Putting distance control drills/method

[thesheriff]

Hi all,

Looking for drills and perhaps a method to improve putting distance control.

It's become clear in recent months that this is my weakness. I'm hitting loads of GIR and giving far too many back to the field with useless putting. I can read the green OK and can hit the line I want, but distance control is what costs me. The faster the green, the more I struggle.

I don't really have a method, which may be a cause of the problem. I pick a line and hit about as far as I feel I should. Not working evidently. Anyone had similar issues and managed to improve using a particular method/practice routine?

 

[Coffey]

I always think to myself, if i was rolling the ball at the hole with my hands, how hard would i roll the ball. And then i think about this just before i make my stroke. Helps me to control the pace and get an idea how hard to hit the ball. It seems to work with me and my putting has drastically improved

 

[pendodave]

I work on a few stock backswing distances - inside foot, outside foot, a bit outside....

It's all about rhythm, once I am dialed in, the same backswing then does pretty much exactly the same distance.

I dial it in on the practice green for a couple of minutes before going out so I know far it goes with the conditions of the day (shades of aimpoint ) . I suspect a few will mock the lack of 'feel' involved, but if I have a putt of 10 paces on the first green, then I know I'll have a pretty good chance of getting it within the required 2ft range to avoid the dreaded 'trey'

Obviously, striking the same point on the putter and having a good rhythm are important. There are little exercises for these that you can work on.

 

[the_coach]

real big key to consistent distance control is a stroke with a repeatable tempo (that 1 ...... 2 tempo/rhythm back & through)

so 'distances' on the green are not found by trying to 'hit' the ball harder or softer but by the length of the stroke while the tempo that 1 ...... 2 stays constant whatever length the stroke is - tempo is individual to a large extent tends to fall in with the ways folk move about naturally how they speak etc

good ways to key in or hone tempo is just by finding a flat straight 15' putt place an alignment stick(club) some 18" to 2' behind the hole at right angles to the putt

take say 3 balls & find the 'length' of backstroke/throughstroke as you count '1' at the drawback - & '2' as the putter moves through the ball that will get the ball to hole but without hitting the stick behind
get a feel for that tempo the exact time it takes to say 1 ...... 2 with the key being noticing how far the putterhead moves back (can do this in 'where' is the putterhead in relation to the trail foot at the end of the backstroke that gives the best results for that distance)

so say you next try a 25' putt (same goal reach hole don't hit stick) you keep the tempo of the count exactly the same the change of direction of the putter at '1' & contact through the ball at '2' but you know the putter head will have to move a tad further so past where it was in relation to the trail foot with the 15' putt - that ways to the exact same tempo count 1 ...... 2 the putter head will be moving faster through the whole stroke as it's traveling further - but it's doing so smoothly so no hit at no trying to actively accelerate the putterhead into ball

some folks can count 1 ...... 2 (to themselves) to find that tempo other folks find using the 'tempo cell phone app' an easier ways though many find the noise of the tick or click from the app a tad off putting (no pun intended)

thing that kills distance control on the greens is trying to take the putterhead back the same distance for whatever length of putt & trying to actively accelerate the putterhead on the forwards stroke to 'hit' the ball harder

 

[Khamelion]

Got a lesson on Wednesday on putting pace. Since doing a certain much loved/loathed putting system I've had more lip outs than ever before, another 3 this weekend gone, so I just need to get the pace right.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Hi all,

Looking for drills and perhaps a method to improve putting distance control.

It's become clear in recent months that this is my weakness. I'm hitting loads of GIR and giving far too many back to the field with useless putting. I can read the green OK and can hit the line I want, but distance control is what costs me. The faster the green, the more I struggle.

I don't really have a method, which may be a cause of the problem. I pick a line and hit about as far as I feel I should. Not working evidently. Anyone had similar issues and managed to improve using a particular method/practice routine?

I line up the putt, choose the line and get set up behind the ball.

From that point on, I forget about line (as it's already dealt with) and just focus on the hole. I look at the hole, and then glance back at the ball and pull the trigger straight away.

I don't consciously think about how hard to hit it, I just hit it. When I think about it I get it wrong, badly wrong.

This was a Dave Stockton tip and it works very well for me.

I'd liken it to throwing a ball; you don't think about how hard you need to throw it while throwing, you just do it while focusing on your target.

I realise that's not a practice drill, but it works. As a good practice drill, I putt with my right hand on the club only. It's very good for practicing your release of the club.

 

[Imurg]

Whenever I'm practicing my putting I concentrate almost exclusively on pace.
I start with a 20 footer. Not trying to hole it, just hitting it a set distance. Then I try to hit it a touch further, then a touch further etc etc...
Then I'll hit another ball and try to hit progressively shorter
Rinse, repeat...
Works for me...

 

[jim8flog]

Another vote for

'distance is controlled by length of the swing and not how hard you hit it'


On a flat level part of the practice green, put a tee peg in the ground situated as the point you wish to swing back to and another twice that distance in front . Swing between the two points and with a few balls (identical type at minimum, preferably same make and type). Measure how far you hit the ball and repeat for different tee peg positions.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not sure where I got the tip from but I stand by the ball and look directly at the hole and feel the length of stroke and tempo I need to make it. You do need to be careful to be away from the ball as I did manage to hit it in a practice game. I then pick my point and try and replicate what I felt in practice. Working rather well at the moment

 

[ScienceBoy]

I work on a few stock backswing distances - inside foot, outside foot, a bit outside....

...I suspect a few will mock the lack of 'feel' involved

Not at all, even feel needs a calibration point. I am a total feel putter but I will use this to get my feel dialled in from now on. Really good tip!

Not sure where I got the tip from but I stand by the ball and look directly at the hole and feel the length of stroke and tempo

This is how I was taught to putt. My routine is two practice putts looking at the hole only, no matter what distance. Then pull trigger on the real one.

 

[Dannyj1984]

The method I have found works for me (and I guy I played with once actually started copying it) is,

set up with your ball aimed at the hole however you normally would,
Stand over your ball in the correct position to hit it,
bring your putter back a little so you have a practice stroke
Look at the hole and take 2 practice putts whilst looking at the hole,
then take your putt looking down at the ball and make sure you keep your head there so that you see the bit of grass the ball was on.

The most important part I find is taking my putt straight after my second practice stroke, without looking at the hole again after setting myself. If I set myself and then look at the hole and then take my putt it will nearly always be short!!

This is almost certainly just a way that suits me, but I really struggled with distance control from anything over 10ft until I started doing this!

 

[3565]

Before a comp, I hit the centre of the green and putt to the fringe with one ball, then go from fringe to fringe varying the distances just so I can get a feel for the speed and distances. I'll do this for 5-10min. Then I'll give myself a 30-40ft putt to a hole and I should of got the speed down.

That's how I used to do it, but now that I've had an insight into the secret society putting system, Aimpoint, there, said it..... i use this now and in the past couple of rounds since using it my lag putting from distance has been a breeze with simple tap ins.

Mind you averaging, 30ft of first putts I think I should hit the range, not the putting green.

 

[Capella]

I like to do a drill/game which is a bit similar to what Imurg described. I put a tee in the ground about 2 ft in front of me and an alignment stick or club down a longish putt distance away (let's say 30 feet) and then hit as close to the stick/club as I dare. Then I hit the next putt short of that, the next one shorter still etc. The goal is to get as many balls as possible between the stick and the tee. If one of your balls goes further than the one before you have to start over. How many balls can you fit in? (If you don't want to take a crazy amount of balls to the putting green with you, you can just pick up the longer ones and reuse them, just leave the shortest one there and keep count)

The same works the other way round, of course, starting from short and going to longer, but then the balls you already hit do get in the way a bit.