How to Sink Downhill Putts

Golfers often complain that they just can't sink that downhill putt. While it may seem like you have gravity on your side, in fact downhill putts tend to cause the ball to break laterally at more dramatic angles, in shorter amounts of time. If you need to start sinking your downhill putts, follow these steps.

Instructions

1. Read the green. The first step in putting downhill is understanding how the green is moving. Try to get an understanding of the angle of decline of the green and if the green slopes in either direction laterally close to the hole. If you have a hard time discerning the slope of the green, lay your putter on the ground to get a standard of comparison.

2. Plan for more break. A downhill putt is likely to have more break than an uphill or flat putt. The reason for this is that your softer downhill strike causes the ball to have less momentum, allowing the gravity of the slope to act on the ball sooner and more dramatically. So, when you putt, add extra room for break in order to balance this effect.

3. Use the toe of the putter. Instead of using the sweet spot on your putter, strike the ball with the putter's toe. This will allow a somewhat dampened, but still controlled, putt that won't cause you to overshoot the hole. Line the putter's toe up with the ball before you putt and give a nice clean stroke to sink the ball.

4. Topple the ball in. Your lessons and practice from level and uphill putting might tempt you to aim for a foot past the hole. With downhill putting, though, you should be aiming for the lip of the hole. Try to get the ball to just topple in. Give the ball a controlled, smooth strike and not a nervous jab in order to sink your next downhill putt.