One problem I see frequently with a lot of amateur golfers is their lack of effective putting practice before a round of golf. They often make the same putting mistakes over the opening 6 holes of a round. Mistakes such as the following:
Their putts do not make it halfway to the hole Their putts take a line or path which they weren't expecting it to take Their putts overshoots the hole by a large margin
The benefit of taking 5 minutes to practice some putting can really provide benefits, especially the first few holes were many a bogie are made. The following putting drills make effective use of your practice time before a round and should help establish in your mindset the correct alignment when putting and a good feel for the green's speed.
Alignment
Line up for a long put using whatever preferred technique you regularly use. Place a short iron against the toes of your shoes then step away from the club and look down its line. Is it the line you had intended in your setup? This line is going to show the starting trajectory of your putts so you want to have this as accurate as possible. If the line is off then maybe your technique for lining up shots is a little off. Try picking a point closer to the ball instead of closer to the hole to start lining up your shot.
Distances
With any practice drill for putting distance you want to focus on getting a feel for the greens speed over short, medium and long distances.
Beginning with a long putt, you want to try to make 10 of these long putts and you should focus on making the distance the ball travels accurate (to establish long green speed).
Next try a medium putt length of about three metres, or preferably, a distance which you find yourself playing often. Again, take up to 8 to12 putts and focus on getting near the hole, and importantly not falling short. The emphasis on this practice drill is to be accurate so you wish to see some putts go in the hole.
Finally, do some short putts within 1 to 2 meters of the hole. This is done last so that you get a confidence boost from a high number of putts successfully going in the hole.
Using these simple drills helps to fine-tune your putting accuracy and distance control before you head to the first tee and allows you to leave your mistakes on the practice green, rather than the course.
Discover more golfing tips on Tom's book review website, the Perfect Golf Swing HQ.
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