Putting

Hi fokes,

Things are finally starting to click, had a playing lesson with the pro then wont the rabbits comp last night with 33 points . 

one of my biggests weeknesses is my putting and i dont really now what to do about it.

Spent a hour on the practice putting green yesterday, marked out a 3 foot squared area and tried to put my balls into there to get a feel for speed and distance. Then put two tee's  next to the hole to make it just wide enough for the ball to fit through and practiced 3 footers. then went round the green and finished off with some normal 4-6 footers.

the pro has noticed 2 problems with my putting one is that i have the toe of the putter in the air, and i dont keep the putter near the ground i sort of lift it up contact the ball then bring the putter back up and the face is pointing left of target and skywards.

We worked out that i lost about 5 shots last night with poor putts, be it missed 3 footers or not getting longer putts close enough to finish off.

I have a riff barbados and a oddersy f7 putter but there both have the shaft coming out of near the heel.
Would a centre shafted one be better for me, i have had a play with a taylormade one forona is it ? with a centre shaft in that did stay level on the ground and i found that it kept near the ground on the stroke. 

 Any tips to get my Handicap down further

 Cheers

 Hi Matt, putting is my nemesis. I envy those that put well consistently. They seem to enjoy it and I've noticed their attitude differs to mine ie they look at a putt to get it in one whereas I more often adapt the attitude 'can I get this down in two?' which is completely wrong.

 Regarding your issue: I don't think the type/manufacture of a putter will make you putt better, the important thing is that you use the putter you feel most comfortable with. It is also essential to have a consistent, sound technique. I tend to go for the completely still approach, the only movement is that of your upper torso and arms (like a triangle) which moves the club head in a smooth plane accelerating through the ball.

 I find a good way of achieving this is to practice your puttibg strole through two adjacent balls, moving them closer together so the gap between ball-toe-heel-ball diminishes to a few millimetres. You can do this in your livingroom

 It's a head game allright. I've found rich seams of form and can keep it up for quite a while but all it takes is one bad putting round (usually on an away course with fast greens) and I'm back to square one. Still onwards and upwards with a positive attitude.

theres a book called golf is not a game of perfect by Bob Rotella, read it and you will putt better, its (the book) not about technique its more about attitude and the mental aspect of the game.  I hole more 3 - 6 foot putts now than I ever used to by using some of the visualisation techniques (still not a good putter though!!!)  On a more practical level it may sound overly simplistic but try to ensure your weight is on your toes when you putt and that may help you get through the ball on a better plane

Hello Mat I use a centre shafted putter, and I use it because my "mis-hits" are out of the toe end of the face. The idea being the shaft keeps the putter face square.