Putting and Chipping Practice Routine

[cporter777]

I've been working to establish a putting/chipping practice routine to improve my scores. I've been told the quickest way to lower your handicap is to improve putting. Im wondering what putting/chipping practice routines you have used that greatly improve your putting/chipping?

[JaY_B]

In my opinion chipping practise should not be routine, it should be completely random as this allows for the surprises you will get on the course.

Yesterday when I was chipping I started hitting lob wedge type shots with 8 irons, and bunker shots with 8 irons just trying to improve my feel for the shot and my control of the club face, and it really helped.

In terms of putting remember that there are 3 types of putt - Long, Medium, Short. Work on them separately, with long and short putts getting the most attention.
One quick tip would be to putt too a tee peg in the ground, this effectively makes the target smaller and the hole will look huge.

[mellojoe]

This is a tip I saw somewhere...

Start at the hole, and put away from the hole.

Short: putter goes to inside of back foot, for backswing
Medium: putter goes to outside of back foot, for backswing
Long: putter goes to outside of back knee, for backswing

If you start at the hole and putt away from the hole, you can get an idea of distance of your putts are using your "checkpoints". Then, you can go to those distances and start putting back into the hole. Since you've figured out the distances, now you can work on getting consistent.


I'm just a beginner and my advice is probably worthless, but that was a tip that I read that seems quite solid.

[Crafty]

At my home course, we have an average to large putting/chipping green with six cups that I practice on. The thing i do is trow balls all around the green, alternating between fringe, intermediate cut, and rough. Then, i walk around and hit each shot. But, instead of hitting them al at the same hole, I rotate through the six holes as im going around. This creates shots of all distances and all lies.

One other suggestion: don't just start firing away at balls when chipping. Focus on hitting quality shots, no matter how many that is.

[effektz]

My biggest problem chipping is over-hitting. So instead of a full back-swing with a littel follow-through, My backswing is about 25% with a full follow-through, and the results were fantastic for me personally.

I do agree that there are too many variables on the course to get into an exact-chipping-routine, but as long as you get your swing down, that should be a good start to improved chipping.

As for putting, I'll be subscribing to this thread to try to pick up a few of those myself!

[ks8829]

How many putts do you have during a round?
How many up and downs?
from around the green?
from 10 yards from the green?
from 25 yards from the green?
from 50 yards from the green?

The above will help you learn what part of the game you need to practice more.

If you are three putting during a round most players have a problem with distance control and making the 2nd putt from within 2-3' from the hole.

so practice distance from 10', 15' 20', 30', etc. and the putts within 2 - 3' from the hole.

I like to begin by making straight putts to make sure my alignment is correct and I am putting with my shoulders and not with my hands.

smart practicing means you are working the correct way so it is important that you have someone who is a good putter and chipper watch you practice, so they can help you correct any mistakes or improve your technique so you become a better putter and chipper.

good luck and have fun lowering your score.

[CG031]

I just chip 30 minutes a day and putt 15 minutes a day. (I usually play AT THE VERY LEAST nine holes per day as well) so this has really improved my short game a ton.

[docmao]

I am a firm believer in practicing pressure situations, to simulate what you will see on the course.

Try to make 50 consecutive 3 footers, going around the hole like a clock, and if you miss, start over (no cheating!). Trust me, those last 5 can be real testers, especially if you've picked a hole with a little break.

Or try to get up and down 10 consecutive times, different lies of different distances. If you miss, start over. Then you're working on both chipping and putting.

[MellowYellow]

hey docmao that sounds like a great idea, adding the pressure to it.

I remember last year when getting a par was still a huge deal for me (well it's still a pretty big deal but back then I maybe got 1 par ever 36 holes so i would get NERVOUS) and I remember I missed a putt once from about 2 feet for par cause I was so nervous and the other 3 guys were watching me, I left it about A FOOT SHORT!!!! it was ridiculous. The pressure part CERTAINLY is a good idea, I think I'm going to try that, maybe not 50 times but something similar. Thanks for the idea.

[doublesuited77]

something i've done that helps alot. I go to a 9-hole exec course and play Missemall (the Dave Pelz game). that is, i try to shoot even par without hitting a green in regulation.

[kc8kir]

I strongly suggest following Harvey Penick's advice (from the Little Red Book of Golf). Practice with one ball, one chipping club, and your putter. Drop the ball off the green, take your practice swing, chip it, walk up, follow your putting routine, putt it in. This mimics the conditions you will face on the course. Too many people get in the habit of chipping a million balls at a target from the same general location, not realizing this practice is of little value to the real game.

Challenge yourself and see how many times out of 50 tries you can make one chip and one putt and be in the cup. Variations would include tossing the ball onto the green so it rolls off (like you hit the green in play, but it did not hold). Chip and putt from there.

Gotta make practice similar to the real game if you ever want to score well.

[chingali]

The thing i do is trow balls all around the green, alternating between fringe, intermediate cut, and rough. Then, i walk around and hit each shot. But, instead of hitting them al at the same hole, I rotate through the six holes as im going around. This creates shots of all distances and all lies.

This is exactly what I do, although I'll also chuck one or two in to a bunker as well, plus I will try to hole my putts after chipping and keep score. When you throw the next half a dozen or so around the green and start counting the totals, you'll notice that you get a little bit of pressure on you as you try to beat your days or all time best.

If you want even more pressure, try doing the same thing but not letting yourself finish up for the day until you get the six balls down in say less than fourteen shots, adjust the total number to suit your skill level but make it a bit of a challenge.

