Putting Drills for Spring

One of the first parts of the game that gets rusty over the winter is putting. It is imperative to start the spring out with some practice on the greens and the best way to do this is to use drills. Putting drills are designed to help the player work on either the stroke itself or on distance and direction. If you consistently miss short putts, you probably need to work on your stroke. The first drill I will talk about is designed for just that purpose.

One of the best ways to practice putting is to make up “games” that you can play to make it more fun. Most people don’t practice their putting because it is boring. Your practice sessions should be as enjoyable as possible in order to reap the benefits they can produce.

Take five golf balls out to your practice green and find a hole location that is as level as possible. Then, try to determine the straightest line that you can and place a coin 3 feet from the cup. Putt each of the balls from the same spot where you placed the coin. The object is to hole all five golf balls in a row. A dead straight putt is perhaps the most difficult putt, because it requires the best possible stroke to hole out. Once you have made all five balls in a row, move the coin another foot farther away and repeat the drill. You will reach a distance where you will no longer be able to hole all five balls, but the objective is to get your stroke to the point where you can consistently start the golf ball on the same line every time.

Another great drill is one that deals with distance control. Many mid-length putts are missed not because the line is way off, but because the distance control was not good.
Place five golf balls on the putting surface 10-15 feet from any hole. Then got directly beyond the cup and place 5 or 6 tees (you can use coins or other objects as well) in the ground approximately 18 inches behind the hole. The objective of this drill is to putt all five balls and have the distance control such that each putt rolls past the cup without going beyond the barrier you have created. This may sound easy, but I believe you will find it to be a more difficult exercise than you think.

Ideally, on longer putts if the ball doesn’t go into the hole, we don’t want to leave ourselves with those 3-5 foot awkward second putts. Anytime that we can eliminate a three-putt green, it is going to help our score. Most players would do themselves a favor if they would actually keep track of the number of putts per round of golf played. If you are using more than 33 putts per round, you need to get to work on your putting. Touring pros average anywhere from 27-29 putts per round. This should become a goal for you because putting is one part of the game where there is no reason that anyone can’t become as good as a touring pro. By using the above drills, you will improve both your putting stroke and your distance control on the greens.