Perfect your putting this winter

Top 50 Coach James Jankowski explains how to boost your flat-stick prowess this off-season

- James Jankowski

Even when it's cold and wet outside, you can still practise and improve your putting. There are lots of drills you can do at home to keep your set-up and stroke in check. It's even possible to start the new season a better putter than you ended last year. No matter how much space or time you have, you will be able to do everything in this feature at home, and all of the drills can be transferred outdoors when the weather and putting surfaces improve.

Create a station for your perfect set-up

1 Master the fundamentals 

It's easy to slip into bad habits when you're playing a lot, but creating a station at home that enables you to quickly and easily get into your ideal address position will help erase any errors and groove good habits. Your station will be personal to your set-up position, but there are elements that should always be included.

Use a mirror so you can check your eye position and head tilt. I like to have my eyes directly over the line of the ball-to target line and my left eye directly over the ball - this is the head position where I see a straight line to the hole.

There's a stick parallel to the target line and the distance away from the ball where you want to put your feet, so your eyes are directly over the ball.

Include a second stick for the ball position, which should point at the centre of your feet at address. Your weight distribution should be 50/50 in each foot and in the balls of your feet.

You can see if your shoulders are square in the mirror, too. Also close your right eye to check the shaft matches the stick between your feet. Leave the station set up somewhere and hit half a dozen putts a few times a day. Once you're used to it, try and get into your set-up without checking in the mirror.

Start the ball on line