Best Putting Drills to Make You a Better Putter

---

Being able to control the face of the putter is so critical in making more putts. For more on Face Control, check out my article on Putter Face. If the face of your putter isn’t square at the point of contact, then you will never roll consistent putts. You will notice that the ball comes off the putter and goes immediately to the left or to the right. Try out the drills below to perfect your face control.

1. Using a striped golf ball
   • Possibly one of the easiest drills is to simply use a golf ball with a stripe on it. Callaway makes a great triple track ball, you can use a range ball with a large solid stripe, or you can simply use one of your own balls, a sharpie, and a line marker. 
   • Find a straight putt on the putting green, line up about 10 feet away, and line the stripe on the ball so it points directly to the hole. 
   • If the line on the ball is staying on target the whole time, then that means your putter is square on impact. If the line on the ball wobbles and no longer goes end over end, then that means your putter is not square at impact.

         2.   One putt, two golf balls

• This drill might get you some funny looks on the practice green but you’ll be the one laughing when you are sinking more putts, so just ignore the funny looks!
• For this drill, set up two balls on either side of the middle of your putter like the picture shows below.
• You are going to take your natural putting swing and try to hit both of the balls at the exact same time. Try to hit them to the exact same spot on the green.
• If they roll the same, then that means your putter is square and this drill is working.
• If the two balls don’t roll straight, that means your putter is not square. If you are right handed and the top ball goes farther or both balls go way left of the target, then your face is closed. If you are right handed and the bottom ball goes farther or both balls go way right of the target, then your face is open. The opposite is true if you're left handed.

Incorrect path is another area that can lead to pushed or pulled putts. The drills below will help you develop the muscle memory for a correct putting path to get you on the road to hitting more consistent putts.

1. Walk the Plank
   • You will need a straight line: a yardstick, 2x4 board, a putting rope, a chalk line, a laser or even a flag from the green will all work.
   • If you have chosen a flat surface (putting rope, chalk line, or laser), put the middle of your putter on the line and just practice going back and forth on the line so the middle of your putter stays on top of the line for 4 inches before and after where the ball would be. Try it without a ball first as your eyes will be focusing on keeping the putter on the line rather than the ball. Then add a ball and pick a target about 5 to 10 feet away.
   • If it’s a raised surface (2x4 board, flag from the green), put the heel of your putter on the edge of the surface and practice going back and forth on the edge so the heel maintains constant contact with the edge of the surface. Again, try it without a ball first. Then add a ball and pick a target about 5 to 10 feet away.
   • See if you can roll the ball down the yardstick. If you can roll the ball down a yardstick you’re hitting your line and making those important 6 footers for birdies or saving par.

         2.  Steady Eyes, Steady Putts

• Start with a straight 10 foot putt. Pick out a spot 3 feet in front of the ball. Typically there are spots on the green, marks, or blades of grass that are just slightly a different color. Try to pick out a spot that isn’t an imperfection (an indentation or a bump) of the green that would cause the ball to bounce.
  • Note: If you can’t find a spot, you can put a coin out in front of the ball about three feet in line to the target and see if you are rolling the ball over that spot.
• All you need to do for this drill is to focus on that spot 3 feet in front of the ball that’s on the line to the hole. 
• This helps keep your head steady, as a head that moves can result in an incorrect path. Just as a basketball player looks at the hoop when they shoot, it can help you subconsciously correct your putter path so you hit your spot. Lastly, it’s an easy drill that doesn’t require any tools that lets you quickly assess if you are pulling or pushing putts. 
• If you miss your spot to the left or right, that means that you know either your path is incorrect or you need more practice on your putter face control.

         3.  Golf or Croquet?

• Similar to how croquet has gates for a ball, you are going to set up tee gates that are just wide enough for your putter to go through. Start without a ball and take some practice swings so you can get a feel for it. This will force your body to have a very straight and steady putting stroke while also forcing you to keep your putter face even. Add a ball to the middle of the tee gate and try to putt towards a target about 5 to 10 feet away.
• Check out the picture below for the set up of this drill.

In a previous article I discussed the importance of hitting the sweet spot as it can impact so many other parts of your short game. Many of the path drills above will help you hit the sweet spot as well but below is one of my favorite drills to ensure you are hitting the sweet spot every single time!

 Rubber Band

• Take two rubber bands and put them on either side of the middle of your putter like below. Putt a ball to any target on the putting green about 5 to 10 feet away. Concentrate on ensuring that the ball is not coming into contact with the rubber bands at all.
• After you feel comfortable with the drill, move the rubber bands closer together so there is even less space for the ball to fit. Ideally you want them so close together that only the sweet spot is available but leave enough room so the ball doesn’t have to come into contact with either of the rubber bands.
• The first picture below shows a beginner version and the second picture shows a more advanced version.

The putting stroke tempo can be tricky sometimes. The drills below will help you practice your putting stroke rhythm. For more on Putting Rhythm, check out my article on Putting Stroke.

