How many times have you been told to chip to a three foot circle around the hole? I have heard it a million times. I have also had a lot of tricky downhill three footers because I chipped it to the wrong side of the circle.

I don't know about you, but I would rather have an uphill five footer than a curling downhill three footer.

You are obviously not going to chip in many balls, especially if you are a weekend player. So make things easier on yourself by chipping to give yourself an uphill putt rather than trying to hole the chip shot.

Move that circle they keep telling you about. Chip to a three foot circle below the hole with the idea of leaving yourself an easy putt. You may even hit it a little offline and hole it out anyway.

And what about those long downhill putts? Isn't it a lot better to go five feet past the hole leaving an uphill putt than to leave it three feet short and still have a downhill nightmare to contend with?

Keep these thoughts in mind the next time you play, and by leaving yourself easier short putts you will find that you make a lot more of them with a lot less stress.

Darell is the author of Target Putting, the book that is changing the way the world putts. His site also features free original golf swing tips and the worlds largest collection of free golf instruction ebooks.

http://www.targetputting.com