Putting accounts for roughly 40% of your total strokes. Yet most golfers show up to the course and barely spend five minutes rolling balls on the practice green. That math doesn’t add up. If you want to shave strokes fast—not “someday when I fix my swing” fast, but next round fast—learning putting fundamentals is the most direct path there.

This guide covers everything: grip, setup, stroke mechanics, distance control, reading greens, common mistakes, and drills you can do at home. I’ll also tell you straight when your putting problems have gotten big enough that you need to stop watching YouTube videos and go see a qualified instructor.

Why Putting Deserves More of Your Practice Time

The average PGA Tour player hits 29–31 putts per round. The average amateur hits 36–40. That gap of 6–10 strokes isn’t coming from the tee box—it’s coming from 15 feet and in. The brutal truth is most amateurs have mediocre short-game habits and then wonder why a new driver didn’t fix their scorecard.

Here’s the thing about putting that makes it different from every other part of the game: it doesn’t care how athletic you are. No speed, no strength, no flexibility required. A 70-year-old with a bad back can out-putt a 25-year-old with a tour swing if they’ve put in the work on the fundamentals. That should feel motivating, not humbling.

The goal of this guide is to give you a clear system—not a collection of random tips—so you know exactly what to work on and why.

Fundamental #1: The Grip

Your grip is the only connection between your body and the putter. It controls face angle at impact more than any other single variable. Get this wrong and you’re fighting yourself on every putt.

The Reverse Overlap Grip (Most Popular)

This is the standard grip used by most tour pros and the best starting point for beginners:

1. Place your left hand on the putter with the grip running through your palm, not your fingers
2. Point your left thumb straight down the flat portion of the grip
3. Place your right hand below, letting the right pinky and ring finger rest against the left hand
4. Extend your left index finger so it overlaps the fingers of your right hand
5. Both thumbs should point straight down the grip

The feel you’re going for: both hands locked together as a unit, with the face of the putter an extension of your palms. If you can feel the putter face direction through your hands, you’ve got it right.

Key Grip Principles

Grip pressure around 3 out of 10. A tight grip creates tension in your forearms, which leads to jerky, decelerating strokes. Hold the putter like you’re gripping a tube of toothpaste without squeezing any out.

Palms facing each other. Both palms should face one another and be square to the target line. This makes it easier to square the face at impact without conscious manipulation.

Quiet wrists. The grip should essentially lock out your wrists so the stroke is driven by your shoulders rocking, not your hands flipping.

Alternative Grips Worth Trying

Cross-handed (left-hand low): Your left hand goes below the right. This reduces right-hand dominance and promotes better shoulder rotation for players who tend to “hit” at the ball. Many players who struggled with short putts have fixed the problem almost overnight by switching to this grip.

Claw grip: The right hand barely touches the grip and acts more as a guide than a power source. If you’ve battled the yips, this is absolutely worth trying. It removes the right wrist from the equation entirely.

Arm lock: The putter is pressed against the left forearm, creating a longer lever and more stability. Requires a longer putter and some adjustment time, but some players swear by it for consistency under pressure.

My honest take: start with the reverse overlap. If you’re still struggling with consistency after six weeks of deliberate practice, try the cross-handed grip before doing anything else.

Fundamental #2: Setup and Posture

Your address position before a putt either sets you up for a repeatable stroke or fights against you from the start.

Eye Position

Your eyes should be directly over the ball or just slightly inside the target line. When your eyes are outside the ball (too far from your body), you’ll perceive the line as curving away from the hole. When they’re too far inside, you’ll tend to push putts right.

Check it: hold a ball at your dominant eye and drop it. It should land on top of your ball or just inside it. Do this check every few weeks—your posture drifts over time.

Posture

1. Bend from your hips, not your waist. There’s a difference—hips means your rear end goes back, waist means you round your spine. Rounded posture kills shoulder rotation.
2. Let your arms hang naturally from your shoulders. Don’t reach for the ball or crowd it.
3. Slight flex in the knees—think “soft,” not bent.
4. Weight slightly favoring the front foot, roughly 55/45.
5. Shoulders parallel to the target line, not open or closed.

Ball Position

Play the ball slightly forward of center—roughly under your left eye. This position encourages a slightly ascending strike, which gets the ball rolling end-over-end immediately rather than skidding. Skidding putts are unpredictable. Rolling putts hold their line.

Stance Width

Shoulder-width works well for most golfers. Wider than that and you’ll restrict the shoulder rock you need. Narrower and you’ll feel unstable, which triggers tension.

Fundamental #3: Alignment

You can have a perfect stroke and still miss every putt if you’re aimed at the wrong spot. Alignment is where a lot of amateurs quietly bleed strokes without ever diagnosing the real problem.

