Copy Hale's accelerating stroke, and you'll make more putts - Hale Irwin - Brief Article

Hale Irwin is the man to beat on the senior tour, and the aspect of his game that impresses me most is his putting stroke. I recommend it as a model for all of you who have problems with a decelerating stroke.

Hale makes a smooth, rhythmic move into and through the ball. It's very much the way I putted during my best years--and the way I putt too seldom now.

Acceleration is crucial to good putting. The putterhead must be gaining speed at impact. There are all kinds of putting strokes, but the successful ones have acceleration in common.

A thought I've always used to accelerate the putter is to swing the putter back shorter than I swing it through. Most poor putters take the putter back too far and then decelerate coming into the ball. That causes all sorts of problems.

If you accelerate the putter, your contact will be more consistent, even on mis-hits.

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