Sometimes we all have a sort of aversion for the golf hole. We see it, but somehow it seems impossible to get the ball to fall. It is not a matter of hitting the ball too hard, or off line. It is one of those times when the ball just will not fall into the hole. Has this ever happened to you?

Of course it has. It happens to us all.

I guess a simple example is when a professional golfer misses put after put. His ball does U-turns round the rim of the hole or hits a part of the hole and keeps going with a bit of a swerve.

If this ever happens to you, here is a drill to get you back on track. Put a tee into the ground on the practice green and try to hit this with your ball. Don't put from more than 12 feet away, and put a deal closer than this. Vary the distance. You will no longer be thinking of "golf hole" but will find that your stroke improves and your mind goes back to the right attitude for putting. When you go back to putting into the golf hole, the hole will look huge. I mentioned not to put from further than 12 feet. This is because it is imperative for you to practice putting from the distance you expect to hole. Start at three feet and after you have sunk a few from here, go to four feet. Gradually move further back until you get to about ten or twelve feet, depending on your skill level.

These are the puts you need to be able to hole during a game.

Practise a great deal on the putting green. It is a good half or three quarters of your score. It is here that you can reduce your score more than any other part of the golf course.

So many players, and I am guilty too, go to the practice range and spend a couple of hours there. Then they make a short trip to the putting green and after about 30 minutes, pack it in.

It is a good idea to have a piece of putting carpet at home and every time you pass it, have a couple of puts. You will be pleased by the result.

If you start to miss a number of short puts, have a look at your back swing. It is probably too long. If you hit the ball from an exaggerated back swing, with the normal putter head speed you use for all puts, you will be away past the hole.

So, when you take your putter head back, you are aware of this. What do you do? You allow for the longer back swing by slowing your putter head as you get to the ball. Instead of accelerating through it, you are doing just the opposite. I know you don't mean to but it happens just the same. If you have a tendency to do this, work out how far back you should go and then put something there to stop your club at the right place. Then, if you finish with a long follow through, you will accelerate through your ball and you will be on line too.

Start placing the object say four inches behind your putter head and see what happens. Don't forget the big follow through.

By starting here, you will be able to feel the speed of the putter head as you hit those puts. Move your stop a little further back and hit some puts.

Then, using this method, hit some slightly longer puts until you move up to twelve feet. Then you can get the feel for longer puts (more than twelve feet) to get the ball next to the hole. I have always said in my articles that the length of the back swing dictates the length of the put. Performing this drill is a great way to get into your mind the speed of the putter head for all puts. It should be constant and the force with which it hits the ball is determined by the length of the back swing.

The longer the back swing, the greater will be the momentum developed by the putter head. Then, you will become a master two putter. You will probably find that shortening your back swing a great deal will allow you to hit your putt with authority and with a huge improvement in accuracy.