Achieving distance in your shots might make you feel like the next Tiger Woods, but improve your putting skills if you want to achieve lower scores like the pros do. Most golfers, especially beginners, need to pay more attention to how vital putting is in the sport. The pros understand the magic of being a master putter and gain massively from investing time to grasp the skill. A 300-yard drive will, for instance, earn you the same strokes as a 3-foot putt. It is time to put down your driver, pick up your putter, and work on perfecting your putting game as the pros do. Practice the putting drills listed below, and thank us later when you lower your scores.
Top Ten Putting Drills for Beginners
Tiger’s Gate Putting Drill
If Tiger Woods swears by a particular routine, best believe it’s good for your golfing game. The Gate Putting Drill is one of the star’s favorites and can contribute to your putting mastery. Place two tees slightly wider than your putter’s head, some 3-4 feet from the hole, forming a gate to swing your putter through. From here, alternate hitting six putts with both hands and 12 with your dominant hand only. The idea is to ensure that your putter head goes straight back and toward the hole.
The Yardstick or Meter Stick Drill
The meter stick drill will train you to always get your putter face square at impact and accurately read the putting line. You will practice rolling the ball straight to the hole. Place a straight edge yardstick or meter stick on any flat area on the green, or ideally, a putter length or two from the hole. Place the ball on one side and take your shot, aiming for the ball to roll straight to the stick’s end without breaking, and then repeat the process.
The Clock Putting Drill
Imitating a clock’s 3, 6, 9, and 12 positions, arrange four golf balls, each with a one-putter length distance from the hole. Move clockwise as you putt from each position until all four balls sink, with any miss resulting in a restart of the drill. Use the exact alignment to add two extra ball rows, each with four balls, to total twelve balls. The extra rows will have two and three putter lengths, respectively, and as you sink balls from the closest row to the most outward, you gain putting confidence and rhythm.
The Rubber Band Drill
To learn how to hit the ball with your putter head’s sweet spot for the best results, try the Rubber Band Drill. On your putter’s head, strap rubber bands just beyond the sweet spot or roughly a ball width apart, aiming to have the ball make contact with the center. Stand roughly two putter lengths from the hole and try taking accurate shots. If you miss the sweet spot, you will feel an impact on the rubber bands followed by a stray shot.
Lag Putting Drill
Also known as Distance Control 101, the Lag Putting Drill is a superstar coach Dave Pelz’s brainchild and helps you master how much power to hit the ball across varying distances. Get five golf balls and place them around 20, 30, and 40 feet away from a target of your choice. Putt the first closest ball and analyze the results, then move wider as you seek to improve your strokes.