If you find that when you putt you experience a flicky or wristy putting action then working on this one-arm putting drill will really improve your stroke.
Using your wrists excessively when you make your putting stroke makes it extremely difficult to control the distance of your putts. When you are wristy, the use of your wrists raises the putter head up off the ground as you strike the golf ball. This makes it extremely difficult to strike the ball in the same place repetitively, as sometimes you will strike the centre of the ball with the centre of the putter face, but then on the next stroke you will strike the upper part of the ball with the lower part of the putter face. These variations in strike will produce putts of different length and as a result, distance control will become very difficult for you. With distance being difficult to control, you will take more putts than necessary during your round and as a result of this, your score will increase.
To get control of your putting stroke and your distance control when putting, work on the following one-arm putting drill. This drill will teach you how to “pull” the putter with your left hand during your putting stroke and get you to feel the weight of the putter in your palm and hand, rather than “pushing” the putter at the ball with your right hand, which leads to your stroke becoming very wristy. This drill will also help you learn to feel the contact of the ball against the putter face as you are playing the stroke and with improved contact, your distance control will improve.
On the practice green, set up the golf ball two to three feet away from the hole. Work on getting the fundamentals of your set up position correct as this will promote a better putting stroke straight away. Ensure that you are setting up with your eyes directly over the ball or just on the inside of the ball. This will allow you to swing the putter straight back and straight through the golf ball, promoting accuracy in your putts. Set your feet just under shoulder width apart and play the putt so that the ball is positioned directly between both feet, in the centre of your stance. Allow your arms to dangle freely and loosely under your shoulders, so that they are at full extension and then hold the putter where your hands are dangling. This will promote a relaxed stroke, free of tension in your arms.
When working on the one-arm putting drill, use only the hand closest to the hole to hold the putter handle. Place the other hand in your trouser pocket, or hold the back of your thigh with it. Ensure that your feet and shoulders are set up parallel to the target line for the putt and now make putts at the hole. As the putts are short you will not manipulate the putter or force it in any way. You will work with it and get a natural back and through motion. You will be able to feel the weight of the putter in your hand and as you swing the putter back away from the ball, you will be able to feel the putter handle against your palm as the putter lags into the stroke towards the ball.
If you work on this drill and the sense and experience of the feeling of the putter in your hand and its movement with your hand, you will achieve a much better, more natural putting stroke with no manipulation to it. Slowly move further away from the hole, still using the same one-arm action, so that you are hitting putts of different distances. You will find that your putting stroke becomes much truer and that you are holing more putts following work on this drill.
