Use this warm-up putting drill to dial in your speed on the greens

By: Matt Killen, Top 100 Teacher

May 15, 2022

This drill from GOLF Top 100 Teacher Matt Killen (and his fiancée Alexandra O’Laughlin) will help you dial in your speed on the greens.

Stephen Denton

One of the many talents of my fiancée, golf personality Alexandra O’Laughlin, is that she’s an accomplished golfer.

putting dril — Hitting the same putt in different ways gives you an instant understanding of the speed and slope of the green. Stephen Denton

When she’s on the practice putting green ahead of a tournament round, she’ll do one of my favorite drills: finding a short putt inside 10 feet with a little break on it and placing three tees on the high side of the hole, each about six inches apart, as shown.

The drill: Aim at a tee, hit a putt, then aim at a different tee and hit another. You’ll notice that the tee farthest from the hole will require you to hit the ball softer, while the tee closest to the hole will require more speed. The benefit: Hitting the same putt with different breaks and speeds helps you calibrate how the greens are running and appropriately handle the greens you’re about to play.

Matt Killen is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and is the director of instruction at Troubadour Golf & Field Club in College Grove, Tenn.