On The Tee with Hank Johnson

Better Putting --- Segment One

Good putting starts with a sound and consistent address position.

A Solid Base:

The lower body must be stable to have consistent ball contact. This basically means keeping your knees and hips still during your stroke. Two ways to get a feel for this are:

1. Practice your stroke while holding a soccer type ball between your knees. Try to use one that lets your knees be the same width apart that they are in your actual putting address position.

2. Practice your putting stroke with your hips backed up against a wall.
That way you can isolate the feel of a stable base which involves no movement below the waist.

Try to maintain good balance with no shifting. To get a feel for this:

1. Set your weight slightly more on your left heel and keep it there. If
Your weight is set in this manner it will be easier to feel any unwanted shifting during your stroke.

Use a consistent eye position. To train yourself to do this:

1. Place a small mirror on the ground and put the ball on it. This will
let you see where your eyes are at address. They should be over the
ball or slightly inside it and even with the back of the ball. Regular
practice in this manner will help you get your eyes in the same place
from day to day and make the picture you see more consistent.

Position the ball at the bottom of your stroke. To find this point:

1. Place a large coin, a quarter or half-dollar where the ball would be.
See if you can hit the edge of the coin with you putter and make it
slide along your target line. If you can, the coin is at the low point
of your arc. Keep adjusting the location of the coin until your putter

Hank Johnson
January 7th, 2009