There’s nothing worse than doing all the hard work, getting the ball up on the green in 2, and then taking three putts. In this instruction video, one of a series in association with Callaway, PGA pro Jack Backhouse gives us some drills to improve your putting and stop wasting chances.
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Drill 1 – T Bar putting drill
The T-Bar is a great training aid to use as it allows a golfer to align the face square at address with the black and white lines on the bar, and then know if the ball is starting on line by either running straight down the line or not. This is a great short-putting drill.
A golfer will quickly understand if they are pushing or pulling putts as the ball will roll off the bar either left or right before it gets to the end. A golfer can either then address this putting technique error in a lesson or, through trial and error, develop an in-swing feeling that returns the putter face back to square.
Drill 2 – Entry Speed
Take three golf balls to a sloping putt at roughly 10 feet. For the first putt, you want to hit roughly 3 feet past and play less break; for the 2nd putt, try to hit the ball at an 18-inch past pace and play some more break; and for the 3rd putt, try to hit dead weight and play the maximum possible amount of break.
This is a great drill for short-range short putts and holing out, as it teaches the golfer to match up their reads with a pace, and golfers will figure out what their preferred read/pace combination is. Some players like to hit putts firm and play less break, and others soft with more break. It will also improve your green reading.
Drill 3 – Towel putting
Lay your golf towel out on the green and place balls down at 20 feet, 25 feet, 30 and 35 feet. The goal is to hit the putt and stop the ball on the towel. With distance control being the most important skill in putting, golfers often get too focused on the hole and line rather than speed.
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This lag putting drill is a perfect putting game for mastering long putts. Most of your first putts on a green will be over 20 feet, so the average golfer should spend the majority of their putting practice hitting these length putts.
Drill 4 – Tee gate drill
One of the main reasons amateur golfers three-putt is from miss hitting their long putts because the putting stroke is so long. This means the ball comes off the face slower, and the ball finishes short.
The easiest way to address this is to put two tees in the ground at the width of the putter head, and then make long strokes hitting long putts without the putter head hitting the tees. Golfers will quickly see if they have a toe or heel strike tendency, but 5 minutes stroking between the gate should help address this.
Because in putting the ball doesn’t need to get in the air, and the club has a flat face, skill development is much more important than technical development. You don’t need a perfect stroke or grip or stance to be a good putter. We all know a golfer at the club that looks, to be kind, unorthodox, but putts great.
If you are looking to improve your putting, you are much better off completing some simple drills like those outlined above that help you start the ball on line, read the green, and hit the ball at the right pace week in and week out over the season, and you will find yourself 3 putting less and holing more putts.
Have you tried these drills before? Or do you have other drills that you think might work better? Let me know with a tweet.
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This video was filmed at Celtic Manor and we are wearing Puma apparel.
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