Golf Putting Tip 4

Develop an expectation of success through an entire 18 hole round.

Putting Tip 4. Sometimes you will have a hot streak with the putter for about 12 holes and begin thinking, "I'm due for a three putt." Or you may reach the seventeenth green having yet to miss a short putt only to talk yourself into missing a three footer by saying, "I can't go a full round without a miss," That reflects an expectation of failure and inconsistency that probably comes from having seen yourself fail to endure before.

The psychological challenge is to develop an expectation of success through an entire 18 hole round. Having previously seen yourself fail repeatedly, you now have to arrange a situation where you can see yourself succeed repeatedly for 18 holes. Try this practice technique: Knock in 18 straight four footers from all angles around the hole before quitting practicing. If a putt is missed anywhere in the sequence, start over. Rest assured, when it gets down to putts number 17 and 18, the pressure will feel the same as it does on the course. And when 18 in a row are finally made, you will have seen for  yourself that you can go an entire 18 holes without missing a short putt.

This same technique can be applied to practicing long putts. Simply require 18 long putts in a row without a three putt before ending the practice session.

Repeated practice using this method should change failure expectations into success expectations when it comes to enduring for 18 holes. Plenty of practice will also have been obtained with the psychological factors of pressure, frustration, and concentration, not to mention the grooving of the putting stroke that will have occurred.