Fresh off his first-ever major title, 2024 PGA champion Xander Schauffele finally has the proverbial monkey off his back.
While Schauffele did lots of great things at Valhalla, one area of his game that really stood out was his short game. And when he needed the flat stick the most, he delivered.
According to DataGolf, Schauffele finished +1.22 in strokes gained: putting, which ranked T15 for the week.
One may argue that his putting didn’t win him the tournament, since he didn’t actually lead the above category, but it also didn’t cost him the tournament — which had been the case in many of his previous majors.
But like all great putters, especially those who come through in clutch moments, an essential skill is green-reading. So how does a player like Schauffele dial in his read to ensure he putts it close? By sticking to the following practice drill.
Xander Schauffele’s go-to putting practice drill
In the video above, courtesy of GOLF Top 100 Teacher Chris Como’s Instagram, Schauffele describes a putting training aid that he uses to help him read greens during practice.
It’s a product called The Putting Plates, which uses a few tees to help players dial in their green-reading, ball starting line, putter aim and speed.
“You put a tee in the ground and you’re like, OK, that’s where I want to start the ball,” Schauffele said. “Then you line your plate up to it, put all your tees in, pull the string to make sure it’s lined up properly, then you hit the putt.”
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Not only does the training aid help Schauffele get the feel for his putting speed and the break of the greens, but it gives him instant feedback, which allows him to make adjustments on the fly.
“Without having anyone there, you can let this plate be your coach because it tells you if you picked a good read,” he adds. “Is it a firm read, or is it a soft read?”
Whether you’re using this specific training aid or not, by simply putting some tees into the ground, you can practice both your aim and speed control — which helps you become a sniper with your putter. So trying something similar to Schauffele’s drill above is a good way toward becoming a green-reading master.
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