You hear it all the time: The quickest way to lower your golf score is to practice and improve your putting. Putting is a great way to learn how to play golf. Any golfer can obtain success very quickly and enjoy the great game of golf by learning how to putt better. As you watch the golfers on the PGA, Senior or the LPGA tour, you will see that golf putting is very individual process. However, three things happen during impact in every good putting stroke.

The good news is that golf ball position, weight towards the golf hole and positioning your hands ahead of the golf ball as you address the golf ball are three things can be set prior to making your putting stroke. Let's talk about this:

First, as you address the golf ball, the golf ball should be positioned equal to where the logo would be positioned on your left chest for a right handed golfer and positioned on your right chest for a left handed golfer. With this is forward golf ball position, the putter will not be descending but ascending through impact and the golf ball.

The golf ball will be placed forward of the bottom of your swing arc. Also, your arms should hang freely and hang straight down and not out. In addition, you should be able to take your address position and drop a golf ball from in-between your eyes. This ball should drop and hit the ball on the ground.

Second, simply set up with sixty to seventy percent (again it is individual) of your weight on your left foot for right handed golfers or on your right foot for left handed golfers. When you make your putting stroke, your weight will not shift. It will stay in the same place. Again, setting your weight forward will make sure that the putt will be hit while you are in balance and you do not have has many moving parts.

Now to finish your golf set up, as you look down at the golf ball, move your hands so they are just forward of the golf ball. As you make your putting stroke, your hands will return to this same position at impact and then through to your finish position. With your hands ahead of the ball at impact, the momentum of your putter is more likely to be moving forward towards the hole. In English this means your ball will be starting on the target line more often than not.

Now it is time to go to the putting green to practice. Just as a pilot would before a flight, use these three steps in a pre-shot checklist. Golf ball position, Check. Weight towards the target, Check. Hands in front of the ball, Check. Now make you better putting stroke! If you still have questions about your putting stroke or your short game, go and get a putting lesson from your local PGA Professional.