For every golfer, it’s critical to understand the impact that putting speed has on the greens. Sure, you may struggle to read the break like the pros do, but if you have soft touch with the flatstick, you’re always going to give yourself a shot at fewer strokes.
As someone who has really struggled with my putting lately — and, no, it’s not because I’m using a putter model from 1960; as much as I want to blame that — I just haven’t seemed to be able to put together any consistency.
I often leave my putts way too short, which then puts the pressure on myself to save par by making 3-footers; which aren’t always the easiest.
To help players like me break out of this habit, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Trillium Rose has a simple exercise to try out — and all you need is a handful of tees to get started.
As Rose’s Instagram post above shows, laying down six tees is a perfect visual for players looking to master putting speed.
All you have to do is set up over your ball as you normally would, lining up three tees with both your front and back foot. Make sure the second tee on both sides is in the middle of each foot, and space them out evenly.
Using your feet in this green-reading drill will help you hole more putts
Next, grab some golf balls and start working on your stroke, getting a feel for both short putts and long putts — which are marked as blue and yellow in the image above. By bringing the putter back to each position and then following through to the same marker, you’ll begin to gauge the distance control.
So instead of changing your grip or your setup, or going out and buying the flashiest new putter on the market, simply use the exercise from Rose’s Instagram post as a way to help improve your putting speed. Now go knock ’em closer and start saving some strokes on your scorecard!