Best Tiger Woods Putting Tips

Master Your Putting Game: 5 Proven Tiger Woods Putting Techniques That Transformed His Career

Tiger Woods didn't become golf's greatest putter by accident. His meticulous approach to putting mechanics, combined with decades of deliberate practice, created a putting system that has withstood the test of time.

These five fundamental techniques, refined through Tiger's 15 major championships and 82 PGA Tour victories, can dramatically improve your putting performance and lower your scores.

Why Tiger Woods' Putting Approach Works

Tiger's putting success stems from his commitment to fundamentals and repeatability.

His putting statistics speak volumes: during his prime years (1999-2008), he ranked in the top 10 in putting average seven times and led the tour in putting average twice.

Scientific analysis using SAM PuttLab data has revealed the precise mechanics behind Tiger's putting stroke during his peak years.

What sets Tiger apart isn't just talent—it's his systematic approach to every aspect of the putting stroke.

1. Perfect Your Putting Stance: The Foundation of Consistent Putts

Your putting stance is the cornerstone of every successful putt. Tiger Woods has consistently emphasized that without proper posture and alignment, even the best stroke mechanics will fail under pressure.

The Tiger Woods Stance Setup

Feet Position: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. This provides stability while allowing natural body movement during the stroke.

Tiger positions his feet parallel to the target line, ensuring his body alignment supports the intended putt direction.

Eye Position Over the Ball: Drop a ball from between your eyes to test proper head position. The ball should land directly on or slightly behind your golf ball.

This eye position gives you the clearest view of the putting line and helps eliminate perspective distortion that can cause misaligned putts.

Shoulder Alignment: Your shoulders must be parallel to your target line.

Tiger checks this by laying a club across his shoulders during practice—the club should point directly at his intended target. Misaligned shoulders are the #1 cause of pushes and pulls in putting.

Weight Distribution: Place 60% of your weight on your front foot. This forward press helps ensure a descending blow and promotes consistent ball-first contact, crucial for maintaining speed control on varying green conditions.

The proper stance allows you to use your larger muscle groups rather than relying on hand and wrist manipulation, which Tiger credits as essential for pressure putting situations.

2. Master the Back Leg Technique: Generate Power and Control

Tiger's distinctive back leg positioning creates stability and power transfer that separates professional putting from amateur attempts. This technique requires specific practice but yields immediate results.

The Back Leg Close Position

Keep your back leg positioned close to your body throughout the entire putting stroke. This technique serves multiple purposes:

Power Generation: The close leg position allows for better weight transfer and creates a stable base for generating consistent power, especially on longer putts where distance control becomes critical.

Directional Control: By maintaining this position, you prevent lower body sway that can throw off your putter path and face angle at impact.

Practice Drill for Back Leg Control

1. Set up to a practice putt with your normal stance
2. Place a golf club or alignment stick along your back leg
3. Make practice strokes ensuring the club stays in contact with your leg
4. Focus on maintaining this connection through your entire stroke

Tiger uses this technique to create what he calls a "Y-shaped motion" between his forearms and putter shaft.

This positioning helps generate slight forward press and top spin on putts, making them hold their line better and roll more consistently.

Pro Tip: Use a light, consistent grip pressure (3-4 on a scale of 10) when implementing this technique.

Tiger emphasizes that grip tension must remain constant to feel the putter head weight properly, especially on fast greens where touch becomes paramount.

3. Execute the Low and Wide Takeaway: Build Consistency

Tiger's putting stroke is renowned for its consistency, and the low, wide takeaway is a fundamental component that creates repeatability under pressure.

The Mechanics of Low and Wide

Chest-Led Movement: Initiate the takeaway with your chest and core muscles, not your arms.

This larger muscle group approach creates more consistent timing and reduces the small muscle variations that cause inconsistent contact.

Low Club Head Path: Keep the putter head as close to the ground as possible during the first 12 inches of your backswing. This promotes a stable arc and prevents the steep, jabbing motion that creates inconsistent roll.

Wide Arc Creation: Think of creating a wide arc rather than a narrow, wristy motion. Tiger visualizes pushing a beach ball underwater—the resistance helps him feel the proper wide, controlled movement.

Tiger's Two-Tee Drill

Tiger practices this technique using two tees placed about 12 inches apart, one yard from the hole:

1. Set up tees to create a "gate"
2. Practice stroking putts through this gate
3. Focus on keeping the putter head low and wide
4. Gradually narrow the gate as consistency improves

This drill helps groove the proper takeaway while building confidence in your stroke path. Tiger credits this simple practice routine with helping him center his strikes consistently.

Distance Control Benefits: The low, wide takeaway naturally creates better distance control because the putter moves in a more consistent arc, making it easier to gauge how far back to take the club for different length putts.

4. Maintain Proper Spine Angle: The Key to Consistent Contact

Spine angle maintenance is perhaps Tiger's most technical putting fundamental, yet it's crucial for developing a repeatable stroke that performs under pressure.

Understanding Spine Angle in Putting

The Pendulum Principle: Tiger visualizes his putting stroke as a pendulum with his shoulders as the fulcrum.

Maintaining consistent spine angle ensures the "pendulum" swings in the same plane every time, creating predictable results.

Setup Position: At address, tilt forward from your hips (not your waist) to create the proper spine angle. Your back should maintain its natural curve, not be artificially rounded or overly straight.

Angle Consistency: Throughout the entire stroke, your spine angle should remain constant. Any lifting or dipping changes the putter's attack angle and can cause thin or fat contact.

