What do the world's best putters have in common?

The good news with putting is, anyone can become a great putter! There are a few things that all the best putters have in common.

Those are: Consistent setup, practice and a positive mentality

Let's break each of those down. The first thing you need to master is your set up. This varies from player to player. Some players are more hunched over and some are upright with closed shoulders. It all about how the player and the putter affect the movement of the ball. One thing I've noticed on tour is guys using training aids or cameras to check their setup.

Once you've got your setup in place, now its time to develop a practice routine. There are a lot of myths out there that say things like "Improve your putting in only 10 minuets" I'm a firm believer in the 10,000 rule. To truly master something, you need to practice it for 10,000 hours. Now does this mean you'll never get good if you don't practice putting for 10,000 hours? Of course not. My point being is that major imporovemnt will take time. The best putters in the world stick to just a few drills. Tiger Woods for example, has been seen on TV doing his famous two tee drill. He sets two tees on the heel and toe of the putter. This helps him groove his stroke.

Finally, the mental part. I've read many books and even went through several mental programs for golf. It all comes down to yuor subconsious and your own belief. David Fehrty said on Golf Channel "The good putters aren't afraid to miss...both possibilites are equally exceptable, they might miss it or they might make it but if you make those possibilties equally exceptable you create an envrionment in which you can make the stroke you want to"

This means that the best putters aren't worried if they miss, they just give it their best effort and go onto the next putt.