If you are new to golf, once you learn some of the basic fundamentals, much of your work should be focused around the greens. That is where you will be able to lower your scores most quickly.
When you become a scratch golfer, putting will account for about 40% of your strokes. So, you can imagine how important that putting is toward your scoring.
In last week’s PGA Tour event in Potomac, Maryland, Tiger Woods finished dead last in the field in putts made inside 10 feet. He ultimately finished in the top 5, but 10 shots behind the winner, Francesco Molinari, who made putt after putt on Sunday on his way to a 62.
Therefore, it’s critical that you get started on the appropriate putting fundamentals now. With this in mind, be sure to watch the Putting Basics video on my Free Training page.
From here on out, I recommend you spend at least 50% of your practice on putting. If you are going to become a scratch golfer, you need to become a really good putter.
Lag Putting
Lag putting refers to how to handle the longer putts you’ll be faced with. The goal of a lag putt is to get the ball as close to the hole as possible.
Due to the length of these longer putts (anything over 25 feet is generally viewed as outside the range would give serious thought to holing the putt), we simply want to get the ball as close as possible for an easy tap-in.
This generally means with two feet. If you have a putt of 40 feet or more in length, getting that first putt within three feet is considered acceptable.
So, AFTER you’ve become comfortable setting up to your putts as described in the Putting Basics video, it’s time to work on a basic lag putting drill to help you get used to controlling the speed of your longer putts.
First, place yourself about 25 feet from the edge of one side of the green, where the green is fairly level.
Throw down about ten balls and then simply putt them toward that edge and try to get the ball as close to that edge as possible, without crossing onto the fringe of the green.
Count how many balls you get within two feet without going over, then try to beat that number with a second set of ten. Repeat the exercise until you beat the figure of the first set of ten.
Then, move on to a distance of about 35 feet, repeat this drill, then move on to 50 feet.
I highly recommend taking a few minutes before any round of golf to go through this drill. Remember, every day, the speed of the greens will be different, particularly if you are playing a different course.
So, if you want to have a decent day of putting, you’ll want to get used to the speed of the greens with this drill.
Short Putts
Starting out, I’ll simply recommend a set up similar to what you’ll see on the Putting Basics video.
Just set up about 5 feet from the hole at a level spot on the green, and get used to lining up your body and your putter with the hole (assuming a straight putt).
Try to make ten putts in a row with this set up, then feel free to move about the putting green to practice on putts that are not straight, to start developing a feel for reading putts.
I’ll get into green reading in more detail down the road.
