Simplify Putting: How to Hit Solid Putts Every Time


If you want to make more short putts and avoid costly three putts, you must improve your contact. If you’re missing the sweet spot and hitting on the toe or heel, you’ll never get your handicap as low as you want.

Never forget, putting is 30% or more of all shots during the round. 

Even if you’re a great ball striker, you need to learn how to hit solid putts. Otherwise, your speed control will lead to more three putts and miss some of those easy, short ones. 

Keep reading to learn how to hit putts more solid with proven tips, training aids, and drills. 

How to Hit Solid Putts 

Putting is more important than most golfers realize. If you go to the practice facility, you’ll notice most golfers are on the range, few are on the putting green. 

This is a massive mistake. As Tom Watson said, “No other stroke in golf is as important as putting. Good putting can make up for a lot of mistakes.” 

Key Takeaways

  • Hitting putts in the sweet spot is key to improving distance control and minimizing three putts.
  • It will also help you make more short putts as you will improve your start line.
  • The key to hitting putts solid is a consistent setup which includes ball position and minimizing head movement. 
  • Training aids and drills can also help improve your strike on putts for more consistency in your short game.  

Focus on Setup 

The most important part of hitting good putts and avoiding mishits is a solid starting position. If you’re set up correctly, the rest of the stroke takes care of itself. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t a blueprint for great putting, or at least one way to do it. If you look at the best players of the game, they all had their own tendencies. However, they all did have a few things in common and those are what you should focus on. 

Hitting Putts Solid

Correct Eye Position

The first thing to consider is your eye position. You have three options; eyes under, eyes over, or eyes past the ball. Two of them are ideal, one is not – never allow your eyes to get past the ball at setup. 

All great putters set up with their eyes over or underneath the ball. This allows them to see the line and make a solid stroke. Experiment on the putting green to see if you hit putts better when your left is directly on top of the ball or slightly underneath. 

Learn more about the proper eye position in golf here. Additionally, check your shoulder position with the a putting mirror too. 

Consistent Ball Position

Notice this point is consistent ball position – not a specific spot in your stance. As mentioned above, putting is fickle and the best player had different tendencies, including ball position.

In general, the front-center of your stance is ideal. However, if you’re putting with the ball in the middle of your stance and things are going well, you don’t need to change it. 

Find what works for you and keep it the same for all length putts. There’s no need to adjust ball position for breaking putts or different length putts. 

Ball Position when Putting

Putter is Square 

Another common aspect all good putters have is making sure the putter is square to the start line at address. I was recently watching the 2024 President’s Cup and noticed how much emphasis this was with former world number one Jason Day. But it really is that important because if you start the face closed or open, you will miss your start line and most likely the putt too. 

Unfortunately, I had this issue recently, but a putter fitter let me know. My face was starting slightly closed and led to a lot of missed putts left. Make sure the putter is square with a final check before your backstroke. 

The easiest way to check these fundamentals is with a putting mirror. These are some of the most popular training aids and can help your fundamentals. They’re also extremely popular among PGA Tour players as they understand the importance of setting up correctly. 

Keep Your Head Still 

The second most important part of hitting a solid putt is your head movement – or lack thereof. If your head is moving back and forth, you’ll change your arc and contact on the face. Which will lead to hitting up on the ball and impacting the forward spin.

If you watch the best golfers in the world, you will notice their heads do not move. It’s incredibly stationary from start to finish. While you can get away with some head movement on a full swing, you can’t with putting. 

Luckily, you can check this pretty easily when you record your putting stroke. Use iRange Sports or a tripod to record your stroke from a down the line angle. 

Then upload your video to an app (check out the best golf apps here) and draw a circle around your head. As you watch, make sure it doesn’t leave the circle. Ensure it’s staying in place for longer range putts, as these are the putts where you’re more likely to move. 

If your head does move a lot on lag putts, make sure to have a slightly wider stance. This will help you feel more stable at address and more stationary as you putt. 

How to Hit Solid Putts

Maintain a Constant Grip Pressure

Another way to improve your strike with putts is to maintain a constant grip pressure throughout your stroke. If you grip it firmly mid-stroke, you’ll add tension and likely change your arc or path. 

Start by gripping the putter very lightly. As Sam Snead said, “Hold the club as if you were holding a bird.” 

You want to grip it so that it’s firmly in your control but not squeezing as this adds tension in your upper body. If you think of grip pressure on a scale, it’d be about 3 or 4 out of 10. 

Then, make sure to maintain that same light grip pressure throughout your stroke. Remind yourself before nervous moments too, as you’re more likely to grip it when you’re in a pressure situation.  

Improve Your Putting Tempo 

To have a consistent, pendulum stroke, you need to have a smooth, free flowing tempo. Otherwise, you’ll never hit solid putts and might even develop the yips (or at least a questionable stroke).

Putting tempo is a crucial fundamental that will help improve lag putts and hopefully lower your number of putts per round. A good putting tempo is 2:1 which is different from full swing tempo. 

To improve your putting tempo, consider using a metronome or the Tour Tempo app in practice. These tools make it easy to improve your tempo whether you’re practicing outside or indoors with a putting mat.

Learn more about putting tempo here. 

Putting Tempo

Try Putting Drills 

Once you have a good setup, tempo, and grip on the putter, it’s time to practice. Read more about the best putting drills so you can make the most of your practice time. 

Use Putting Training Aids 

Lastly, don’t forget to try out different putting training aids. These will help you improve the start line and get the ball rolling properly. 

Some of the best putting training aids include:

  • The Putting Arc: Easily groove a more consistent putting stroke with the perfect amount of arc to find the sweet spot a lot more often. This is a fantastic tool to use indoors as it’s a little bulky to take to the golf course. Paired with the Tour Tempo app or a metronome, you can dial in your tempo and stroke at the same time. 
  • Putting Tutor: This putting aid was created by world-class coach Dave Pelz. What’s great is that it works for all types of putters, right or left-handers, and has different levels of difficulty. It also works indoors on a mat or outdoors on a course. Not to mention it’s so small, you can keep it in your bag at all times. 
  • PuttOut Devil Ball: This is an awesome putting trainer that can help you improve your strike with instant feedback provided. If you have a square face at impact, it’ll roll smoothly. But if you have an open face, it’ll go right and a closed one will go left with no chance to go in thanks to the unique design. It’s also easy to use, stores in your bag, and works anywhere you want to take it. 
  • True Pendulum Motion: I’ve seen this training aid recently on the PGA Tour and think amateurs can benefit too. This tool attaches to any shaft and helps you create a more free flowing, pendulum stroke. It’s endorsed by world-class short game coach James Sieckmann and Cameron McCormick, who is Jordan Speith’s long time coach.   

My Experience

Hitting solid putts is everything. Because you can be the best green reader in the world, but if you always mishit putts, it won’t matter. 

In my experience, the biggest contributing factor to mishitting putts is excess movement. You do not need to move your lower body or head during the stroke. Use your big muscles and have the right tempo so you can hit putts in the sweet spot. 

Make it a habit to record your putting stroke more often so you can look back on videos if you ever find yourself in a putting slump. 

Final Thoughts 

Becoming a more consistent putter is easier than changing your swing and directly impacts your score. Make sure to spend a lot more time in this area so you can shoot lower scores fast. 

If you want to learn more about putting, read these articles next:



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