HumanGolf.com

Vintage HumanGolf Article

By Mike Pedersen

You’re a busy guy and don’t have much time to practice your swing, let alone putting. So how can you find the time to practice putting when you are struggling to find the time even to get on the course a couple of times a week (apart from weekends of course)? Golf putting aids are your answer.

Golf Putting Aids Should Relate to the Problem

Heck, you see them all the time on TV shows, movies, adverts. Guys standing in their office trying to putt a ball into a floor trap or elevated hole. But are these putting aids really useful in helping you improve your putting?

Well, the simple answer is yes, assuming that your specific problem is relevant to the type of practice they give you. If your problem is your stance, or even your grip, no amount of trying to hit balls into tin cans lying on your office floor will help you. Your practice must be related to curing your problem. Golf putting aids are the same as any other golf aid: They must be designed to resolve the problem that you have. Otherwise there is no point in you using them.

Putting Aids Can be Simple

Golf putting aids need not be substantial pieces of kit. An indoor putting mat is a simple piece of equipment that allows you to practice indoors on a surface fairly close to a real putting green. All you need then is a target: A tin can or drinking glass makes a great target. No need for fancy golf hole simulators. A putting mat and a tin can or glass can be used at home or in the office so you can’t complain about having no time.

Other golf putting aids help you with your alignment. Some use lasers while others use a series of dots on the putter. A simple aid to ensuring your stance and eye alignment are right is to get yourself aligned till you are just about to putt, then drop a ball from between your eyes. This will show exactly where your eyes were lined up to.

Use Golf Putting Aids Frequently: Practice Makes Perfect

The important factor with golf putting aids is to use them frequently. It doesn’t matter how simple or complex they are. Practice, practice, practice. That’s how to get consistency in any golf shot, and the putt is just as important a shot as a 250 yard drive — in fact it is more important. A wayward drive might not cost you a stroke, but a wayward putt definitely will!

Practice makes perfect!

Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites.