I've played golf more that 40 years and over that time I've picked up some putting tips that have been very helpful to me and I hope you find some if not all, will also help you. Most golfers agree that improving your putting is one of the quickest and consistent ways to lower your score.

1. A good aid with aligning your putt is to put a straight line on your ball with a sharpie marker and aim that line along the path you want your ball to start. Most of the pros have been doing this for a good while and it's a big help.

2. Get comfortable with the feel of your putter. Practice often enough that using your putter feels very natural. Many golfers look like they are holding a snake when they pick up their putter but this is the club that can make the largest improvement in your score.

3. Eyes-Putter-Feet. After you pick your line, step up to the ball so your eyes are directly above the ball. Next position the putter behind the ball on the path you have chosen and last adjust your feet parallel to that line. If you make this routine for every putt, you should see good results.

4. For me and many others, it is easier to hit a smooth consistent stroke by rotating your shoulders while keeping the wrists fixed. Maintain the triangle formed by your arms and shoulders at address and make a smooth pendulum motion along the line of your putt.

There is debate on this versus the inside-outside swing but the pendulum method is more consistent for me.

5. Keep your head down until after your putter strikes the ball. When you look up too soon your shoulders also come up and your putt goes off line.

6. A good putting drill is to putt to a hole from the 12 positions of a clockface at a distance of 3 feet then 6 feet and finally 9 feet. This drill also quickly starts to improve your score card.

7. When you have a long putt, just try to lag it within that 3 foot circle around the hole.

8. Another simple but overlooked aid is to include the practice green in your warmup routine before you start your round. The practice green is usually mowed when the greens are and it will give you an indication of the course conditions.

This is a quick tip that I hope will help you if you are having trouble with your accuracy, distance and consistency. I don't mean that you need to hit the ball perfectly straight but it will make your game a lot more fun if you are consistent. Many of the pros adjust to a consistent draw or fade and are still very successful.

However, there are a lot of people who aren't able to practice much or haven't played very long and don't know where the ball will go when they hit it. Many of these golfers are trying to swing too hard and lose their balance, tempo and swing plane. We all want our shots to go as far as possible but consistency is more important to improving your game.

The pros will swing hard on a shot when the reward is worth the risk but during regular play they admit they usually tone down their power to around 80 percent. This allows them to be more predictable with their results and still get respectable distance. A great example is Ernie Els who seems to swing so easy that its hard to believe his ball flies so far.

Slowing your swing a little should help you maintain your balance and tempo while controlling the swing path of the club. This easy swing also allows you to accelerate the club through the ball with more power than quickly jerking at the ball and losing a lot of power before the club actually reaches the ball.

Once you get your swing coordinated where you feel confident with your accuracy, you can always swing harder when you feel you need to. However, I think you might find that by controlling your swing and hitting through the ball instead of at it that you get more distance with the relaxed swing.

I just saw some tips from Fred Couples and Tiger Woods on this point. Fred has suffered from back trouble for years now and states that on the tee, he will cut his power back to about 80 percent for better control but still good distance. For short irons though he may go up to 100 percent because he has much better control with these clubs.

Tiger on the other hand may be in his best physical condition ever and sees his distance as one of his key advantages. He says that on the tee he will swing at 100 percent but on the fairway will cut back to around 90 percent.

Once you get confident with your swing control, you can adjust to your strengths and weaknesses.

Another benefit for senior golfers who will swing a little slower and concentrate on hitting through the ball, is that they will put less stress on the lower back. Relaxing your swing helps you maintain your balance and control. This transfers more power to the ball and also reduces the strain to your back.

Not only should you see more control, accuracy and power, you may be able to play 18 holes instead of having to quit after 9 because of a sore back. I think all of us who love golf would enjoy improving our game and also giving ourselves the pleasure to play more.

Only very good players and pros fully understand and appreciate this concept of the swing, yet its extremely important in the development of a repeating swing. The swing plane encompasses both the backswing and the downswing. However, the angle is slightly different going back and up than when its coming down and through the ball. The backswing plane is determined by your height, arms and the distance you stand from the ball at address. Visualize a line running from the ball to the top of your shoulders. The angle of this line is the plane along which the backswing operates.

The plane for the downswing is not as steeply inclined and it projects slightly outward (inside out) through the ball. To insure that you swing up and down on this swing plane, the body, arms, and hand movement must work in unison throughout the swing.

To stay on the backswing plane, simply swing back in a one-piece action as described previously. Getting on the downswing plane is a little more difficult. This movement is more difficult to master, which is one of the reasons why many golfers suffer frustration when they attempt to move into the downswing correctly.

Actually, the golfer changes planes without thinking about it when he starts the downswing by turning his hips to the left and toward the target. This moves the body to the left and lowers the right shoulder. This movement is a potential swing-wrecker if the shoulder is allowed to rush ahead of the hips. Always remember, the right shoulder works behind and then under your chin, not around and over it.

You can check your swing plane in another way if you have a large mirror. Take a club to the top of the backswing. If your arms and hands are at a point between your shoulders and head, you are too upright. Your swing is too flat if your hands and arms are below your shoulder.

The desired position is with your hands directly to the right, or behind your right shoulder at the top of the swing, if you are a right-handed player.

The plane helps establish a "grooved swing." By swinging up and down in this slot, your swing will take on consistency that will give you confidence and free you of doubt about whether your swing will hold up under pressure. The movements of your body, arms, and hands are performed almost instinctively during the backswing and downswing.

After you have reached a point where you feel that you have mastered the mechanics of the swing, you should begin to develop a rhythm for swinging. This is generally referred to as timing. Very little is ever written on timing the swing, compared to the fundamentals of the swing, but I feel it will merit your close attention sooner or later.

Learning to time the swing is like learning to dance or play a musical instrument. You have a certain rhythm or "beat" which you must swing into-and so must you when playing golf. Some players have a fast swing tempo, others a slow one; it all depends upon their physical makeup and habit patterns.

By experimenting and trying different speeds, I have developed a set rhythm of swinging the club. I try to maintain this rhythm with every club, trying not to change the tempo of my swing when I change clubs. Naturally, I am swinging faster with certain clubs, say with the long irons and woods, because I take a fuller body turn with these clubs. Thus, the speed of the clubhead increases with the longer-shafted clubs, owing to a fuller clubhead arc, but the tempo of the swing remains the same. This is an important thing to remember at all times.