Phil Mickelson was one of the greatest putters in the history of the game during his prime years.
Mickelson has holed some huge putts at crucial moments throughout his career, perhaps none more so than when he holed out for birdie from around 15 feet on the 18th hole at Augusta National to win The Masters in 2004.
When the 55-year-old was at his best, he had an incredible knack of holing long putts for birdies, eagles and indeed, pars.
So it goes without saying that any golf tips he has to offer should be listened to intently by amateur golfers who are looking to improve on the greens.
What should be the punishment for LIV golfers who want to return to the PGA Tour?
Mickelson has provided plenty of golf tips and advice for amateurs throughout the years.
And the two tips from the six-time major champion that we are focusing on today should help every single amateur golfer not only simplify their putting, but improve their stroke as well.
Phil Mickelson’s two fundamental tips to help amateur golfers improve their putting
The good news here is that there isn’t too much that you actually need to change about your putting stroke technically.
Just a couple of small adjustments are required in order to start holing putts on a more consistent basis.
When speaking to Golf.com, Mickelson shared two key fundamentals behind better putting which were passed down to him by the best putters in the history of the game.
Tip one centered around holding your hands high at address.
He said: “When they break their wrists, the face stays square, it’s just de-lofted. But it’s still aiming at the target. When they drop their hands, the face rotates more and they have to time it.”
While tip two was more related to the takeaway.
Mickelson explained: “They all started the putter back with the heel. They never wanted the toe to open because they felt like they could never get it back to square. If they started it back with the heel, they could cover the ball and extend to the target.“
So according to Phil Mickelson, the two key things that amateur golfers need to do in order to putt more consistently is to hold their hands higher at address and to initiate the takeaway with the heel of the putter, rather than the toe.
Amateur golfers putting stats vs the best on the PGA Tour
Improving your putting is the best and quickest way to help you lower your handicap.
Just take a look at these statistics comparing average handicappers with scratch golfers and the best putter on the PGA Tour:
| Putting Stats | Putts Per Round | One Putt % | 3 Putt % | 0-3ft Make % | 3-6ft Make % | 6-9ft Make % | Holes Per 3 putt |
| Best putter on the PGA Tour | 27.7 | 46% | 0.97% | 100% | 92% | 70% | 102.6 |
| Scratch | 29.3 | 37% | 3% | 98% | 76% | 49% | 39.2 |
| Average | 31.8 | 30% | 10% | 94% | 59% | 45% | 10.4 |
If you are an amateur golfer looking to improve your handicap, follow Phil Mickelson’s simple two-step guide to success.
If you can limit the three-putts and hole more from five feet and in, your scores will tumble.
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