Leave Yourself More Tap-Ins With These Putting Drills

The best idea for most golfers if they are looking to shave a few strokes from their score is to work on their putting. The top professionals average around 28-29 putts per round while an 18 handicap golfer averages closer to 35. The other thing to consider in this comparison is that bogey golfers tend to have a lot of short pitches and chips due to missed greens which should set-up in theory a good number of makeable one-putts. Regardless, the message is clear; the right putting drills can make a big difference in the average golfer’s score.

So, if you are looking to improve your putting what would be the best tip to follow? Of course there are a variety of different grips you can try, different stances and even a wide assortment of different length putters these days. If you happen to settle on a long putter the added length will also help when taking your two club lengths relief from hazards!

Back to putting though. What putting tip would benefit everyone regardless of any other factors? What about the ability to accurately judge the speed of your putts? Not convinced – please keep reading.

Every putt has two components; speed and line. So which of these two factors is the most important? It is true that some people struggle when it comes to figuring out the break in a putt but very seldom do you encounter a put with more than 2 or 3 feet of break. However, all of us have left putts 5 feet short or ran them 10 feet past the hole. Being able to judge the speed of your putts will not only cut down on the number of 3-putts but also leave you more 2-putt tap-ins; a surefire way to improve your scores.

A great drill to help you get a feel for the speed of the greens is to take 3 balls to the practice green and place one 10 feet from the hole, one 20 feet and one 30 feet. The goal being to only focus on the speed of the putts and to try to lag each putt to with a couple feet of the hole – preferably hole high or beyond. If you hit even just 5-10 putts from each distance this will really help you to judge the speed of your putts once you are out on the course.

One additional piece of advice. You will have to deal with uphill and downhill putts during the course of your round. So what if you are not great at reading greens? First, look around you. If there is a hill or mound near the green the ball will tend to run away from it. If you see a pond nearby the ball will often run a little faster in that direction. Something else you can do is simply walk from your ball to the hole and back and let your feet help you sense if your putt is uphill or downhill.Not only is this good advice for putting but is also a great tip for chipping the ball close.

These putting tips should really help you cut down on those costly three-putts but of course if you want to develop a repeatable, consistent putting stroke that will hold-up under pressure you will also need to spend time working on your grip, stance and putting stroke.