The Golf Ball Distance Check

Tiger uses this simple method to ensure proper spine angle setup:

1. Assume your putting stance without a putter
2. Let your arms hang naturally
3. Your hands should naturally fall where you would grip the putter
4. If you have to reach up or down significantly, adjust your spine angle accordingly

Practice Drill: The Wall Exercise

Stand against a wall with your shoulders and head touching the surface:

1. Assume your putting stance while maintaining contact with the wall
2. Make practice strokes keeping your shoulders against the wall
3. This groove the feeling of maintaining spine angle throughout the stroke

Mental Strategy: Tiger uses the concept of "covering the golf ball" throughout his stroke.

This mental image helps him maintain proper posture and keeps his chest position stable, preventing the common fault of standing up during the stroke.

5. Develop Laser Focus: Where and How to Look at the Ball

Tiger's ability to maintain focus under pressure is legendary, and his eye position strategy is a crucial component of his putting success.

The Quiet Eye Technique

Tiger employs what sports vision experts call "Quiet Eye"—maintaining visual focus on a specific point for an extended period before and during the stroke.

Specific Focus Point: Rather than looking at the entire ball, Tiger focuses on a specific dimple on the back of the ball (where the putter will make contact).

This precise focus point eliminates visual distraction and improves concentration.

Timing the Look: Tiger maintains his focus on this specific dimple for at least 2-3 seconds before beginning his stroke, then continues focusing on this spot until the ball is well on its way to the hole.

The Follow-Through Focus Method

For longer putts (15+ feet), Tiger uses a different approach:

1. Focus on the back dimple during address and stroke
2. Allow his eyes to follow the ball naturally for the first few feet
3. Resist the urge to peek at the hole until the ball is halfway there

This technique helps maintain body stability and prevents the common fault of head movement that can pull putts offline.

Practice Drills for Visual Focus

Eyes Closed Distance Control:

• Set up to various length putts
• Close your eyes during the stroke
• Focus entirely on feel and tempo
• This drill improves distance control by removing visual distractions

Dimple Focus Drill:

• Mark a specific dimple with a Sharpie
• Practice focusing only on that dimple during your stroke
• Gradually extend the time you maintain focus
• Build up to maintaining focus for 3+ seconds

The Gate Drill for Centering: Tiger's signature centering drill involves creating a "gate" with two tees:

1. Push two tees into the green just wide enough for your ball to pass through
2. Position the gate 12 inches from your ball
3. Practice stroking balls through the gate while maintaining dimple focus
4. This combines visual focus with stroke path accuracy

Advanced Visual Techniques

Peripheral Vision Control: While maintaining focus on your target dimple, be aware of the hole in your peripheral vision. This helps with subconscious distance judgment while keeping primary focus where it belongs.

Pre-Shot Visual Routine: Tiger follows the same visual routine before every putt:

1. Read the green from behind the ball
2. Take practice strokes while looking at the hole
3. Set up to the ball and find his target dimple
4. Make the stroke while maintaining dimple focus

Implementation Strategy: Making These Techniques Your Own

Week 1-2: Foundation Building

Focus entirely on stance and setup. Spend 15 minutes daily on proper alignment and posture without worrying about stroke mechanics. Use the mirror to check your positions.

Week 3-4: Adding Movement

Incorporate the back leg close technique and low, wide takeaway. Start with short putts (3-6 feet) to groove the motion before attempting longer distances.

Week 5-6: Visual Integration

Add the focus techniques while maintaining the physical fundamentals you've developed. This is when most golfers see significant improvement in consistency.

Week 7+: Pressure Application

Practice these techniques in various conditions and during actual rounds. Tiger emphasizes that fundamentals must work under pressure to be truly valuable.

The Mental Game Component

Tiger's putting success isn't just physical—it's mental. He approaches each putt with absolute conviction in his technique and complete focus on the process rather than the outcome.

Confidence Through Preparation: Tiger's extensive practice of these fundamentals gives him unshakeable confidence when facing crucial putts. He knows his technique will hold up because he's grooved it through thousands of repetitions.

Process Over Outcome: Rather than focusing on making the putt, Tiger focuses on executing perfect technique. This mental approach reduces pressure and allows his fundamentals to shine through.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Trying to Fix Everything at Once: Tiger developed his putting over decades. Focus on one fundamental at a time and master it before moving to the next.

Neglecting Short Putts: Tiger spends as much time on 3-foot putts as 20-footers because short putt confidence affects your entire approach to putting.

Inconsistent Practice: Sporadic practice of fundamentals won't create lasting improvement. Tiger advocates for shorter, more frequent practice sessions over marathon putting sessions.

Conclusion: Your Path to Better Putting

Tiger Woods' putting techniques have stood the test of time because they're based on sound fundamentals that work under any conditions.

By focusing on proper stance, back leg control, low wide takeaway, spine angle maintenance, and visual focus, you're building the same foundation that helped Tiger become one of golf's greatest putters.

Remember, improvement in putting comes from consistent application of correct fundamentals, not from searching for quick fixes or magic techniques.

Start with these five fundamentals, practice them systematically, and trust the process that has proven successful at the highest level of professional golf.

The journey to better putting begins with a single practice session. Take these Tiger Woods techniques to the putting green today, and start building the foundation for lower scores and more confidence on the greens.

Your proper grip technique combined with these putting fundamentals will transform your short game and overall golf performance.