buts or maybes. If you follow the instructions in that

plan you will improve you’re putting a lot. Please visit my website and sign up to receive regular updates on all my great information

products. Good luck!

www.stevecowlegolf.co.uk

www.stevecowlegolf.co.uk

Putting Game Blueprint

Documents

putting game blueprint

game of golf

putting youll

putting technique

game success

great thing

steve cowle golf page

separate game