Stop pushing your putts

1If your eyes are too much outside the target line at address (right), this can cause a ‘shove’. Your arc becomes compromised – it encourages the putter to go out-to-in-to-out too much. Ideally, your eyes should be over the ball. To check where your eyes are looking, just dangle your putter from the bridge of your nose.

2It’s possible that you may be addressing the ball more towards the toe end of the putter. You want to address the ball to the centre of the face, not the part that is visible from above – which some golfers end up doing without really knowing. To help, it’s a good idea to put a line on the ball and match that up with the alignment line in the middle of the putter face. 3

If you set up with the ball too far back, it’ll cause you to aim right with the shoulders. I have a touch more weight on the lead side, which prevents me from adding dynamic loft and helps keep the putter lower for longer through the ball – so it will roll rather than bounce off the face. Your hands should be in line with, or slightly ahead of, the ball, which will stop you from scooping or flicking it.