On the eve of the much anticipated Ryder Cup between America & Europe, a photo has been taken of Nick Faldo holding a piece of paper with a list of pairings.

Dismissing the importance of the list, European Team Captain Nick Faldo said at a press conference yesterday that it was a parings list at all, just a lunch list of who wanted tuna, ham or beef sandwiches.  A brilliant, and for that I love the man!

Quite obviously the list is the European pairings, and as such we will see Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia be first out, followed Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson.

The next line shows the initials of Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Paul Casey, then on the next line Oliver Wilson, Soren Hansen and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Henrik Stenson’s name was missing.

My guess is that Faldo has grouped Rose, Poulter, Casey and McDowell and has yet to decide the final pairings.  Similarly, a choice is to be made between Wilson, Hansen, Jimenez and Stenson.

On further questioning Faldo almost conceded to it being an important list by saying:

“I haven’t put numbers next to them yet, have I? We don’t know what order they will go out, so some are safe.”

As European Team Captain Nick Faldo has continued to rub some people up the wrong way, as he did as a player.  But I like Faldo’s attitude, and so will many others across Europe when the European Team come home with the Ryder Cup once again.

Once you are confident your putting technique includes a good follow through then you may need to concentrate more on your accuracy.  This is an excellent tip to cure putting accuracy caused by too much backswing.

Improve Your Putting

I have read, for an accurate putt you need to swing your putter one-third in the backswing and two-thirds forward.  This will give your stroke a smooth, positive swing motion.  But to make sure you are not pulling the puuter too far back, or losing the line, place a 5p coin on the back of the putter blade.  Unfortunately this putting exercise doesn’t work as well with two-ball putters.

To gauge the right distance and smoothness when pulling the putter back, the 5p coin should remain on the back of the putter, and only slip off as the the putter connects with the ball or in the follow through.

Try it, it’s not as simple as it sounds.  Furthermore, I saw a real improvement in my putting when I was able to manage the length and steadiness of  my backswing and follow-thorugh.

Another exercise that has helped me with my putting is to concentrate on following through with your stroke.  Like many beginners / high handicappers I found it difficult to commit to a putting stroke; and the consequence is that I was not stroking the ball firmly or accurately enough.  The result of this lack of confidence is leaving the putt short of the hole.

Improve Your Putting

To improve your putting, try pushing the ball with the putter with no backswing.  Line your putter up against the back of the ball and simply push the ball forward to the hole.  This exercise taught me to follow through, resulting in a more confident, positive swing motion.

Despite recently suffering with tonsillitis, Lee Westwood will still be available to represent Europe in this month’s Ryder Cup according to his agent Chubby Chandler. The English golfer missed last week’s European Open and will also miss the Mercedes-Benz Championship that starts in Germany on Thursday.

However, Chubby Chandler is insisting that Lee Westwood is ‘slowly recovering’ from the illness and that there is ‘no concern’ as to whether he will be fit enough to take part in the Ryder Cup. One thing that was admitted by Chandler though and something that will concern all European Golf fans, is that Lee Westwood is by no means 100% fit.

Going into the Ryder Cup without much recent playing time behind you is a big risk and it could affect the way Lee Westwood performs for Nick Faldo’s team. It is even more frustrating when you consider the form he was in before being struck down with the illness. Arguably in the best shape of his life, Lee Westwood finished 3rd in the US Open, climbing to number 12 in the world. I just hope that he can recapture this form when called upon by Team Europe. I’d be a lot happier placing my golf betting money on a European win if Lee Westwood is firing on all cylinders – that’s for sure.

Something that cannot be doubted is Lee Westwood’s record in the Ryder Cup. The 35-year-old has secured 15 ½ points for his team during his five appearances and has been Europe’s leading scorer – along with Spain’s Sergio Garcia – in the last two Ryder Cups. These type of statistics show why it is so important that Lee Westwood is available come next Friday.

Looking at Team Europe, he is one of the more experienced members of the side and his presence would be greatly missed. Along with Lee Westwood, the likes of Padgraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez bring with them a lot of Ryder Cup experience and the loss of any of them would certainly affect Europe’s chances of making it four wins in a row.

Like Lee Westwood’s agent though, we must remain positive. If he says that Lee Westwood is going to be fit, why shouldn’t we believe him? Keeping my optimistic hat on, I would say that Lee Westwood will simply be refreshed and raring to go as he looks to close the gap on Nick Faldo’s Ryder Cup record of 25 points.

Once you start playing golf it doesn’t take you too long to realise your putting is the most important part of your game. I’m sure most high handicappers have a similar problem as myself.  I can now confidently hit a ball some distance, and more often then not, hit the fairways.  But getting onto the greens in two or three strokes is pointless if it then takes you three strokes to get the ball in the hole.

So I am going to share with you some of the tips I have been given over the past few months or so; and it would be great if you had other tips to share with me.

It’s an old cliche in golf, but its true to say - putting is a game within a game!

Improve Your Putting

This tip might sound odd, but believe me it works. It will help you gauge the power of your stroke and also gain confidence in your ability to judge how hard to hit the ball.

I read that when Tiger Woods was very young, his father used to tell him to pick the ball up and roll it towards the hole.  If you are throwing a ball to someone else to catch you don’t fill your head with complicated sums trying to workout the distance, you simply look at your target and gauge the amount of power you need to apply to send the ball to the recipient.

By rolling the ball to the hole you are using those same instincts.  Try it, if it works then attempt to hit the ball with equal power using your putter.

Trust me, it works; and by doing this exercise you will gain confidence in your own ability to judge the distance and power required to send the ball to the hole without worrying too much about techniques.