Are you ready to learn my best putting tips for new golfers?
Lower your golf score at least 5 strokes per round of golf by improving only your putting! Yes, it’s true. Your putting can really make that big of difference in your golf score.
Reduce 3 putts and 4 putts and instead start taking only 1 or 2 putts maximum on each green. You should strive for 36 putts or less for 18 holes of golf. If you are taking 40-50 putts for 18 holes, you have a putting problem!
Let’s start with these 5 simple putting tips for beginners and new golfers to help you improve your short game and start reducing your score by eliminated wasted strokes on the green.
Resource: Golf Practice System (Practice Plans + Videos + Worksheets)
5 Tips for Beginner Golfers to Follow
Tip #1: Perfect Your Aim
The very first putting tip for a beginner is to focus on perfecting your aim and aligning correcting to your target line.
Start with flat putts with no break in them since these are easiest to check your alignment. The ball should roll straight to the hole giving you an easy way to judge if your putt started on line or not.
To begin, have a golf ball with an alignment line drawn on it with red sharpie. If not, use the words on the side of the ball to position the line straight at the hole.
Now set your putter behind the golf ball and center the ball so it’s in the middle of the putter face, not closer to the heel or toe of the putter.
Once you think you have the perfect alignment straight at the hole, step back and look at where your putter is pointing.
To do so you’ll need to keep your putter head planted on the ground where it is and move out from your putting stance while keeping one hand on the putter grip to hold it still as you move behind it to take a look.
To do this drill indoors, find a wall in your house and mark a small 4 inch wide section to pretend is the cup to aim at.
Then align your putter at your target and step back to check it’s aim. Use a laser pointer and point where your putter is facing to test your aim.
Tip #2: Perfect Your Speed Control
Once you’ve worked on putting tip #1 above and perfected aligning your putter so it’s aimed properly at your target line, next work on distance control.
Spend hours hitting putts from various distances between 20 feet away and 65 feet away.
Mark off 5 foot increments on the green with tees so you can keep track of how far away you are from the hole and gain visual perception skills of understanding approximate distances.
You can also measure a putt’s distance by stepping it off with one stride equaling about 3 feet or use your putter which is almost 3 feet in length by laying it down multiple times to measure the putt.
Hit 20 putts to gain feel at a certain distance on the putting green then move to the next location until you’ve gain lots of experience and distance control from all over the green.
Resource: Golf Practice System (Practice Plans + Videos + Worksheets)
Tip #3: Check Your Posture & Stance
If you’re having trouble seeing putts you may have a stance or posture problem when setting up to hit putts on the green.
Your eyes should be over the golf ball so that if you drew a line from your eyes down to the ball they would connect.
If you’re hunched over too far your eyes may be outside your putting line and if you’re too upright in your stance your eyes may be inside the putting line.
Work on your posture and stance until your eyes are on top off your putting line and this will help you see putts better and make better putting strokes!
Tip #4: Give Yourself Break, Don’t Short Side Putts
It’s easy as a beginner to leave putts on the short side where it breaks too much and the ball never had a chance. One putting tip that has helped me make more putts is after I think I’ve chosen my proper putting line to play a breaking putt, I’ll slightly adjust the putter to give myself just a little more break.
I’d rather just miss the putt on the high side from making this minor adjustment or better yet sink the putt and be proven correct than keep my current line and watch it come up on the short side wishing I had given it just a little more break.
Tip #5: Analyze Your Golf Rounds and Make Adjustments
While most of these tips for putting have thus far been on the practice green to help you prepare for a round of golf, you should also analyze actual performance out on the course to learn what your tendencies are when the pressure is on.
If you find yourself leaving putts short, long, left, right, etc. take this data feedback and determine a practice routine you can go through to fix these problems.
Resource: Golf Practice System (Practice Plans + Videos + Worksheets)
Bonus Tip: Practice Your Putting A Lot
To become good at putting in golf you have to put in many hours of practice! I would spend at least 2 hours a day practicing putting when I was at the golf course.
Start with a half hour before your round of golf and then complete another 60-90 minutes of putting practice after your round of golf.
Who cares if your buddies all leave and go home after playing 18, stay and work on your game while you’re already at the course. Or come back tomorrow and just practice, no play.
Thanks for reading today’s 5 putting tips for beginner golfers and our bonus tip! If you enjoyed, please subscribe to the email newsletter for more free golf tips.
Or check out these golf practice plans with proven drills and routines to follow to give you structure of what to do on which days to improve your putting, short game, and golf swing: