It’s a beautiful Saturday morning for golf and you head to the course early before your round for a little practice on the range and putting green. Feeling great about your round you being the first hole by with two solid shots, hitting the green in regulation, yet have a disastrous time on the green, resulting in a three-putt or even worse. There’s nothing worse for a golfer than this unfortunately common scenario. Here’s some tips to making more putts, halting the dreaded three-putt greens that ruin a great round of golf.
How to Make More Putts
5 Tips to Improve Putting
1- Marker Drill
A common problem that amateurs and even professionals at times encounter while putting is moving the upper body. It’s just too enticing to want to see whether or not our putt will go in the bottom of the cup. Taking note how still top PGA Tour putters are throughout their entire stroke.
When the stakes are high and the pressure mounts, keeping your upper body still isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Here’s a simple drill to work on. Put your ball on a marker or a coin. After your normal address, simply putt the ball as you would on the course. The key to this drill is keeping focus on the marker after the ball is gone. This will force your attention from the target to the ball and will help ensure a steady upper body through the stroke. You will hear if the ball finds the bottom of the cup, so no need to peek.
2 – Long Distance Control by Putting to a Circle
The biggest reason for three-putting is poor distance control on first putts, particularly those from 20 feet or longer. There is nothing worse on the green than hearing that you’re still away after you leave your approach shot five or more feet from the hole. To help avoid that, try this practice drill. Place several balls 20 feet away from the hole. Instead of focusing on draining the putt, your goal should be to put the ball inside a three-foot imaginary circle from the hole. If you sink the putt, that is an added bonus. Once you can consistently get balls within three feet from the hole, move out to 30 feet and then 40 feet. You will find the occurrence of three-putts much less frequently once mastering this drill.
3 – Clock Face Drill
Many players can sink the putts that are straight, but what happens when slopes are involved? That is another level of putting that gets even trickier. Learning to read and navigate slopes is difficult to master, however you can improve your feel which will give you more confidence on the downhill, right-to-left breaker.
Start by placing balls equal distance from the hole in a clock-shaped pattern at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock positions. Begin approximately two feet from the hole and putt until you can sink four or five in a row at each position. Increase your distance by a foot after each successful rotation around the clock. This drill is very similar to what the professionals do, and has been commonly attributed to Phil Mickelson.
4 – Don’t “Hit” Your Putts, Stroke Through It
An easy way to determine if you are not stroking through the ball is the ball will jump on contact and bounce noticeably before rolling. To ensure more consistent rolling putts, try to limit your backstroke and follow-through to no more than 75 percent of a full stroke. By keeping the backstroke more compact, it allows the clubface to be squarer through impact, allowing better control and more solid contact.
You can also think of pushing the ball forward rather than just “hitting” it. The idea of pushing the ball will promote a sweeping follow-through motion. Try practicing with a blind fold of closing your eyes. Since you will not be able to know exactly when the putter head will contact the ball, all you can concentrate on is making a good stroke
5 – Form a Mental Picture of the Putt
You know the old saying, “believe it and you will achieve it”? In terms of golf, that translates to “visualize the shot and you will execute it”. While it’s not always the case that seeing a putt go into the hole will guarantee a make, but it will mean that you’ll make your best stroke every time. Not only should you visualize the ball dropping into the cup, visualize the entire track of the ball from off the putter head and through the breaks on the green. This well keep you focused during the entire shot. It has been well documented that the great Jack Nicklaus visualized every shot, whether on the tee, fairway or green. It led to 73 PGA Tour wins and a record 18 major titles. If it worked for arguably the greatest player of all time, it’s something the average golfer should use.
How to Improve Short Putting
When asked what the most terrifying shot in golf is, many people will talk about a long carry over water to an island green, blasting from a deep greenside bunker with a buried lie, or hitting a narrow fairway from the tee with out of bounds on either side. While those are indeed daunting, the expectations of a great shot are miniscule in those scenarios, putting less pressure on the golfer. It’s the short putt less than three feet that are “expected” to be made that are the most terrifying. After all, you put a great deal of pressure on yourself to make these “gimmies”, oftentimes with the outcome of a missed putt.
In fact, even the legendary Bobby Jones once noted how his last putt to win the 1926 U.S. Open couldn’t have been more than three inches from the hole, yet he thought about the possibility of stubbing the putter and completely flubbing the putt. It turned out that Jones made the putt, albeit barely topping it to get it into the hole. It goes to show that even the greatest have short-putt anxiety.
Here’s just some examples where short missed putts proved costly. Doug Sanders missed a three-footer on the last hole at the 1970 British Open, then lost to Jack Nicklaus the next day in a playoff. Scott Hoch missed a two-footer in a playoff loss to Nick Faldo at the 1989 Masters. Craig Stalder muffled a 14-incher at the 1985 Ryder Cup that would have secured the match. Hale Irwin whiffed a 4-incher at the 1983 British Open, eventually losing to Tom Watson. I.K. Kim rimmed out a one-foot putt, costing her the 2012 Kraft Nabisco. Lexi Thompson missed a two-footer on the last hole to win at the 2017 CME Championship and ended up tied for second.
For some players, putting is the easiest and best part of their game, while for others, short misses are more common, psychologically impacting their game. Blowing short putts can be devastating and some players have the fear of missing on the first hole. Missing from the start immediately lowers confidence for the remainder of the round. There are some ways to increase confidence and improve short putting.
1 – Take Your Time
Oftentimes players take short putts for granted or simply have such a fear of the putt that they quickly make their stroke to get it over with. However, it’s vitally important to take the time going through your regular routine. Stay focused, read the break and determine the speed. Stay committed to what you determine the stroke should be and stick with the plan. Then execute the stroke.
2 – Relax and Determine Hole Entry Point
Focus on where you want the putt to start and where you want the putt to finish is vital. Sometimes it’s better for a high entry point into the hole or maybe you are looking to hit it dead center into the cup. While visualizing this and preparing for the put, keep your eyes moving and muscles relaxed. Getting stiff and tense over the putt is a sure recipe for disaster.
3 – Focus on the Back of the Ball
Before starting your stroke, be sure to focus on the ball is at the back. This will help ensure a square hit at contact. If you focus on the top of the ball, or front of the ball, the chances of hitting squarely dramatically decrease. While PGA Tour professional Jordan Spieth, in particular, would focus on the hole while making his stroke, that is ill-advised for the average player. Remember Spieth is a tour professional, and you are most likely, not.
4 – Use Proper Breathing Techniques to Ease Tension
Before making a final look at the hole before getting ready to make your putting stroke, gently exhale before starting the stroke. Holding your breath is a sure-fire way to build up tension in the shoulders, neck, arms, and chest. This will likely cause a very shaky, jerky putting stroke, not the fluid one necessary to drain putts.
5 – Commit to the Plan but Accept Misses
By having a firm plan with the putt at hand, it will help you have a great mindset about the ball dropping into the cup. This will help keep you relaxed, hitting the putt squarely with confidence that you will make the putt. Sometimes, even with the best of plans and confidence, the putt will not drop. You must be willing to accept that and approach the next putt with the same confidence. It’s similar to a great shooter in basketball. No matter how many shots they miss, a great shooter will keep firing away, knowing that sooner or later they will fall.
How to Putt Straight
Reading greens correctly for breaks and determining proper speed are important in making putts. However, the best reader of greens in the world will still consistently miss without the ability to hit the ball straight. If you cannot hit the ball straight over a short distance of a few feet on a flat surface, then becoming a good putter is nearly impossible.
Most putts you will encounter will not be perfectly straight. Therefore, for putts off the fall line, pick a target away from the hole. Then you must develop enough skill to hit your putt at this point before the ball breaks down towards the cup. So how can one learn to putt straight?
Pick a surface that is level so the ball stays a straight course over the duration of the putt. The reality is that most practice putting greens are not the best in terms of replicating true roll on the course. Try to find the most level spot possible when practicing straight putting.
The first thing to master is striking the ball squarely so the ball has a smooth roll that starts along the correct path. How can you determine if your roll is correct? You can draw a line around the middle of the ball. Place the head of the putter perpendicular to this line and after the stroke watch the line. The less wobble to the line, the more squarely you have hit the ball. The more that line moves from side to side, the less square your putter head was at impact.
