If you ever have had a day where the par saves just wouldn't fall and two-putts seemed like a long-shot proposition, you might be suffering from a problem that many, many golfers have--that is, coming out of your stroke too soon after impact!

What do I mean by this?  Well, follow-through on a putt is just as important as it is on a full swing.  The problem is, many golfers don't follow through.  They go ahead and lift the putter out of the stroke almost as soon as contact is made.  I used to do this, and countless others do it without realizing it.  If you pull out of the stroke too soon, however, many things can go wrong in the stroke itself...because you see, if you're thinking about lifting the putter just after impact, then you are actually setting yourself up to do so before impact.  What often happens is the putter is actually lifting out of the stroke before contact is made, and this results in a bladed putt that ends up short.  Many times this is in conjunction with pulling the putter off-line as well as upwards, so you run into short putts that go well off-line too.

There is a simple fix for this:  Stick Your Finish Until the Ball Stops.  Make sure that you really finish your stroke.  Use the putter's momentum to bring it to a nice finish, and hold it there until that ball rolls into the cup.  Tiger is one of the greatest putters of this generation, and he very obviously holds his finish.  Here's Tiger's now-famous 18th hole putt to force a playoff at Torrey Pines last year...notice how he holds his finish as long as possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx2BS1u4fiw&feature=fvw

This has a two-part benefit.  First, it keeps the putter on-line and ensures center contact.  This alone will make you more consistent on your putts.

Second, it helps you learn from your makes and your misses.  When you hold your finish, you have a concrete reference as to how hard and on what line you just stroked your putt.  Then, as you watch the ball finish, you can clearly see what that particular stroke resulted in on that particular putt.  This information will build up over time in the computer between your ears, and you can call on it the next time you face a similar putt.  Conversely, if you don't hold your finish, how can you know how hard you just hit the ball?  Or on what line?  It becomes a much more difficult task.

So try holding your finish, like most great putters have.  You will become more consistent, and with the visual and "feel" feedback you receive through holding your finish, you become a better putter every time you putt.