Putting - what drills?

[socky]

After reading 'Dream on', which is an enjoyable golf book about a guy trying to reach the aim of shooting a par round or better within a year of taking up the game... I've finally accepted that I have to address my putting problems. 4 or more 3 putts per round aren't out of the ordinary for me. 1 putts are rarer than rocking horse poop as well.

So last night I headed up to the club and spent 1h30mins on the practice green. I had 3 balls and spent the time trying to lag puts to within 2 or 3 feet. Then change hole and try it again....

My question is does anybody have any good drills, games, suggestions that will really improve my putting ?

Is it better to just use 1 ball, using 3 am I really learning anything with my 2nd and 3rd shots or just making adjustments based upon my inital putt ? Surely its only the 1st one that matters?

Thoughts and suggestions please?

 

[One Planer]

A drill I use for all my putts that's helped me no end is:

Put a tee peg in the ground, approx 2 feet past the hole.

Choose the length you want to work on begin putting, with a goal of holing it. The idea is that if the putt misses it should have the pace to get past the hole but not past the tee.

This encourages you to make a positive stroke and give your putts a chance (Never up, never in) but also helps with distance control when working on lagging up.

Alternativley, ask your ground staff to cut the hole bigger :thup:

 

[FairwayDodger]

I like to practice from 6 feet and in more than long putts.

I often putt between two holes on the practice green with two or three balls. Lag them up and then hole out, then place each around the hole within 6 feet - or shorter whatever length you want to practice - and hole out. Then lag up to the other hole and repeat.

Another good one is, again 6 feet and in, with 3,4,5 balls - try to hole them all consecutively. If you miss one, start again. This simulates pressure on the shorter putts.

 

[sawtooth]

LIke you my putting game needs serious attention.

The drills that I've discovered and use are making 2 rows of tees as a corridor for the putter to swing through. This forces you to stay on line when making a stroke else you will hit the tees. I also add a tee behind the putter head now to stop me making too much of backswing, helps promote acceleration through the ball whilst keeping the putter moving square to the target.

Another one is to arrange 3 clubs on the ground behind the hole like 3 sides of a square. The idea is to putt into the area made by the clubs , to go past the hole but not touch any of the clubs. Its a lag putting drill.

Will tell you in 6 mths whether this helps with the 3 (or sometimes 4) stabs.

 

[sydney greenstreet]

I only ever use 1 ball as on the course you only get 1 shot, what i do is putt to a hole then from there putt to another on the practise green and so on.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I only ever use 1 ball as on the course you only get 1 shot, what i do is putt to a hole then from there putt to another on the practise green and so on.

I use one ball when warming up pre-round but multiple if just practising putting.

 

[Region3]

I like to practice from 6 feet and in more than long putts.

I often putt between two holes on the practice green with two or three balls. Lag them up and then hole out, then place each around the hole within 6 feet - or shorter whatever length you want to practice - and hole out. Then lag up to the other hole and repeat.

Another good one is, again 6 feet and in, with 3,4,5 balls - try to hole them all consecutively. If you miss one, start again. This simulates pressure on the shorter putts.

I've read (book on mental game) that practising from 6' isn't a good idea.
It's not far enough away to have to worry about the pace, and it's not close enough to hole most of the putts, so you end up reinforcing the image of missing.

If it works for you then fair enough, jus sayin is all.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I've read (book on mental game) that practising from 6' isn't a good idea.
It's not far enough away to have to worry about the pace, and it's not close enough to hole most of the putts, so you end up reinforcing the image of missing.

If it works for you then fair enough, jus sayin is all.

Agreed. I practise from 6 feet and in. The majority are closer; I may have read the same book because I like to hole most of them as you say.

Pre-round I have a few long putts to get the feel of the greens and then the rest of the time I'm almost entirely holing out from 3 feet.

EDIT: The other thing that book spoke about w.r.t long putts was not to putt at a hole. So putt to the edge of the green to get a feel for the pace. I tried that but it was just too artificial for me so I still fire a few long putts towards a hole - you don't hole many but don't expect to and do benefit from the memory of some of them dropping.

 

[duncan mackie]

I had 3 balls and spent the time trying to lag puts to within 2 or 3 feet. Then change hole and try it again....

My question is does anybody have any good drills, games, suggestions that will really improve my putting ?

Thoughts and suggestions please?

1. never ever hit a putt anywhere, anytime, at a hole when you are not trying to sink it.
2. never ever hit a putt anywhere, anytime, at a hole when you are not trying to sink it.
3. never ever hit a putt anywhere, anytime, at a hole when you are not trying to sink it.

By all means recognise, on the course, that if you miss you want to be left, right, long or short (as positives; never 'not long' for example)

Equally, there is nothing wrong with the occassional 3 putt; it can happen because you put an approach shot in the wrong place to a pin placed by a sadistic green keeper, it can happen because you have been hitting your putts increasingly positively and, after sinking a fair few 1 putts you eventually miss one and the return. It never happens because you are a bad putter - kids and women can putt; so can you (any implied disrespect to kids and women is entirely co-incidental and in no way derogatory; if I had seen a monkey putt I would have put that instead...)

So, the best tip I can give you is to spend your 90 minutes banging 18 inch putts into the back of the hole trying to get one to bounce back out off the rear lip whilst mumbling 'I am a putting god...'

 

[FairwayDodger]

kids and women can putt

Oi!!

any implied disrespect to kids and women is entirely co-incidental and in no way derogatory;

Ok, then I forgive you.

if I had seen a monkey putt I would have put that instead...)

When in a hole, stop digging!

 

[JustOne]

I only use 1 ball as you only get 1 chance.

If I'm practicing my lag putting (eg: 30ft) I go up and knock them in... you'd still have to hole the 2nd putt on the course.

Get down in 2 from 30ft as many times in a row as you can... to me that's all I can do. Make 10 in a row then practice something else for 20mins... then come back to the lag putting, no point standing there all day.

I do the same for my chipping, I leave my putter by the hole... chip with one ball then go up and knock it in.

 

[sev112]

Trying to hole 10 3ft putts is an eye opener
I do 10 3ft putts, then 10 4 ft puttsm then 10 5 ft putts, then 10 6 foot putts. I cant got to bed, get a glass of wine, watch telly until i've made 10 consecutive 6 ft putts.
I've been doing this for a month now and it's been a revolution.

In addition to making my MUCH better on 3 to 6ft putts, the number of long putts that have been dropping is great.

What i found is that unless you are properly aligned and with a swuare club face at set up, you can make one of the distances but not the others.

And you can practice this at home every night rather than once a week up on the practice green

 

[SoapbarSE]

I've had to rest up because of a dodgy back for the last couple of weeks so I've been trying different putting drills with some good results


1) I really like using two balls. I toss both balls either side of the hole so there around 3-4 club lengths away, different lines for each putt. Putt both out. I do this for the 6 different flags on my green.
This has been great for me building a positive stroke and find it invaluable for nailing down pre-shot routine for putting

2) Place a tee in the ground and take 3 balls from a decent distance away. (I think I got this from 'Golf is Not a Game of Perfect). Hit all three balls at tee:
1st with eyes on the tee
2nd with eyes closed over ball (obviously visualsing tee)
3rd like a normal putt
Great way to build feel

I always use same pre-shot routine would use on course. Sure it was Bob Rotella who said practice like you play and play you're practicing (or something to that effect!)

 

[garyinderry]

couple of close putts then a few to judge the pace of the greens and im off. probably why i dont make as many putts as i should!

 

[Region3]

For anyone that hasn't read the book that this comes from, a quote from Seve when after a round was asked to explain how he managed to 4 putt on one of the holes...

"I putt and miss, I putt and miss, I putt and miss, I putt and make."


The point the author makes by including the quote, is that he was always trying to hole the putt rather than just get it close enough.
As someone said above, certain putts you're happy to get within 2 or 3', but always be aiming for it to finish in the hole.