Face Alignment First

The putter face controls roughly 80% of where the ball starts. Your path matters, but face angle at impact is the dominant factor. Always aim the face first, then set your body parallel to it—not the other way around.

1. Pick a spot 2–3 feet in front of your ball on your intended starting line
2. Aim the putter face at that spot
3. Then set your feet, hips, and shoulders square to the face

Aiming Techniques

Spot putting: Pick a discoloration in the grass, a broken tee, or a specific blade of grass about 18 inches ahead. Aim there instead of at a hole 30 feet away. Your brain handles short targets much better than distant ones.

Line on ball: Draw a line across your ball and align it to your starting target. This helps with both face alignment and pre-putt visualization. Plenty of tour players do this for every putt.

Alignment sticks: During practice, lay a stick down the target line and another parallel for your feet. This gives you honest feedback without guessing.

Fundamental #4: The Stroke

A good putting stroke is as simple as it gets: a pendulum swinging from a fixed point. The shoulders rock, the arms go along for the ride, and the hands do nothing except hold the club.

The Pendulum Concept

Picture a clock pendulum. The pivot point is at the top—your sternum. The arms and putter hang below and swing in an arc. Nothing in the middle moves independently. That’s the feel you’re after.

The hands and wrists should feel passive—almost like they’re just connectors. If you catch yourself “helping” the ball toward the hole with your right hand, that’s the stroke breaking down.

Stroke Keys

Equal backswing and follow-through: For a 20-foot putt, your backswing and follow-through should be roughly the same length. Many amateurs take a long backswing and then “quit” through the ball. That deceleration causes the face to rotate and the ball to miss.

Tempo: Count “back… through” in your head with equal spacing. If your practice stroke rhythm sounds like a metronome and your real stroke sounds panicked, that’s a pressure tell worth noting.

Slight acceleration through impact: You don’t want to lunge at the ball, but the putter should be moving fractionally faster at the moment of contact than it was three inches before it. This comes naturally from a proper pendulum—don’t force it.

Low and through: Keep the putter close to the ground on the follow-through. Lifting it prematurely means your shoulders have stopped and your hands have taken over. Not what you want.

Straight Back vs. Arc: Which One Is Right for You?

If you use a face-balanced mallet putter, a straight-back-straight-through stroke suits you best. The design of the putter wants to stay square.

If you use a blade or toe-hang putter, a slight arc—where the putter swings inside slightly on the backswing and returns inside on the follow-through—is more natural and matches how the club is designed to move.

Not sure what you have? Balance the putter on your finger under the shaft. If the face stays flat (parallel to the ground), it’s face-balanced. If the toe drops, it has toe-hang. For a detailed look at great options in both categories, check out our Scotty Cameron Special Select Newport 2 review (excellent toe-hang blade) and the Odyssey White Hot OG 7 review (a classic face-balanced mallet).

Fundamental #5: Distance Control

Distance control is the single biggest separator between good putters and average ones. You might miss the line by an inch, but if you leave a 40-footer six feet short, that inch doesn’t matter at all. Three-putts almost always start with poor distance, not poor direction.

The Backswing-Length Rule

Distance comes from the length of your backswing, not how hard you hit. Tempo stays constant—only the arc length changes. Once you internalize this, you’ll stop steering long putts and start trusting a smooth, rhythmic stroke.

A rough calibration guide:

Putt Distance	Approximate Backswing Length
5–10 feet	4–6 inches
15–20 feet	8–10 inches
30 feet	12–14 inches
40+ feet	18+ inches, still same tempo

These numbers vary by your natural tempo and green speed, but the point stands: calibrate your distance by swing length, not by effort.

Feel Cues for Distance

Good distance control is about feel, and feel is built through deliberate repetition. Here are cues that help:

“Roll it to the hole, not at it.” Mentally picture the ball rolling along the ground and arriving at the cup with just enough speed to fall in, not blasting past. This mental image naturally softens your tempo.

Listen for the ball to drop. On shorter putts, close your eyes after striking and listen. This removes the visual temptation to “look up” and forces you to feel the stroke instead of steer it.

Feet-based imagery: Some players think of their backswing in terms of feet—”this is a two-foot backswing putt” for a 25-footer. It sounds weird but it builds a kinesthetic vocabulary for different distances.

Speed and Green Conditions

• Uphill putts: Commit to swinging through. An uphill putt hit too softly dies well short. Better to be 18 inches past than 2 feet short.
• Downhill putts: Shorten your backswing and let gravity do the work. The biggest mistake on downhill putts is a full-length backswing that then gets decelerated mid-stroke—recipe for inconsistency.
• Fast greens (stimp 12+): Tiny stroke, trust the speed. Keep your hands soft.
• Slow greens (stimp 8–9): You’ll need more length to get the ball to the hole. Don’t get cute—commit to hitting it.

