Putting Drills I want to share

[WillM]

Thought I would just share some drills here that I use to hone my skills on the green. Enjoy:

Clock Drill

• 12 tees around the hole at 4 feet. Make all 12 in a row

Failure drill (this one is brutal, not about making the putts as much as dealing with failure)

• 8 tees in the ground around the hole at 5 feet. Make 3 in a row at each one. If you miss, start over
• This one is also meant to simulation pressure and learning how to perform under it without worrying about the failure

Percentage Drill

• Tees at 3, 6, 9, and 12 feet at 4 spots around hole. Hit 10 balls from each tee
  • 100% at 3 feet
  • 80% at 6 feet
  • 60% at 9 feet
  • 40% at 12 feet
  • Percentages are target goals to work towards

Use a String Line

• Set up string line and make 50 putts in a row

3, 6, 9 Drill

• Make 3 putts at 3 feet, 6 feet, and 9 feet
  • If you miss 1, stay at same distance. If you miss 2, go forward one spot. If you miss all 3, start over.

Kristin Drill

• 3 different holes and putts from 6, 12, and 15 feet.
• Hole all balls in 12 putts or less

Gate drill (to groove stroke)

• Place two tees in the ground (like a gate) and hit putts between them
• Make 50

Drawback Drill

• When practicing lag putting, pull all putts back a putter length
• Meant to focus on grinding over putts between 4-6 feet

Seven (meant to do with other people, can be modified for single person)

• Place a tee in the ground around 6-9 feet and take turns hitting the putt
• Every MAKE adds 1 point on the “board”
• Anyone who MISSES now has the points that were on the “board”
• If you reach 7 points you are out of the competition

 

 

Edited October 15, 2015 by WillM

[akammerer]

Great drills gonna try em out for sure!

[vangator]

How long do you practice putting per day on average?  How many days per week?

I tried out for the Univ of Florida golf team back in the day.  Didn't even come close to making the two walk-on spots.  Those guys were good!  I hung out at the course a lot back then, so I saw what the players did.  I don't know if I could have put in the required time needed to be on the team.  More power to you!

[rkim291968]

@WillM,

Thanks for the ideas.   I will incorporate a few in my practice.

[Patch]

I. have used the clock one you mentioned. Works quite well.

I have one where I use two balls. As I am. walking on the green I drop one ball behind me.  When get to a spot I drop the second ball. I then read and putt the second ball trying to hit the first ball. 

[Kenny Lee]

Good stuff WillM.

I currently use the 3, 6, 9, drill. And look forward to adding the other drills.

Thanks, man.

 

[WillM]

How long do you practice putting per day on average?  How many days per week?

I tried out for the Univ of Florida golf team back in the day.  Didn't even come close to making the two walk-on spots.  Those guys were good!  I hung out at the course a lot back then, so I saw what the players did.  I don't know if I could have put in the required time needed to be on the team.  More power to you!

I usually practice for about an hour a day just for putting and usually 6 days a week

[dennyjones]

I've used several of these drills.    I wish I had your dedication to practice.

 

thanks for sharing.

[vangator]

I usually practice for about an hour a day just for putting and usually 6 days a week

Serious.  I practice daily in my office at home.  Maybe 15 minutes.  I go to the practice facility probably twice per week for an hour of combined putting and chipping.

I think I made a break through this week.  Putted great yesterday on the course.  The golf gods are going to get me now.

Edited October 18, 2015 by vangator

[WillM]

Well the ultimate goal is to become a pro so I practice a lot... It also helps to be in college because I have way too much time on my hands, even playing on the golf team.

[tristanhilton85]

There are two drills that I like to do on the putting green. The first is working on my distance control. I do this by setting a string up 15 - 20 feet away and working on stopping the ball on it. The other drill I like is to stretch out a string between two crochet needles and work on making sure that I hit my start lines.

Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I really spent anytime on a putting green practicing. I might putt around for a few minutes before a round to get warmed up and get a feel for the greens, but it's been far too long since I actually practiced putting (or really anything). Damn this new job.

