As I have wrote in a previous column, the most important fundamental while learning golf and improving your game is your grip. What happens at the bottom end of your club is solely determined on what happens on the top end of your club.

The most important club in your bag is the putter. The putter is the only instrument in your bag that can make or break a round of golf, or keep you playing or quitting the game. 

How can a 34-inch, flat stick have such a powerful effect on one’s game?  Simple. There is no recovery when you miss a 4-footer or three putt from 12 feet.

You can hit a drive in the trees or rough and recover. You can miss an iron into a greenside bunker or high grass and recover. You can’t recover from 4 feet.

If you have 45 minutes to practice, work on full swing for 15 minutes and putting for 30 minutes.

So much is based on feel and watching the ball dive into the cup. Take the time to practice putting and learn from yourself.

The trick to good putting is to think you are going to make the putt. 

Forget about everything except making the clubhead do what you feel. It has everything to do with getting the ball into the cup or close to the cup.

Don’t talk yourself out of making the putt as so many golfers do. That will cause doubt and that opens the door to fear that you will miss the putt. 

To each his own in putting. Acquire good fundamentals from your professional. Use the method or stroke that gives you the most confidence and best results.