Fundamental #6: Reading Greens

You can have the most technically beautiful stroke on the range and still three-putt constantly if you can’t read a green. Green reading is part observation, part logic, and a small part intuition built over years of experience.

The Reading Process

1. Start from behind the ball: Walk 6–8 feet behind your ball and crouch down. Look at the general slope and the overall shape of the green. This gives you the big picture.
2. Check the low side: Walk to the low side of the putt. Seeing the elevation change from this angle helps you understand how much the ball will fall toward the low side.
3. Focus on the last few feet: The ball slows down at the end of its journey, which means it breaks more in the final 3–5 feet. This is where the putt actually falls into the hole (or doesn’t).
4. Pick your entry point: Instead of aiming at the hole, aim for a spot on the lip of the hole where you want the ball to enter. Right-center, left-lip, whatever the read says.
5. Commit and go: Once you’ve chosen your line, step in and execute. Second-guessing mid-stroke is the kiss of death.

Break Factors

Slope: The primary influence. The steeper the slope, the more the ball curves.

Speed: A slower putt breaks significantly more than a firm putt on the same line. If you’re going to err, err on the high side with slightly more break—you at least give the ball a chance to fall in. A putt that never reaches the high side never has a chance.

Grain: On Bermuda grass (common in the South and Southeast US), grain is a real factor. Putts going with the grain are faster; against the grain, slower. Grain also deflects break—a putt that would break left can be straightened out by grain running right.

Moisture: Wet greens are slower and break less. Early morning dew effectively tightens the grain and adds resistance. Factor this in during morning rounds.

Environmental cues: Water always drains away from high ground. If there are mountains nearby, greens typically drain away from them. If the course has a lake or pond, the greens will generally drain toward it. These are useful macro-reads when a slope is subtle.

Common Mistakes

Most putting problems fall into a handful of repeating patterns. Chances are you recognize at least two or three of these:

Deceleration through impact. Taking too long a backswing and then braking through the ball. This is the most common miss for recreational golfers. The cure: focus on your follow-through being at least as long as your backswing.

Looking up too early. Peeking before the ball has left the face is one of the main causes of pulled putts. The ball will not teleport to the hole any faster because you looked. Keep your eyes down until you hear the result.

Gripping too tight under pressure. Your hands will tighten in pressure situations—this is normal and human. Consciously re-check your grip pressure before your pre-shot routine on any putt that matters.

Misaligned shoulders. Open shoulders (pointed left of target for right-handers) redirect the stroke and cause pushes and pulls. This happens gradually over time and often goes unnoticed without a drill check.

Under-reading break. The vast majority of amateur putts miss on the “amateur side”—the low side. Tour pros miss on the high side because they play more break. If you’re consistently missing short-siding yourself, add at least one cup’s width of extra break to your read and see what happens.

No consistent pre-putt routine. Inconsistency in how you approach the ball leads to inconsistency in stroke. Without a repeatable routine, every putt feels different mentally—which makes it feel different physically too.

Practicing only short putts. If all your practice is from 3 feet, you’ll have no calibration for speed on longer putts. Lag putting practice is arguably more important for scoring than short-putt practice for most amateurs.

Drills to Practice

Good news: most of these drills can be done at home on carpet or a putting mat. If you’re serious about building a consistent stroke, investing in a quality putting mat is one of the better purchases you can make as a golfer.

Gate Drill (Alignment + Path)

Push two tees into the ground just wider than your putter head, roughly 6 inches in front of your ball. Stroke through the gate without hitting either tee. This gives you instant, honest feedback on your path. If you consistently clip the right tee, you’re cutting across the ball.

String Line Drill (Face Alignment)

Tie a piece of string between two tees over a 10-foot straight putt. The string sits directly above the target line. Set up so the string bisects your ball and your putter face alignment line. If your face is open, you’ll see it immediately. Hit 20 putts per session and you will groove alignment faster than any other method.

Ladder Drill (Distance Control)

Set up at one end of the practice green. Place markers at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 feet. Hit one ball to each marker in order without looking at the next target until your previous ball stops. Try to land within 3 feet of each marker. Do this at least twice through before moving to anything else in a practice session.

Circle Drill (Short Putt Consistency)

Place six balls in a circle 4 feet from the hole, using all points of the compass (so some have right-to-left break, some left-to-right, some straight). Make all six before you move on. If you miss one, start over. This drill builds the clutch habit of actually finishing short putts rather than casually stroking them.

