Quite often I see players who suffer from unwanted body movements throughout their putting stroke. This fault leads to missed putts of all distances, often caused by the face angle of the putter being either open or closed at impact.
These unwanted body movements can have many causes, “looking up” being a common one, or not feeling sure of your alignment. However, this particular drill is effective at reducing body movements caused by players trying to “follow” their putts to the hole. I often see this on the practice green a player will have the putter follow the ball to the hole, in hopes of willing it in.
Professionals don’t do this, neither should you. Acceleration is a very important fundamental in putting. However, much like how the pros putt, this acceleration must be stopped quickly after stroking the ball, or it can lead to additional and unwanted body movements. The hit and resist feel is something that all professionals employ in their stroke. Tiger Woods is a great example, his putting stroke accelerates through the ball and once its hit, he resists the follow-through and retains his spine angle throughout the stroke. With this technique, the putter blade remains square throughout the entire stroke.
Give this drill a try, take two tees, and place them firmly into the putting surface, leaving enough room for a ball to roll through them. Place a ball between the tees, so the butt of the ball is just behind them and perform your stroke. You’ll feel yourself hit the ball, and your club stop abruptly afterwards… this is an exaggerated version of the hit and resist stroke we are looking to emulate. Focus on trying to hit both tees at the same time, as this means your stroke was also square. With practice you’ll learn how to resist the follow-though and retain your body position throughout your putting stroke. This should keep more of your putts on line towards the hole.
Give it a try!