1. Count 1, 2.
   • For this drill, all you need to do is count 1, 2 in your head. 1 will be your backswing and 2 will be your point of contact on the ball.
   • This is true no matter how far the putt is. Obviously the longer your putt is, the longer the length of your putting stroke will be, but the peak of your backswing will always be 1 and 2 will always be the point of contact due to the difference of club speed.
   • Practice counting in your head at various distances.

         2.  Piano or Golf Practice?

• I’ve had some students find success with using a metronome to help them hone in on their putting rhythm. I’m not a huge fan of this since it’s a bit more complicated and you won’t have access to a metronome on the course. Golf is also a game of feel, the metronome method makes the putting stroke feel a bit too mechanical for me personally, but like I said some students really like it. Typically those students with a musical background have the most success with this drill.
• The beats fall somewhere between 80 and 95 beats per minute (BPM). There is some experimentation needed to find what you feel most comfortable with. You can also find a large list of songs with BPM in this range by searching for “Songs with 85 BPM” to give you a better idea of the rhythm.
• For this, you will start your backswing on the downbeat (when you hear the tick of the metronome) and then your follow through will end on the next downbeat. This will be true no matter how long the putt is.

Reading greens can be difficult, luckily there are ways you can practice reading the green before you hit the course.

1. Feel the Slope
   • Find a hole on the practice green that looks like it could have some slope.
   • Set up 5 tees or coins that surround the hole, 5 feet from the cup.
   • Set up 5 tees or coins that surround the hole, 10 feet from the cup.
   • Bust out a level. If you’re in the market for a new digital level, click here. If not, a standard level from your tool box will also work.
   • Start at the 5 tees from the 5 foot distance. Place the level next to the tee so you can visually see how much it slopes. The eye isn’t inherently great at seeing intricate slopes, so the level starts to give you a baseline of what a subtle slope looks like compared to a severe slope.
   • Stand with your feet directly behind the tee, so the line to the hole is perpendicular to your feet and runs through the middle of your feet. This will help you to start to get a feel for subtle and severe slopes. You can then pair that information with the visual cues you picked up from the step above. 
     • Note: This is the beginning of AimPoint which is a green reading technique that some pros like Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson use.
   • Lastly, hit a few putts from the marker. The goal here isn’t to make every putt, but to experiment with breaks. Start by aiming right at the hole. Did you make it? Did it miss right? Left? By how much? Each putt is a data point into how much break you have to play based on the visual and body cues from above. Hit another putt from the same location and use the data to adjust your next putt. If you missed to the left, aim just to the right of the hole this time.
   • Repeat this process for each of the 10 tees.
   • One major note with this drill is you have to be dialed in on speed. If you hit it too hard, the ball is going to go straight through the break and this whole calibration drill will be inaccurate. You will know you’re doing this drill correctly if your missed putts roll about 1 foot beyond the hole. Check out the drills below on distance control for more.

Nothing feels quite as bad as hitting a green in regulation, setting yourself up for an easy 2 putt par, only to 3 putt for a bogey. The dreaded three putts are a common enemy of professional and amateur golfers alike. One thing that can help eliminate three putts on the course is distance control.

The drills below not only help you get a better feel for distances but also give you a better eye for how long putts really are; both of these skills will give you better distance control on the course.

1. Use the Fringe
   • On the practice green, take 4 balls. Try to find an extended flat piece of the green with minimal breaks and minimal elevation changes to give yourself a good baseline of distance. Start 3 feet away from the fringe. Hit all 4 golf balls just hard enough so they come to rest on the fringe. You don’t want to hit the ball so hard that the rough has to stop the ball.
   • After you get a good feel for the 3 foot distance, back up to 6 feet away. Use each putt as an input into your next putt. Did it go too far? Too short? How do I need to adjust my swing in order to accommodate? Don’t forget your tempo when you back up. While the swing size is increasing, the tempo of "1, 2" stays the same!
   • Repeat this drill moving back in 3 foot increments all the way to 50 feet if your practice green allows for it. I find that by increasing 3 feet at a time, it gives golfers a good sense of the gradual adjustment. On the course, you’re typically going from 20 to 30 foot putts to 5 to 10 foot putts so the adjustment is quite harsh, not allowing you to gradually adjust for distance increases or decreases. It also gives the golfer a good frame of reference once you get the first few figured out in terms of how much harder you have to hit a putt in order to hit the ball 3 extra feet.
   • Once you’ve worked your way back, work your way forward, decreasing the distance by 3 feet each time.
   • After doing this a few times mix up the areas and putt at different distances. For example: start at 30 feet, then 6 feet, then 15 feet, then 3 feet, etc.
   • Once you have a good feel for the flat part of the green, you can experiment with different elevation changes. How does an uphill putt change my distance control? A downhill putt?

        2.  Ball Relay

• Place a ball 10 feet away from you on the practice green. You won’t need a hole for this exercise. 
• Take another ball and try to putt it 2 feet past the ball you just placed. Then take another ball and hit it 2 feet past the ball you just hit (or 4 feet past the original ball). 
• Repeat this with 5 balls which will result in a total of 10 feet past the original ball.