Here’s some great advice from the the greatest player to have ever played the game. Remember this the next time you are practicing hard to simulate the “perfect” golf swing. The best thing we can do to reach our potential in golf is to trust our instincts, work on the fundamentals and learn to play with visualization and feel.

Watch the top players in the world and they have the same pre-shot routine for every putt. The idea is that no putt should be any different from another. Getting into this habit and following a routine will help you in pressure situations, when you are more likely to focus on the value of the putt and lose focus on what will help you make it. For me, putting is an almost pure mental game. If you can learn to use your mind correctly for each putt you can hone these skills and become a very successful putter.

Here are a few tips to give you the foundation to become a very good putter.

1) Get the fundamentals right and use your routine to ensure these are correct everytime. The most important things to think about here are having a light grip pressure and a consistent ball position.

2) Be very decisive about the read. When you are over the ball, second guessing yourself will result in a poorly executed putt. Go with your first instinct and stick with it.

3) See the ball go in the hole in your mind. I find it best to do this during my practice strokes which helps me feel the speed. Make the number of practice strokes exactly the same before EVERY shot.

4) Focus on the steps of your routine and hit the ball solidly and you will have hit a good putt. Measuring the quality of your putting by this instead of the outcome will increase your confidence and make you a better putter long-term.

The key is to keep it simple and forget about working on the technique of your stroke. The best thing you can do is stick to your routine and commit to a clearly visualized line to the hole.

Denis Pugh, coach to European Tour players such as Francesco Molinari and Colin Montgomerie demonstrates the importance of a solid putting routine.

Hi Everyone,

With winter now upon us, which for most means cold weather and less time on the golf course, I would like to offer you a structured program for improving your golf game, which can start without the need for a golf club. To begin with, you can download my FREE mental game fundamentals eBook, which is a valuable resource to begin your mental game learning and take you closer to lower scores. Please visit http://www.golfstateofmind.com to receive it.

For the next two weeks I will be offering a 25% discount on the Golf State of Mind Mental Game Audio Teaching mp3 (normal price $12.99).

The Golf State of Mind is a teaching program designed to show golfers the simplest and most effective way to discover their true potential. Through learning powerful techniques to visualize, feel and trust your ability, good golf will become an automated sub-conscious process.

It is so important to practice and play with the correct mental attitude and learn techniques to use your mind in the most optimal way, which will ultimately lead to lower scores on the golf course. The GSOM audio teaching will show you how to synchronize your body and mind, so you can automatically focus on the shots you want to hit, instead of continuously working on and thinking about technique.

If you would like to hear audio excerpts of the teaching, please visit http://www.golfstateofmind.com/listen/

To get your 25% discount on the Golf State of Mind mp3, go to http://www.golfstateofmind.com/product/ and add the mp3 to your shopping cart. Once you have done this, you will be able to enter the discount code: lowerscores2010 and you will get 25% off the normal price of $12.99. Although payments go through paypal, you do not need a paypal account to pay by credit card.

Thanks for your time. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a LOW scoring New Year!!!

Best,

David MacKenzie