Eyes-Closed Distance Drill

Hit 10 putts from 20 feet with your eyes closed immediately after impact. Focus entirely on the feel of the stroke and try to estimate where each ball ended up before you look. Over time, this builds the kind of feel-based distance control that can’t be faked or over-thought.

One-Handed Stroke Drill

Putt with only your lead hand (left hand for right-handers). This reveals whether your stroke is shoulder-driven or hand-driven. If you struggle to make consistent contact with one hand, your right hand is doing too much work in the two-handed stroke.

Mental Game and Pre-Putt Routine

Putting is overwhelmingly mental, especially under pressure. The mechanics need to be automatic enough that your brain isn’t running a checklist during the stroke. That happens through repetition—but it’s supported by a strong pre-putt routine.

Build Your Routine

1. Read the putt from at least two angles (behind the ball, from the low side)
2. Take 1–2 practice strokes focused on feeling the distance, not rehearsing mechanics
3. Step in from behind the ball—always approach from the same direction
4. Set the face, then set your feet
5. Take one look at your target, one look back at the ball, then go
6. The clock starts when your eyes return to the ball—pull the trigger within 5 seconds

Keep your routine the same length every time. The second you start taking longer on “important” putts, tension creeps in. Commit to the routine, and the routine creates commitment to the stroke.

After a Miss

Tour pros miss 50% of putts from 8 feet. From 20 feet, they make around 15%. Missing is not failure—it’s golf. After a miss, ask yourself one diagnostic question: was it speed or line? Then let it go. Carrying the last missed putt into the next one is how one bad hole becomes three.

Equipment: Matching Gear to Your Stroke

Equipment won’t fix a broken stroke, but the wrong equipment can definitely work against a sound one. Here’s what matters:

Stroke type vs. putter balance: As mentioned above, face-balanced putters suit straight-back-straight-through strokes, while toe-hang putters suit arc strokes. Don’t fight your natural stroke with the wrong tool.

Length: A putter that’s too long forces you to stand too upright, pushing your eyes away from the ball. Too short and you’ll hunch over, restricting shoulder rock. Standard lengths (33–35″) work for most, but if you’ve never been fitted, it’s worth a half-hour session.

Grip size: Oversized grips reduce wrist action, which suits players who tend to flip at the ball. Standard grips offer more feel. If you’re fighting the yips, a chunky grip might give you back some stability.

For a closer look at two of the most trusted putters on the market, we’ve reviewed the Scotty Cameron Special Select Newport 2 and the Odyssey White Hot OG 7 in detail. Both are excellent—they just suit different strokes.

When to See a Pro

There’s a lot you can fix on your own with deliberate practice and honest self-diagnosis. But there are situations where a session with a qualified putting instructor is worth more than six months of range time on your own.

You’ve had the yips for more than one season. The yips—that involuntary twitch or jerk near impact—can be a technical problem or a psychological one. Sometimes both. An instructor can identify which one you’re dealing with and give you targeted solutions instead of generic advice.

Your miss pattern has no logic to it. If your putts miss in every direction seemingly at random, it’s very difficult to self-diagnose. A pro with a camera or a SAM PuttLab (a putting analysis system used by many teaching pros) can tell you in 15 minutes what you’ve been struggling to figure out for two years.

You’ve changed grips or stance multiple times with no improvement. Random experimentation without a framework usually makes things worse. An instructor can give you a clear starting point and a structured path forward.

You’re a beginner building habits for the first time. Honestly, if you’re new to the game, one session on putting fundamentals before you’ve built bad habits will save you years of corrective work. Starting right is faster than starting over.

You’ve hit a plateau you can’t explain. If your putting stats have been stuck for two full seasons despite consistent practice, fresh eyes will almost always find something you’ve stopped noticing in yourself.

An hour with a good instructor isn’t admitting defeat—it’s the single highest-ROI move in golf improvement.

Final Thoughts

Putting is the part of golf where your scorecard is actually written. All that work on the range, the driver fitting, the new irons—none of it means much if the ball keeps finding the lip instead of the bottom of the cup.

Start with the grip and setup. Get your eyes over the ball and your shoulders parallel. Build a stroke that feels like a pendulum, not a punch. Then develop your distance control through the ladder drill until lag putting stops being where your rounds fall apart.

Add a consistent pre-putt routine, actually read your greens instead of guessing, and spend time on the practice green with intention rather than just loosely rolling balls before a round. The improvement is there—it just requires showing up for it.

And if you’re serious about putting practice at home, pick up a good mat so you’re not waiting for your next tee time to get reps in. We’ve rounded up the best options in our best golf putting mats guide—there’s something in there for every budget and space situation.

The greens aren’t the place to hope. They’re the place to execute. Build the fundamentals, put in the reps, and the putts will start to drop.