Pace putting

[turkish]

So was absolutely shocking at putting yesterday and just wondering good drills to try! Judging break I would say I was ok but my pace was shocking- more often than not overhitting but the odd time also short

I'm guessing a lot of it is just developing more feel and touch and practicing lag putting from various distances?

I've noticed Speith doesn't look at the ball when putting but looks at the hole- does he do this for just short putts or long too? I was practicing on my 6 foot putting matt and seemed pretty good but unsure how I'd get on where there is break and not sure especially with longer putts

 

[ScienceBoy]

Work on hitting the middle if the face. Nothing should come before hitting it from the sweet spot.

One your stroke is finding the middle it is amazing how your pace control improves.

After that it's the drill trying to stop the ball within 3 feet behind the hole. 1 point for the box behind, -1 for short or long and 3 points for holed. Hit 5 balls, score then try and beat it. Do this from all distances over about 8 feet to as far as you can. Best on the straight and flat but also good straight up or down hill.

 

[gazr99]

A drill that is really helping me improve my pace putting is putting a club/any object 3 feet behind the hole. Then from a decent distance so it's a long putt, putt 6 balls aiming for a minimum of 4 to be either in the hole or between the hole and object, the balls also can't finish more than a foot short of the hole.

Do this drill on 2/3 different holes every time and you will see the improvements

 

[pendodave]

I think that tempo is really important if you're trying to control pace. Try downloading a metronome to your phone and practice with your earphones in. There is stuff online which you can search for which suggests typical tempos for tour players, though everyone is supposed to have a personal one which is right for them.

It's also helpful to have a 'stock' putt (say back and forward to the inside of the feet with the putter that you KNOW how far you hit (typically about 10 feet). If you hit this putt a few times on the practice green to check the distance on the green speed that day, you'll have a simple measure to gauge other putt lengths by.

And of course, you've got to put in the hard yards in practice. However 'natural' some putters seem, you can bet that at some point in their lives they have hit an awful lot of putts.

 

[3565]

The only drill I use for pace putting is stand at one end/side or centre of the green and putt to the fringe sides. No holes involved, give yourself different distances to putt to and use one ball. Do this for 5 mins then try a 30-40ft putt to a hole and try and reach level with the hole or slightly beyond it.

 

[Robobum]

Pace putting only really has relevance on the day you are playing I think.

I'm similar to above. I get a 20 - 25ft putt and putt towards a hole, not bothered about break, just aim straight at the hole. Depends on the size of greens on the course, I might drop in a few longer ones too

 

[Imurg]

Almost all my pre-round putting is focused on pace.
Whilst everyone else is knocking in 3-6 footers, I'm trying to knock 25-30 footers as close as I can. Almost all 3 putts come from a poorly paced first putt.
I'm fairly confident on the shorter ones, but if I'm going to putt well from the distances we tend to leave ourselves from the hole then I need to have an idea of my pace judgement.
5 minutes putting from 30 feet is far more use to me than 5 minutes of 6 footers.

 

[JustOne]

Speith practices A LOT, just do that :whoo:

 

[turkish]

I actually done this yesterday and it helped me match my best ever score- for about 45 minutes before tee off I set markers at 3 paces and a step for about 10 feet, then a marker at 20, then another at 30... wasn't really too bothered if they dropped or not just if they were pin high or just by hole

then just worked out length of stroke for each marker in relation to my feet and seemed to do me in good stead- think I need to work on it for more fine tuning but definitely helped.

Also yeah I understand maybe wise to do this before each round as greens can change with weather