Keep Putter Face Centered

Do not miss out on making putts because you did not pay attention to one of the most important and basic fundamentals in consistent putting - putter face alignment to ball. Watching, teaching and playing golf, I see many players not pay attention to the putter-face ball alignment. In order to be a great putter, you must make sure, at address, that the center of the putter face is placed and aligned in the center of the ball.


This part of your routines at address is so critical to have the opportunity to roll the ball when stroked. That's right - roll the ball, not hit the ball. Putting is the art to effectively stroke the ball, so that the ball will roll end over end and find the hole. Putting is not hitting the ball and watching it spin, hop or wobble aimlessly to miss the hole. 

The ball is stroked smoothly with the center of the putter face meeting the center of the ball squarely; the ball rolls on line, with an end over end roll, allowing one to make a lot of putts. Stroking the ball with correct impact position, with the center of the putter face to the center of the ball, will allow the ball to dive, find, and drop in the hole, whether the ball finds the edges or the center of the cup.

The next time before you putt, make sure to pay attention to one of the most important fundamentals in putting - putter face alignment to the ball, center putter face to center of ball. You will make a lot of putts and your scores will improve. As we all know, putting is half of the game, so take control of your putting and not just hope the ball will go in the hole; stroke the ball and roll it into the hole. 

John Nelson is a South Florida PGA Hall of Fame Class A Teaching Professional and Director of Instruction at the Golf Academy located at The County Club of Coral Springs, Coral Springs, Fl. 954-752-4500 x 204, email: jnelson@ccofcs.com, Web page: www.ccofcs.com.