Luke is an avid weekend-warrior golfer from the East Coast who plays golf more than he cares to admit.
Golf, just like any sport, requires the honing of fundamental skills to keep its players in shape. Putting drills and exercises that challenge players to practice control and speed is a sure way to improve your game. Learning how to putt will shave and save anyone’s scores.
Quick 3 Step Winning Putt Guide
- Pace Yourself: Finding the proper tempo will ensure that you lag putt more consistently, enabling you to get the ball closer to the hole.
- Keep Your Eye on the Ball: Keeping your eye focused on the ball throughout your stroke will enable you to send it in a straight line towards the hole, ensuring accuracy and distance control.
- Check Your Stance: Ensuring that your feet are in the proper stance, spread apart at shoulder width, is essential for any putt, including a lag putt. This ensures that your body can transfer force into the shot in an efficient manner.
Golfers of all levels of play and skill need to practice the fundamentals that make up the game. It helps to build discipline and for the player to truly take their game to the next level.
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Putting Drills That Work
Paying attention to the fundamentals of the game is a skill that will keep your swing steady and true. The following are some great drills that the pros can be seen doing on the practice greens of the PGA.
As with all drills and exercises, feel free to modify them to serve your needs. Each of these drills can be made more difficult or easier if need be. Feel free to challenge yourself, and let us know your results.
1. Coins On Your Putter Head
A sure way to practice an even stroke is to place a penny on your putter head. When you swing, attempt to throw the coin away from your target. If your swing is even, this will be no problem.
Drills like this are a great way to determine the balance of your swing. This is also a go-to exercise for transition and your backswing.
2. Around The Hole Putting: The Clock Drill
This is one of the most popular putting drills in the PGA. Choose a hole on the practice putting green and station yourself three to five feet away from the hole. Putt into the hole and work your way around it in a clockwise path. Doing so will help you gain better aim and control.
3. One Hand Putting
A game of golf can come down to a difference of a few inches. You can hit 300 yards and land 30 feet from the pin. But if your short game is off, your score will suffer.
Knowing the feel of the release of a putt can be very important. To sharpen your muscle control and speed, try putting using just one hand.
Check your posture. You should have a straight back and straight arm. Bend forward slightly at the hip to address the ball.
This can be done on the practice green or during a game when you’re down to a critical putt. To make this drill more challenging, you can use your less dominant arm.
4. Chalk Line
There are times when the simplest solution is the answer. For this putting drill, grab some chalk and make a straight line on the practice green. Place your ball at the beginning of the line, and putt it along.
Start with short putts and work toward a goal of 20 feet. Putting down the straight line will help you to aim and practice control. You’ll also learn to read the lines that the grass can give you, improving your putting.
Having a great aim and follow-through will make longer shots pay out more when they are accurate. Not only is this drill good for accuracy. It’s also a great reminder to keep your swing neat and consistent.
5. The 1-2-3 Drill
Rhythm can be a tricky skill to master, but it can be done without turning on the radio. First, choose a hole and lay a ball at three, six, and nine feet away. Next, do your best to hit each ball into the hole.
To present yourself with more of a challenge, try to hit the balls while walking toward the hole. Or, combine the 1-2-3 and the one-handed putting drills for practice in difficulty and agility. You can also time yourself to see how fast it takes you to sink all three.
6. Manila Folder
A ball approaching either too fast or slow can mean a game lost or won. To practice speed and accuracy, place a manila folder on a flat surface of the green. The folder should sit six to ten feet away from you.
Practice your putts, starting about six feet from the manila folder. The goal of the shot is for the ball to stop on top of the folder. If you’re putting at the correct speed and strength, you will be able to bring the ball to a stop on the folder.
7. Feeling The Lag
We are wrapping up this list of putting drills with one to hone the more elusive skills in golf. The lag of a swing is important because it determines the consistency of your swing. The more consistent your swing is, the more accurate your swing can be.
The feeling of lag is often masked in a swing when the golfer bends their legs. To get a feel for lag putting, bring a short or mid-iron out of your bag.
When you swing your club, do not go into your normal golf stance. Instead, stand with your feet touching one another and side by side. Doing this will prevent you from bending your legs and open you up to feeling lag.
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Tiger Woods once said, “No matter how good you get, you can always get better -, and that’s the exciting part.”
We believe that practicing drills that challenge us on the fundamentals is a great way to keep getting better. Golf is a game of concentration, accuracy, and personal challenge. It is these attributes of the game that give us our love of this game and its industry.
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