Without a doubt, speed control is one of the biggest keys when it comes to avoiding three putt greens. However, this is not the only key that you need to keep in mind. There are other steps that you can take to limit your number of three putts, and we are going to highlight some of those steps in this last section.

• Stay under the hole. It is much easier to control the speed of your putts when you are putting uphill. Therefore, most golfers are better able to avoid three putting when they start from below the hole. As you plan your approach shot on a given hole, take this fact into consideration. If the green has a significant slope from one side to the other, favor the low side in order to set yourself up with an easier putt. You won’t manage to hit the low side every single time, but making this point a priority and your putting will benefit in the long run. Also, if you wind up missing the green, playing to the low side will usually set you up with an easier chip or pitch shot.
• Play more break. It is common for amateur golfers to under-read their putts, especially from long range. If you don’t play enough break, the ball is going to dip below the ideal line on its way to the hole, and it may just keep going until it finally comes to a stop. In the end, you might be left with a long second putt, even if your speed control was pretty good. When facing a long putt, play a little more break than you think you will need in most cases. As you get comfortable with this technique, you should find that your long putts wind up closer to the hole as a result of giving the ball plenty of room to break back toward the cup.
• Take your time. Some golfers have a bad habit of rushing their second putt after the first putt has missed. If you storm up to the hole and hit your next putt shortly after the first one has stopped rolling, you are asking for trouble. Unless you have an easy tap-in to finish up, quickly mark your ball, clean it off, and reset. This will only take a short amount of time, but it will help you greatly when it comes to actually making that second putt.

No one likes the feeling of walking off the green after a three putt. You can’t help but feel like you wasted at least one stroke when you three putt, and your confidence in the flat stick is likely damaged moving forward to the rest of the round. While we can’t help you completely eliminate three putt greens – even the pros three putt from time to time – we hope the advice in this article will help you make progress in this area. By paying attention to your speed control, and by spending plenty of time on the practice green, your three putts should become fewer and farther between. Good luck!