Ninety percent of the time, a pushed or pulled putt is less the result of a faulty stroke as it is a result of poor alignment. The vast majority of my students tend to align themselves too far to the right (assuming they're right-handed). Now, if they make a perfect stroke, they miss the putt several inches to the right. After a few of these, they subconsciously begin to pull the ball back to the hole by flipping the putterhead closed through impact, or by pulling the blade across the ball from the outside in. It's impossible to achieve any kind of consistency this way.

To improve your alignment, be sure to align your putterhead perpendicular to the line of your putt first, then take your putting posture and align your feet knees and hips parallel to your line (and perpendicular to the putter face). Again, always align the putterhead first.

The key is getting your putter's face aligned properly. Here are some tricks. After you've lined up your putt and see the intended line, place the ball down so that the logo points straight down the line, don't point the logo at the hole (unless it's a perfectly straight putt); point it at your line. Then, simply align your putterhead so that it is perpendicular to the logo.

Another trick is to pick out an intermediate target, a discoloration in the green, a repaired ball mark or a particular blade of grass- that lies directly on your intended line, but only two or three feet in front of your ball. When your are aiming your putterhead, forget about your line and the hole and focus on this intermediate target.

Perhaps the easiest way to align your putterhead correctly, is to; while you're standing behind the ball and looking at your line, carefully place the putterhead behind the ball aimed on your target line. Then, making sure not to move the putterhead, walk around to the side of the ball and take your putting posture. (Many of my students balk at this at first, saying it's the way their grandmother would putt. It may look funny, but there's no easier way to solving your alignment problems.)

Once you have learned to aim your putterhead correctly, and to align your body lines to your putterhead, chances are, you'll notice immediate improvement. Focus on making a smooth and rhythmic, straight-back, straight-through. Now, your best strokes will be rewarded with made putts and you'll eliminate the need to make any awkward compensating moves during your stroke.

The vast majority of my students tend to misalign themselves so that the putterhead and their body lines point right of the traget. The result is a push. When they overcompensate for their misalignment, the result is a pull.

The fist step to proper alignment is to align the putterhead forst, before you take your putting posture. Also, be sure to position the ball so that its logo is parrallel to the line of your putt.

A common alignment technique that you'll frequently see on Tour is to align the putterhead on the target side of the ball first, then carefully position it behind the ball.