SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Let’s start by stating the obvious: If you want to get better at golf, you have to practice. If you don’t put in the work on the practice green or the range, you’re unlikely to improve. It sounds simple, but it’s something many golfers neglect.
Practice isn’t always a fun activity. It can be mundane to sit there and drill the fundamentals for hours at a time. Most golfers would rather just get out on the course and rip it. Unfortunately, you’ve got to put in the practice time to see dividends on the course.
There are ways to make practice more fun, though. If you can incorporate a challenge or goal into your practice session, you’re more likely to be engaged and focused throughout.
If this sounds like you and you want a fun practice game to improve your putting, check out the routine below used by LPGA pro Maria Fassi.
Maria Fassi’s putting game
When I found Maria Fassi on the putting green preparing for this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she wasn’t grinding the way a lot of pros do. There were no training aids or alignment sticks. Instead, she had a series of 10 tees lined up seemingly at random around the hole. So, I asked her what she was working on.
“It’s a putting game I like to play,” Fassi said.
Fassi explained that she carries 10 tees in her bag that are numbered 1 through 10. At every tournament, she has her caddie set them up randomly — four at 4 feet from the cup, four at 7 feet and two at 10 feet. Then, she hits putts from each tee in sequential order.
“I try to go through the entire sequence and miss no more than one,” Fassi said. “If I miss a second putt before I get to the end, I have to start over.”
This game is beneficial for a few reasons. It creates pressure in her practice and it gives her a goal to accomplish before she can leave the putting green. It also introduces variety into her routine. You rarely hit the same putt twice in a row during the round, so switching distances and break on each putt makes things more realistic to conditions you’ll see on the course.
“An 80 percent make rate inside 10 feet is very good,” Fassi said. “If I can do that on the course, I’ll be very happy.”
