A lot of amateur golfers head out to the first tee without getting a chance to practice some putting on the putting green. They then find that on the first few holes in their round of golf that they make the following putting errors:

Putts that barely make it 50% of the way to the hole Putts that take a trajectory away from the hole Putts that run past the hole leaving difficult second putts

For all amateurs, the value of spending some time on the practice green can pay huge dividends by saving you shots over the first six holes. Here is a five minute drill to be performed before a round of golf that will help you zone in on your putting alignment and gauge the speed of the greens.

Alignment

Line up for a long put using whatever preferred technique you regularly use. Place a short iron against the toes of your shoes then step away from the club and look down its line. Is it the line you had intended in your setup? This line is going to show the starting trajectory of your putts so you want to have this as accurate as possible. If the line is off then maybe your technique for lining up shots is a little off. Try picking a point closer to the ball instead of closer to the hole to start lining up your shot.

Distances

The importance of performing a distance drill is that it establishes in your mind how the speed of the greens is over 3 distances. You can practice several distances if time allows but it’s usually simpler to focus on the feeling of putting a long, medium and short putting distance.

Begin with a long putt. Try to make 8 to 12 of these putts and focus on making the distance the ball travels as close as possible to the correct length to establish long green speed.

Next try a medium putt length of about three metres, or preferably, a distance which you find yourself playing often. Again, take up to 8 to12 putts and focus on getting near the hole, and importantly not falling short. The emphasis on this practice drill is to be accurate so you wish to see some putts go in the hole.

Lastly, pick some short putts within one to two meters of the hole. You will want to get a confidence boost here by seeing a high percentage of putts going in.

Using these simple drills helps to fine-tune your putting accuracy and distance control before you head to the first tee and allows you to leave your mistakes on the practice green, rather than the course.

Discover the perfect golf swing at Tom’s site http://www.perfectgolfswinghq.com which includes a review of the Simple Swing eBook by David Nevogt that has helped thousands of golfers.

categories: putting drills,golfing tips,driving distance,golf swing,golf for beginners,putting