Putting Putting into Perspective
Some essential tips

Your bag of clubs lets you know that putting is a special part of golf. You have several clubs for every task except putting. Everyone has that one favorite putter, and it serves them equally on a fast green with a 3" putt, and on a slow, dewy green 55' from the pin.

Some golfers like the smaller greens, preferring not to make longer putt attempts. But many golfers really enjoy the larger, longer greens. These golfers like to push their putting skills to the limit. Besides, few things will make you feel the exhilaration that sinking a 75' putt will cause.

One reason duffers fail in putting is simply because they are unrealistic. They think that putts that are between 4 and 6 feet long are "easy." They expect to sink all those putts. Even the top pros miss these putts on occasion, so certainly the average weekend golfer shouldn't be ashamed or otherwise bothered if he misses a five footer. Don't let missing what you 'think' is an easy putt throw the rest of your day's game off. And remember that your percentage of made putts will increase commensurate with your practice time.

Putting practice is, arguably, the most important golf practice. It really is important to practice your putting skills and mindsets. If you've not practiced putting before, start with short putts of 3-8 feet in length. Starting out practicing straight, level putts also teaches you the basics of putting faster than practicing tougher, longer putts. When you're practicing your putting, there are two things going on: 1) you're getting a feel for the putter itself and 2) you're getting a feel for how hard to hit the ball under varying circumstances and at varying distances. If you don't have to concentrate on a difficult angle or lie, you can focus on those two things. Of course, in the more advanced stages of putting practice, you'll want to practice the harder, longer shots – but by then you'll have a good feel for your putter and power.

An excellent practice routine is to get a dozen golf balls and line them up about four feet from the hole. Now, simply try putting them in. You will more than likely miss several on your initial attempts, but continue your putting practice until you can putt every ball in the hole every single time. Now move to five feet out, and do it again. This is a great confidence builder because you can see yourself improving quickly.

Every time you sink a putt, no matter how easy or hard, you get more confident. Confidence is critical in golf. Golf is concentration-intensive, and if you are distracted by a fear of missing, you can't focus, so you'll miss more often – probably lots more often!

Another great thing about putting practice is that you can do it almost anywhere – including at home and in the office. To this end, you can buy any number of handy devices and tools and gadgets to help you hone your skills and build your confidence in this very important element of our demanding game of skill.

For a complete listing of Tucson Arizona golf courses, including course information, championship rating and slope click here

For a complete listing of golf courses in the area surrounding Tucson Arizona, including course information, championship rating and slope click here

Golf Sites and Forums that offer more information:

http://forums.golfreview.com/
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/golf/
http://boards.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=1398&p=16
http://www.iznadgolf.com/golfforum.html
http://www.lowprogolf.com/cfbb/
http://www.oilcontrol.it/dg/dgindexe.shtml
http://www.network54.com/Forum/403301
http://www.torontogolfnuts.com/
http://golf.about.com/mpboards.htm
http://forum.ottawagolf.com