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10 PGA Tour-player approved putting drills you can try
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Putting

10 PGA Tour-player approved putting drills you can try

By: Luke Kerr-Dineen
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August 30, 2020
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Unlike that actual swinging of a golf club, which requires a complex combination of technique and athleticism, putting is a simple art. It’s not a huge physical movement. If anything, it’s more mental. Pick the correct line, hit the ball on that line, with the right speed, and it might go in.

But simple doesn’t mean easy. Pros spend hours upon hours practicing, often using specific drills. Here are a few of the most common…

1. Putt through tees

Using a few tees — either by placing them outside the heel and toe of your putterhead, and/or trying putt your ball through a set if tees — is a very common way pro golfers practice. It’s quick to set up, and it’s a simple way to make sure your putter is moving on a good path, and your ball is starting on your intended line.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDPW_AzFews/

2. Coin on putterhead

A handy tempo tip here. If you’re worried your stroke is too uneven, especially in transition, place a coin on the back of the putterhead. As renowned putting coach Phil Kenyon suggests, try throwing the coin away from the target.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDjzzmVFXAt/

3. Putting around hole

This is probably THE most common drill I see PGA Tour players practicing. And the best part is that it’s so simple. Pick one hole, stand anywhere from three to five feet away, and work your way around the hole like a clock.

Patrick Reed out here creating artistic sculptures on the practice green pic.twitter.com/GvstEh36OR

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) August 18, 2020

4. Putt with wedge

One of Tiger’s favorite putting drills doesn’t involve a putter at all. He hits a few putts with a wedge to get the feeling of “blading” his putts, which helps the ball roll end-over-end.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEZo5a_JqiR/

5. Club behind hole

An easy distance-control drill that’s perfect for those struggling with their lag putting. Find a hole, place a club or flagstick about two feet behind it, back up to 20 feet or so and hit putts. You goal is to have your ball finish either in the hole, or past the hole but not touching the club behind it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBdqE9NlHts/

6. String over ball and line

This one requires some assembly, but erecting a string over your ball, putter and line accomplishes a few things, which is why so many pros do it:

  • It helps you make sure your eyes are directly over the ball (the string should cut the ball in half).
  • It helps you monitor the arc of your stroke.
  • It helps you visualize the start line, and getting your ball to roll on it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEb8BV2F86j/

7. Putt one-handed

The simplest drill on this list is also one of the most effective, and it’s Tiger Woods-approved, so there’s no excuse not to try it.

All you have to do his hit putts one-handed. Either hand will do, but most use their trail hand, which will help you feel the putterhead release.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CClXKgGpDYn/

8. Heel against alignment rod

If you prefer a stroke that’s closer to straight-back, straight-through, Follow Sungjae I’m’s leadd and place a club or alignment rod along the heel of your putterhead. If you hit the object, you’ll know your stroke is arching too much.

9. Putting through tracks

Another way to practice a straighter back, straighter through stroke is to use two clubs (or alignment rods). Place them outside the heel and the toe, and putt through them like they’re train tracks.

10. Putting down chalk line

Drawing a chalk line on the ground accomplishes mostly the same thing that a string does. It doesn’t help you check to see if your eyes are over the ball, but it also doesn’t obstruct your view like the string does, which some people prefer.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7oNq-CpMjc/

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Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

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