Confidently
Good at Putting
To be a great putter
you have to believe you are one. Great putters are confident, decisive,
trusting and they possess a positive attitude. To truly get better at
putting, your mindset must allow you to. Negative thoughts and actions
lead to inconsistencies, indecision, doubt and many, many misses.
Today's greatest
putters look very sure of themselves when they walk onto the green.
You can see an air of confidence about them. Their shoulders are pulled
back, chest is out and proud, and their eyes tell you that this putt
is going in. Just the opposite is "Old mister three putt" -- you know
whom I'm talking about. You see this person walking slowly to the green,
their shoulders slouched, and their chin buried in their chest. On their
face one can see the expression: "Oh here goes another three putt."
Well, these type of people are defeated before they step up to their
putt. If you beleive you are a bad putter or will three putt, you most
probably will. Your body will follow what your mind tells it to do.
Get
Positive.
The first step on improving your attitude is becoming aware of it. Once
you are aware of your negativity, you then can go about fixing it. Start
with a fresh new outlook on putting. Easier said than done, but you
must fix the inside (brain) first to change the outside. Start to believe
that you can putt, think of yourself as a good putter, see putts going
into the hole instead of three putting. Positive images and visualizations
can greatly help you improve your putting. At night or driving to work,
start to see your putts falling into the cup. Recollect made putts (you
all have had them). This is a great step on fixing your mind.
Set
Goals.
Secondly, set some small goals for yourself. Part of a negative mindset
comes from unreal expectations and goals. If you normally take 35 putts
in a round, make a goal to break 33 putts in your next few rounds. Also
set goals on the practice putting green. Make 20 in a row from 2 feet,
then move back to 3 feet and try and set up a number to make from there.
Accomplishing these small goals will help you reach bigger outcome goals
(great putting).
In order to become
a great putter we must have a great putting mindset and this starts
from within. Now this will not be easy to fix -- it takes work just
like fixing the mechanics of your stroke -- but it must improve if you
want to take your putting to a higher level. Next time watching golf
on tv, watch the confident body language of today's greatest putters
and you will see just what you need .
Good luck and good
putting.
*****
Tim Sheredy
is a graduate of Ferris State's Professional Golf Management
program and is a Class A PGA Teaching Professional and
was a leader at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in
Bradenton for over ten years before establishing his
Champions Junior Golf Academy at The Founders Club,
Sarasota FL. He can be reached by email
or by telephone 941-400-8625.
