I'm a former top 50 golfer and these are my top putting tips for beginners

If you're new to the game of golf, then you need to keep things simple and practice as much as you can before you head out to the golf course. So here are some useful tips on how to take the stress out of putting. 

Starting line

The starting line of a putt is super important if you’re new to golf. When you’re a beginner on the practice green and you’re looking at a 10-foot putt, seeing the line, the break, and visualising the ball going in the hole is very tough.

But the reality is, if you read it and pick out a spot about six inches in front of the ball, then you’re chances of holing it would increase. It’s all about making the process as simple as possible, and that is crucial for a beginner in all aspects of the game.

If you asked a rookie to hole a 10-foot putt straight off the bat, they probably wouldn’t like their chances. But if you ask them to roll the ball over a spot six inches away, then they’d really fancy it a lot better.

What to do on the practice green

To get the ball on the right line to the hole, it needs to go over that six-inch target first, so that’s a great place to start. Let’s make the job simpler on the practice green, and the same goes for putts of all distances – from a three-footer to a 30-footer.

So, when you’re on the practice green standing behind your ball, look at how it’s likely to break and draw an imaginary line back from the hole to the ball. That’s when you pick out a target a few inches in front of the ball.

It could be a blade of grass, a small blemish on the green or a piece of grass that might be a slightly different colour, and it doesn’t have to be the same distance each time. You just need an initial target to get your ball rolling on the line you want.

Then, all you have to focus on is rolling your ball over that target a few inches in front of you. It’s a really good simplification drill for what is actually a difficult challenge for a beginner, and it gets even simpler the more you practice it.

A simple putting drill for beginners

Another good drill for beginners is the north, south, east and west, which is a nice confidence-builder before you head out to the golf course. Just put four tees around a hole on the practice green, and a good distance to start is by laying down your putter and using that as a guide.

Holing out is something that all golfers can be fearful of, so if you can get in the habit of knocking in several three-footers from four different angles, it’ll be a huge help in the long run.

The best thing about the north, south, east and west drill is that you can actually put a bit of pressure on yourself. You can tell yourself that you’re not going to leave the practice green until you’ve holed all four putts in the same cycle.

Of course, that should be easy for an experienced golfer, but then you can say you’re not done until you’ve holed all four putts four or five times in a row. But for a beginner, it’s again a case of keeping it simple.

So you have your tees at north, south, east and west of the hole, three to four feet away, and your challenge is to go one time around and hole all four in a row. Once you’ve achieved that, then holing out when you’re on the course won’t seem as intimidating.

It’s a great drill for the mindset. Too often I’ve seen new players accepting too many conceded putts from generous playing partners, but that doesn’t help when you need to start knocking in those close-range putts in a competition.

And if you get nervous over those and make a few mistakes, then that loss of confidence can leak into the rest of your game. So let’s keep it simple, build that confidence, and make putting less of a burden.

Nick Dougherty was speaking to Keith Jackson.

Get more hints and tips from Nick Dougherty by watching Tee Time Tips on Sky Sports Golf.