[JP golf]

Failure drill

(this one is brutal, not about making the putts as much as dealing with failure)

• 8 tees in the ground around the hole at 5 feet. Make 3 in a row at each one. If you miss, start over
• This one is also meant to simulation pressure and learning how to perform under it without worrying about the failure

This is a good drill.  These putts are the ones you find to save par and are the ones that can help you get some momentum if it's for birdie.  When I used to play a lot more my focus was on being comfortable from 5-6 feet.  It takes a ton a pressure off the short game.  You instantly become more confident with your chips, out the sand etc.

I would work on my putts from about 20 ft working on speed control then I would do a modified version of this before I played.  I would only have one spot marked at about five feet and work my way around the hole and back to the tee.  I would use 2 balls and only do 4 stations at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock.  It helped me build confidence and make sure I felt comfortable with my stroke that day.  (Shame on me, I don't work on it much any more and I don't really do this unless I get to the course early).

Thanks for the other drills!  Good info.

Edited October 19, 2015 by JP golf

[Mike Boatright]

Good drills I however never use them because they don't simulate reality. I play with one ball on the green i pick a hole from 50 feet 2 feet any random hole and look read and go. That's it cause you aren't going to have any tees on the course so better putt by feel.

[iacas]

Good drills I however never use them because they don't simulate reality. I play with one ball on the green i pick a hole from 50 feet 2 feet any random hole and look read and go. That's it cause you aren't going to have any tees on the course so better putt by feel.

The purpose of a drill is to improve at one of the three keys to putting:

If you improve at one of them, you get better at putting.

[Foot-Wedge]

AWESOME...thanks for the info!

[garush34]

I like these. Will defo be putting the work in over the winter on putting. Thanks for sharing.

[Big C]

Will, I just wanted to chime in to thank you for posting these - especially the 3, 6, 9 drill. 

Previously, I had been taught a variation of the 3, 6, 9 drill where any miss required you to start over from the beginning. Talk about a demoralizing way to practice your putting! There's nothing worse than rolling in 8 putts in a row, only to see the whole effort go down the tubes when you lip out your last 9 footer. In my experience, that actually makes you rush through your 3 footers, because you want to move as quickly as possible to the putts that really "count."

Your version of the drill gives you a bit more forgiveness, and makes every putt worth something. If I miss my second 6 footer, I'm still going to focus over the 3rd one, because I want to stay at that level. And if I'm putting poorly enough that I get bumped back to the 3 footers, I realize that it's time for me to take a deep breath, reset and put a good stroke on those next three short putts. 

I've done it a couple times and in my experience, it takes about 10-15 minutes to finish the drill, which is an ideal amount of time for me. By contrast, once I was out on the green for an hour - trying to roll 9 straight putts in under my "old" version of the drill. By the end of the afternoon, I was just ready to put my putter away for awhile.

[dchoye]

18 hours ago, Big C said:

Will, I just wanted to chime in to thank you for posting these - especially the 3, 6, 9 drill. 

Previously, I had been taught a variation of the 3, 6, 9 drill where any miss required you to start over from the beginning. Talk about a demoralizing way to practice your putting! There's nothing worse than rolling in 8 putts in a row, only to see the whole effort go down the tubes when you lip out your last 9 footer. In my experience, that actually makes you rush through your 3 footers, because you want to move as quickly as possible to the putts that really "count."

Your version of the drill gives you a bit more forgiveness, and makes every putt worth something. If I miss my second 6 footer, I'm still going to focus over the 3rd one, because I want to stay at that level. And if I'm putting poorly enough that I get bumped back to the 3 footers, I realize that it's time for me to take a deep breath, reset and put a good stroke on those next three short putts. 

I've done it a couple times and in my experience, it takes about 10-15 minutes to finish the drill, which is an ideal amount of time for me. By contrast, once I was out on the green for an hour - trying to roll 9 straight putts in under my "old" version of the drill. By the end of the afternoon, I was just ready to put my putter away for awhile.

I been working on my short putts.  I try to start off at a hole that is somewhat flat around the hole. I find that if I start practicing around the hole that has lots of break it doesn't stimulate real course  situations as most holes generalIy have flat portion.   I do more 3,4,5 foot putts as I will likely face those putts most often.   Also when making most of these I start feeling confident about my stroke.  I work my way towards 10 feet when I'm confident with my stroke and start to circle and find putts that breaks 

Edited December 2, 2015 by dchoye