If squaring the clubface at impact is an issue, there are different types of putting aids on the market that can help. The Rail by Harold Swash, The Tube by Dave Pelz, Checker Balls, and the Putting Stick are among the most popular.
The Rail is excellent in the sense that it simulates putting under pressure, which is more like putting on the course that on the practice green. The idea is to roll the ball as many consecutive times as possible without the ball falling off the narrow track. It is a bit more fun than just putting balls on a practice green and can be used indoors on days that weather conditions are suitable for heading to the course.
Conclusion
The saying, “drive for show and putt for dough” has its merits. There’s nothing that derails a round of golf faster than the three-putt early on. It can destroy confidence on the green for the rest of the day. No matter how well your strike the ball from tee to green, without solid putting, your scores will suffer and in tournament play, can cost you a victory.
Distance control and accuracy are important to avoid three putting. There are numerous drills to help in those areas, including putting balls into a circle, marker drill, clock face drill, and visualizing your putt falling into the hole. Putting aids created from some of the top instructors in the world can also assist your putting woes.
To improve short putts, take your time, relax, focus on the back of the ball, and commit to the plan. Of course, putts won’t fall unless you learn to hit the ball squarely to ensure proper roll, resulting in more putts straight on line. Don’t fret about missing short putts because even the top professionals on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour have missed short putts costing them major championships. Stay committed to a smart practice routine, relax, believe in your approach and if you miss, take it as a learning experience. Line up at the next putt with the same routine every time and you’ll begin seeing putts fall more consistently.
FAQ
Can I get a golf putting lesson?
Most local driving ranges and courses have professionals that will give lessons in all areas of the game from driving, long irons, short irons, sand play, and putting. Consult your local pro for scheduling and rates.
Another option is to find a GOLFTEC in your area. Founded in 1995 in Colorado, GOLFTEC has helped more than 10 million people improve their putting with Motion Measurement Technology that provides students instant feedback with real-time video and simultaneous motion measurement. Using TECPUTT, you will learn about path direction and length, face angle and loft, which will all help improve your putting stroke.
Putting lessons with your Coach won’t just show you that you are hitting putts inconsistently, but you’ll know why that is the case. The Coach will show you the best way to attack greens to minimize three-putts by teaching about direction, speed control and aim.
Does it matter what type of putter I use?
The putter is the most used club in a player’s bag; however, many golfers don’t spend enough time picking a putter that best suits their game. With so many different styles of putter on the market, it’s important to find the right one and players should be professionally fitted for a putter. For many that cannot afford a professional fitting, there are specifics to pay attention to when choosing a putter.
First, note what kind of stroke you have. Most players have either a slight arc or a straight stroke. The type of stroke will determine that type of putter best to use. The slight arc putter is one who takes the club back slightly to the inside, returns square to the ball, and finishes with an arc to the left (right hander) or right (left hander). Straight putting style refers to a style where the golfer keeps a straight back and through stroke with face square to the target.
Pay attention to the head balancing, which will either be on the face or on the toe. A face-balanced putter allows a golfer to keep the face more square through impact, while the toe-balanced putter is better for those with the arc stroke. With a face-balanced putter, the face will point towards the sky when the shaft rests across the palm of your hand. On the other hand, if the toe hangs down, you have a toe-hang putter.
Next, take a look at the head shape and weight. If you are a low-handicap golfer that consistently hits the sweet spot on the putter, then a blade-style putter is best for your game. This is not as good of a putter for the average player because it provides less forgiveness than a mallet-style putter. The slower the greens you play on, the heavier head you should use.
To determine the length of the putter, take your normal stance and drop a ball from your opposite eye (right for a left hander, left for a right hander). If the ball hits the ball you are about to put, then the length of your putter is probably correct. If the ball drops closer to your feet, decrease the length of your putter.
Last, but not least, it the grip. With hundreds of types of grips available, there is a lot to choose from. First, consider the following. A wider grip will cause more separation of the hands on the club, which can be helpful for those that tend to flick their wrists at impact. A heavier grip will make the head feel lighter and vice versa with a lighter grip.
