This month’s golf tip is a lesson in reality.  Truth be told, most guys reading this article are busy with a family, building a career and attempting to keep their yard from looking like a late Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Open.  The reality is most of us are lucky to play one round of golf a week, let alone work on our game.  So the question becomes, how does the family man who drives a mini van and spends his weekday nights coaching his kid’s soccer team improve his golf scores?  Simple, improve his putting.

The quickest and easiest way to a lower score for any level of player lies in the putter.  This one club is used on every hole and can account for 40% of all strokes taken during a typical round.  It doesn’t matter if you are a single guy playing seven rounds a week or middle aged family man just praying for one 9 hole round on a Saturday morning, the following putting tips can help.

1) 90 DEGREE PUTTER SHAFT
Believe it or not, your putter has loft on it.  The standard is 4 degrees.  To ensure proper loft on the putter, keep the putter shaft at a 90 degree angle at address.

2) LEVEL SHOULDERS
A good putting stroke is a pendulum motion.  The putter rotates on the angle set by the shoulders.  Level shoulders will produce a level putting motion and consistent contact.

3) BALL BELOW THE EYES
Proper speed and direction are keys to great putting.  Both are influenced by ball position.  Place the ball directly below the front eye.

4) MATCH THE ANGLE
The putter shaft and arms should swing as one unit.  Match the angle of the putter shaft to the angle of the arms.  The one unified angle will create a simple and easy-to-repeat motion.

Better golf is possible even for those with little time to spare.  The key is making the most of that precious golf time you have.  Putting is the answer.  For more putting tips, check out the video below.

Todd Kolb