One of the most frustrating things in golf is to play a hole in the following way. You strike the ball well off the tee, arrow straight and down the middle of the fairway. You hit a crisp iron shot that soars high on to the green and stops 10 feet from the hole. You three putt and lose your temper!
Why do golfers three putt?
There are two aspects to putting – accuracy and distance control. Luckily for golfers there is only one aspect that dictates three putting – Distance control.
When putting, the golfer is only a short distance away from the hole, therefore, it is not difficult to hit the ball to the right spot or in the right direction. It is not often that a golfer misses the hole three to six feet wide, however, it can be often that a golfer misses the hole three to six feet long or short. Being able to control the distance that you hit a putt consistently is the key to never 3 putting.
A drill to stop 3 putting
A good drill to stop three putting is to get on the putting green and practice distance control over variable lengths of putt. For this drill you need three or four different length of holes on the putting green; four tee pegs; and five golf balls.
1. Choose one hole to putt to and stick two tee pegs in the ground behind the hole to mark an area approximately six feet past the hole. Also stick two tee pegs in the ground in front of the hole to mark an area approximately six feet short of the hole.
2. Hit five putts to the hole and, really focusing on the rhythm and length of your swing, aim to keep all golf balls within six feet of the hole – as marked out by the tee pegs.
3. If successful, bring the tee pegs into five feet and repeat. If unsuccessful, try again with the six foot distance. Keep bringing the tee pegs in until you can keep all five golf balls within two feet of the hole.
4. Change hole and make sure that each hole is a different distance away.
Perform this exercise for approximately four to five holes and your pace putting is guaranteed to improve.