How do I putt fast greens?
The faster the greens, the more feel is required. If feeling the putter as it swings is a problem for you, then it will be increasingly difficult to have accurate distance control. One thing that can help improve feel is gripping the club more lightly. This is something that must be practiced in advance to you are prepared when hitting a course with quick greens.
Another important factor to successful putting on fast greens is playing more break. The average player doesn’t play nearly enough break on putts, with putts generally finishing far below the hole. Without enough break, you must hit the ball harder, which is most likely going to result in a difficult putt coming back. If you consistently miss low, play significantly more break to allow the possibility for the ball to come back toward the hole.
One thing often overlooked it practice before the round. Arrive before your tee time and hit the practice green to get a feel for the speed of the greens that day. Once on the course be sure to try to keep the ball below the hole. Fast greens are much easier to navigate putting uphill than downhill. Positioning the ball below the hole makes you play more strategically, erring on the side of the low part of the green instead of the high part. Remember on quick greens, closer to the hole isn’t always better. An uphill putt from six-to-eight feet is often easier to make than a two-to-three foot downhill put with break.
While not something you want to do regularly, hitting with the toe of the club can be useful on ultra-fast greens. Suppose you are in the situation where a greenside bunker shot leaves you with a four-footer downhill on a fast green for par. Clearly you want to save the par, but you don’t want to go by so far as to risk missing the bogey putt coming back.
In this case you can hit the putt intentionally off the toe, allowing for a longer stroke while not hitting the ball extra hard. The only problem with this method is it’s more difficult to keep the putt on line. Therefore, this method is definitely one to practice before heading out on the course.
How do I lag putt?
Lag putting is one of the most important skills needed to avoid three-putting greens, yet it’s one of the most difficult skills for the average player. Here’s some tips to improve lag putting.
1 – Don’t try to drain every 20, 30, and 40 foot putt. The proper way to approach long putts is to try to picture the hole in the center of a target with a 6-foot diameter. This removes added pressure to get the ball close. Just try to hit the target and your job is one. Getting the ball in the hole is a bonus!
2- If you are a crouch putter, try standing more upright. Then move closer to the ball than usual. What this does is allow for a more powerful, square stroke than crouched over.
3- Normally we think of a putt as a back and forth “stroke” through the ball. Change the mindset to a “chip-putt”. What this means is to use a motion you would generally use for chipping the ball from the fringe. This will also allow for a stronger strike of the ball off the putter head, getting the ball to the hole.
4- Practice, practice, and more practice. Don’t just show up at the course cold and expect to successfully lag a 40-footer you encounter on the first green. Take time at least once a week on the practice green, hitting putts from 40 feet and beyond. Keep hitting putts until you get enough feel to successfully put three balls from each distance into an imaginary target with the hole as the “bullseye”.
5- Once you feel comfortable lagging relatively straight putts from distance, find the most difficult putt you can on the practice green. Even if the putt has multiple breaks that extend from edge to edge, don’t shy away from it. Putt is several times until you get a decent feel for the speed and direction.
How tight should I hold my putter?
It’s important to keep a soft and uniform pressure in both hands for the duration of the stroke. The fact is that most average golfers hold their putter too tightly. Your hold on the putter should be soft enough to keep feel will still maintaining control of the putter to hit the ball squarely.
If you rate grip pressure on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest, the grip pressure should be between a 3 and a 4. A hold too firmly will end with a jerky motion back and through the ball, which makes distance control very difficult. A relaxed grip promotes a more fluid motion.
Examine your forearms and if you notice tension, the grip on your putter is too tight. To ensure proper grip pressure, hover the putter above the ground. When the putter is soled at address, you will lose the feel of the head, and you will have to raise the putter to start your take-away. This increases grip pressure and can prevent a smooth first movement which is crucial for a solid stroke back and through the ball.In general, the ideal pressure to have in your hands when you putt is towards the lighter side than the harder side. It’s one that allows you to control the putter without feeling an increased amount of tension in the forearms. Finally, it’s one that stays uniform through the duration of the stroke.
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