[mrgilmore]

This is exactly what I do, although I'll also chuck one or two in to a bunker as well, plus I will try to hole my putts after chipping and keep score. When you throw the next half a dozen or so around the green and start counting the totals, you'll notice that you get a little bit of pressure on you as you try to beat your days or all time best.

hey chingali that sounds good. im going to the range tomorrow so i might give that a crack. Thanks a million

[Crafty]

Another good way to measure your short game is the 11 ball drill. Hit eleven shots from one spot to the same cup each time. Then walk up to your shots and rake away the worst five and the best five. The ball left should be your average distance that you leave on that shot (although mathematically speaking it is the mean).

[HitTheMark]

On 6/27/2008 at 7:28 AM, mellojoe said:

This is a tip I saw somewhere...

Start at the hole, and put away from the hole.

Short: putter goes to inside of back foot, for backswing
Medium: putter goes to outside of back foot, for backswing
Long: putter goes to outside of back knee, for backswing

If you start at the hole and putt away from the hole, you can get an idea of distance of your putts are using your "checkpoints". Then, you can go to those distances and start putting back into the hole. Since you've figured out the distances, now you can work on getting consistent.


I'm just a beginner and my advice is probably worthless, but that was a tip that I read that seems quite solid.

Not worthless advice at all, I'm a 3 HC and that's how I learned how to putt...now its come so routine that I don't look at my feet anymore...but that exact drill did wonders for me and quickly...

 

Grab 20 balls and a flat or uphill spot on green, hit then with a stroke (back heel to front heel) focusing on a repeatable stroke...dont look up till you have hit all 20...once you have hit all 20 pace to the middle of the biggest cluster of balls and round your pace to a nice rounded distance...so if you pace off 11 steps then boom now you have a  10 ft distance stroke (obviously there will be variation depending on uphill/downhill, fast/slow greens, etc.) But you'll have starting point and over time you'll learn to adjust your stroke instead of blindly whacking at the ball...do this for 2 or 3 strokes and you'll have some good baselines...uphill 12 paces, use your 15 ft stroke, downhill 15 paces, use your 10 foot stroke...made a massive difference for me

Just dont get over committed to those strokes, they're baselines while you learn feel...somedays youll do your 10 ft stroke and it will go 16 ft...at that point head back to the putting green and recalibrate or do a quick 5 ball recalibration before every round...this is the fastest way for a new player to lesen distance control imo

[Cantankerish]

Given insufficient time to practice everything, I say practice the stuff you are clueless about until you get a feel for it and then work your way toward the routine.

Putting practice on flat ground is not what most of us need.  Learn the slopes and speeds. Practice from fringe.

Chipping from flat fairway is not what is most foreign.  Practice on an incline, decline, etc.  Thick grass, insufficient green to land on.

 I hate looking at a lie and thinking that I do not have command of the best shot available.

[JuanTheGolfer]

Focusing on putting... I break every putting practice session into three portions.

Part 1: Use some training aid/feedback device to focus on technique.  For example, use the Pelz Putting Tutor to train yourself to start the ball on line.   Or you could putt down a three foot metal yardstick successfully 25 times in a row.   The idea, is to work on your technique.

Part 2:  Short putts --  3-5 feet.  There are lots of things you can do in this area.  Like 25 in a row from 3 feet, before you earn the right to repeat the drill from 4 feet, and then 5 feet.  There are a couple of ways to make this more pressure packed and translate to the course.  First, when you set up the tees for this exercise use 5 or 6 tees spaced around the hole.... I prefer 5, and set them around the hole at 3 feet (or 4 feet or 5 feet), that way you are practicing putting with various slopes to the hole.  ALSO, do not do this drill from one tee and hit 25 in a row... rather go around and around the 3 foot circle until you have made it 5 times.  So you only putt from one tee before moving to the next.  This is tougher and more pressure packed.  Again, once you have done it from 3 feet, you can move to 4 feet and then 5 feet.  Based on time, you can also only choose one distance each of your sessions.

Part 3:  Head out to 30 feet.. since three putts will start to be more prevalent at this distance.   There are lots of drills you can use.  My preference is with your tees set up in a three foot circle around the hole, you have to putt 20 consecutive putts into this circle from 30 feet to successfully complete this drill.   You have lots of options to make this harder, like one day do all putts from below the hole, another day all putts from above the hole, and another day make sure you are putting across a slope.  Or you can continuously move around the green as long as you are 30 feet from the pin and putt from various locations.  BTW, you can also move out to 45 feet.

If you are looking for ideas on how to assess your putting, build practice routines and about 150 different putting drills.  Try the book, "Make More Putts" which is available on Amazon for $10.   Disclaimer, I wrote the book.

[Patch]

Practicing chipping, and putting are a combo thing for me, since both strokes are identical for me. 

My routine is actually practicing the two shots, one right after the other. I chip, then I putt the missed chip ball as needed. I do this from various areas around the green, different distances from the green, to different practice pins. I will even incorporate a sprinkler valve/head as a hazard.

Other times I might practice a short lob shot over a hazard to a pin cut close to the edge of the green. A lob sometimes is better shot on pin that is on a second tier. An easier shot to control the roll.

If the practice green is tiered, I will chip to pins both up hill, and down hill from off the green. 

Since I am chipping from off the green, to a landing area on the green, I read the roll the green provides from the landing area to the pin. Doing this makes for shorter first putts. 

My shorter pitching practices are done the same way.

My goal during these practice sessions is to have an average of under 3 strokes per pin. I consider any thing under 2.50 satisfactory. Some days are better than others......m