Practice Distance Control for Better Putting (Video) - by Pete Styles
Practice Distance Control for Better Putting (Video) - by Pete Styles

If you want to be a good putter -- and who wouldn’t want to be a good putter? -- the one thing you must absolutely focus on in your practice is your distance control. Every 3-putt I’ve ever seen anybody make -- and certainly over 3-putts I’ve ever made on the golf course -- have been because of bad distance control. I would very rarely miss a putt three feet left or three feet right even if it's quite a big breaking putt but sometimes miss a putt three feet long and three feet short or even worse, six feet long, six feet short. It's those that you'll then 3-putt. So if you can get your distance control right, your putting scores will improve massively.

So a couple of little drills to focus on when you're putting: You can use the same normal putting stroke. That's fine, of course, but just focus a little bit more about your distance control so think about putting more to an end zone rather than actual hole because if you've got a ball that runs past the hole and goes out of your end zone, then you're going to miss the return putt so your end zone might be two to two and a half feet either side of the putt -- either side of the hole, sorry. Ideally we’d like to get the ball towards the hole so it's got a chance of going in but then we don’t need it to race too far past. So if you pick -- let’s say that's the hole. I then measure three feet which is the length of my putter, maybe just two and a half feet to about here. I’m then going to take my putt from over this area, trying to get the ball to roll towards the hole and then stopping in the end zone past the hole. That would be really good control of my putting. Now if I want to work on this and improve my pace and my touch and my feel even more, I can try and get these balls to the hole and into the end zone but only using one hand so it goes three feet away and just practice with my left hand just taking it back and through so you can have them consistently hit it into the end zone. When I’m happy from feet, go to six feet, 12 feet, further and further back until I get to about 25 feet away just consistently lagging the putt up with one hand. When I’m good with my left, change over to my right. Repeat the exercise. Lag it into the end zone each time, consistently trying to get the ball either in or just past the back end of the hole. Therefore, it has a chance to go in while I can make a return putt.

Another really good exercise for you this time with two hands on as normal is what we refer to as the ladder drill. This is a drill where without focusing too much on hitting into a target we’re actually just focused on gaining distance control so I’ve got a nice open patch of putting green. I’d roll my first putt down there 12 feet. I’m going to try and hit my next one three feet past the first and try to hit another putt three feet past that, three feet past that. Basically I’m increasing my distance and my power control in just three-foot increments and if I’m good at doing that and I’m good doing this lagging it into the end zone, I’ll always improve my distance control. Therefore, when I go out onto the golf course, I’ll look down at a hole and I get much better feel. I’ve done my one-handed drills. I’ve done my right-handed drill, both hands together. I’ve done some exercises with my ladder drill. It's much easier for me to judge how far I need to hit the putt and if you can improve your distance control and your putt, your scores will come down massively.

 2012-08-07

If you want to be a good putter — and who wouldn’t want to be a good putter? — the one thing you must absolutely focus on in your practice is your distance control. Every 3-putt I’ve ever seen anybody make — and certainly over 3-putts I’ve ever made on the golf course — have been because of bad distance control. I would very rarely miss a putt three feet left or three feet right even if it's quite a big breaking putt but sometimes miss a putt three feet long and three feet short or even worse, six feet long, six feet short. It's those that you'll then 3-putt. So if you can get your distance control right, your putting scores will improve massively.

So a couple of little drills to focus on when you're putting: You can use the same normal putting stroke. That's fine, of course, but just focus a little bit more about your distance control so think about putting more to an end zone rather than actual hole because if you've got a ball that runs past the hole and goes out of your end zone, then you're going to miss the return putt so your end zone might be two to two and a half feet either side of the putt — either side of the hole, sorry. Ideally we’d like to get the ball towards the hole so it's got a chance of going in but then we don’t need it to race too far past. So if you pick — let’s say that's the hole. I then measure three feet which is the length of my putter, maybe just two and a half feet to about here. I’m then going to take my putt from over this area, trying to get the ball to roll towards the hole and then stopping in the end zone past the hole. That would be really good control of my putting. Now if I want to work on this and improve my pace and my touch and my feel even more, I can try and get these balls to the hole and into the end zone but only using one hand so it goes three feet away and just practice with my left hand just taking it back and through so you can have them consistently hit it into the end zone. When I’m happy from feet, go to six feet, 12 feet, further and further back until I get to about 25 feet away just consistently lagging the putt up with one hand. When I’m good with my left, change over to my right. Repeat the exercise. Lag it into the end zone each time, consistently trying to get the ball either in or just past the back end of the hole. Therefore, it has a chance to go in while I can make a return putt.

Another really good exercise for you this time with two hands on as normal is what we refer to as the ladder drill. This is a drill where without focusing too much on hitting into a target we’re actually just focused on gaining distance control so I’ve got a nice open patch of putting green. I’d roll my first putt down there 12 feet. I’m going to try and hit my next one three feet past the first and try to hit another putt three feet past that, three feet past that. Basically I’m increasing my distance and my power control in just three-foot increments and if I’m good at doing that and I’m good doing this lagging it into the end zone, I’ll always improve my distance control. Therefore, when I go out onto the golf course, I’ll look down at a hole and I get much better feel. I’ve done my one-handed drills. I’ve done my right-handed drill, both hands together. I’ve done some exercises with my ladder drill. It's much easier for me to judge how far I need to hit the putt and if you can improve your distance control and your putt, your scores will come down massively.