How Can I Stop Pulling and Pushing My Putts?

A lot of golfers think their putting issue is face control, touch, or nerves... sometimes it is. But very often, the real problem is that the putter isn’t moving on a reliable path that returns the putter face squarely at impact.

For one golfer, that tendency might be pulling the putter too far inside and then leaving it out to the right through impact, which leads to pushed putts. For someone else, the pattern might go the other direction and produce pulls. Either way, the common thread is the same. When the stroke gets exaggerated or manipulated, it gets very difficult to start the ball online.

If the putter isn’t returning the same way each time, you’re forced to manage the face through impact using your hands. This may work OK when there is no pressure, but when you really need to make a putt, you want to be relying on your larger muscles that are more stable. Engaging your arms and shoulders will take the jitters out of your stroke.

Letting the putter and upper body rotate around the spine is the simplest way to create a consistent putter path. Rotating around your spine will naturally bring the putter slightly inside-to-inside, just like your full swing.  This is where the concept of a slightly arcing stroke originates. The goal isn’t to force the putter into some artificial motion. It’s to train a stroke that naturally works with your body.  When the path becomes more predictable, getting the putter face square at impact gets a whole lot simpler.

This why feedback matters so much when you practice. If your tendency is to push putts, you need to feel what’s causing the push. If your tendency is to pull them, you need to feel that too. Once you can identify the pattern, the fix becomes obvious. You’re no longer guessing - You’re training!

The same goes for setup. A repeatable stroke gets much easier when you start from the same position every time. If your eyes, ball position, or face alignment vary from putt to putt, the body has to make little adjustments, just to get back to square.

Better putting doesn’t come from adding more thoughts. It comes from removing variables and making the correct motion easier to repeat. When setup is consistent and the path is more stable, both pushes and pulls start to clean up fast.  Let’s make some putts!