I had the pleasure of watching Tiger Woods play his second round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational on Friday where he fired a course record 61. His nine under par total tied the course record (with himself!) and obliterated the field, giving him a commanding seven-shot lead going into the weekend.

Of course Tiger’s ball striking was a contributing factor but overall it was his putting that led to his amazing score. He had seven birdies and an eagle on the card but also saved a number of pars with putts of over 10 feet.

If Tiger can keep that putting form up for the weekend, he will only extend his winning margin and if he continues into next week’s PGA Championship, he will surely break his five-year Major drought.

How does Tiger putt so well? The answer is sound fundamentals and concentration. Let’s look at some simple aspects of his putting stroke which can help you with your game.

* The set up: Almost 90 per cent of what happens during the stroke can be improved by just focusing on the address position. Your feet, hips and shoulders must be aligned parallel to your chosen line. This will give you the best chance to swing freely and start the ball in your chosen target line.

Your eye line should be right over the ball. To test this, take a ball and from your putting set up, place it on the bridge of your nose. If you let this ball drop it should land directly on the ball you are to putt. Try this simple drill to ensure your body position is correct. The ball should be just ahead of the centre of your stance, your weight should be slightly favouring your leading foot and your grip pressure should be relaxed to keep tension from creeping into you stroke.

* The swinging motion: From this solid address position we are now ready to stroke the ball. Tiger’s putting stroke is silky smooth with no wrist movement whatsoever. From his address position he just rocks his shoulders back and through and accelerates smoothly.

Ensure the ‘V’ created by your two arms and the putter is maintained as your shoulders control the stroke. The butt of the putter should be pointing towards your belt buckle throughout. Keep your follow through longer than your backswing to ensure optimum striking.

Keep your rhythm; you should be able to count ‘one’ in your backswing and ‘two’ in the follow through.

* Read the putt: Now that you have improved your set up position and putting motion you are ready to putt like Woods – you just need to read the greens like him! He really stalks his putts, and you should too.

Stand behind your ball and walk around the hole to look from the other side. Did you walk uphill or downhill? Look at the hole itself. Sometimes it helps to imagine the hole is a large glass of water – if it was full to the brim, which direction would the water flow out? If the water would flow out at 9 o’clock as you look from your ball, the putt will be breaking hard from the left to the right. If it would flow out at 6 o’clock, you have a straight uphill putt.

When you return to your ball you should have chosen a specific point as your line. This could be a grain of sand or tiny mark on the green which you can putt toward and if you have read the putt correctly, your ball should fall into the hole. If it is a long putt, focus on only the final third of the putt’s length. This will be where the ball will break most as it slows down. Once you have chosen this line do not allow any other thoughts to enter your head – stay committed to your chosen line and set up parallel to it.

Rock your shoulders and accelerate in your follow through. Don’t think about pace when putting. If you spend about 10 minutes on the practice green before you go on to the course, you should have the pace for that given day or course.

Spend a little time on these three aspects of your putting and you will be amazed at the results. Happy golfing!