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As far as glamorous golf skills go, lag putting ranks right up there with raking bunkers and fixing divots. Everybody wants to drive the ball farther and stick their iron shots tight; nobody ever says, “Man, Id kill for better distance control on the greens.”

Perhaps thats why golfers seldom practice it.

And perhaps thats why many of us feel lost when we stand over a 40-footer.

Few amateur golfers are adept at lag putting. (By lag putting, we mean trying to get a putt of 30-plus feet within a few feet of the cup, rather than trying to hole the long putt.) They tend to leave the ball very short or smack it much too hard, leaving at least 5 feet for their next attempt. When they miss the second one and three-putt, they blame a crummy short putting game when, in fact, their poor first try was the real culprit.

So, how can you improve your lag putting? By working at it, of course. Even if youre one of those lucky folks to whom touch and feel come naturally, maintaining them round to round takes practice.

Before we get to the drills, a note about tracking your stats. If youre not already keeping a record of your results on the greens (and tees, and fairways), youre missing an opportunity to save shots. During each round, make space on your scorecard to mark these stats on each hole: the distance of your first putt, the distance of the putt you make, and your total number of putts. If your lag putting is, well, lagging, the card will reveal it.

Now for the drills. The one thing you need – besides a putter and golf balls – is space for putts of 30+ feet. Naturally, the best place is a large practice green with slopes and speed that emulate what youll face on the course. Practice these drills often and theyll improve your long putting in short order:

The Ladder Drill

Lag to an End Zone

Putt with Eyes Open, then Closed

Believe it or not, weve got even more helpful tips to bolster your lag putting acumen. Check em out:

Should You Lag Long Putts, or Try to Make Them?

Use Same Stroke for Long Putts as Short Ones

Open Stance, Free Wrists on Long Putts

Drills to Improve Putting Speed

Many golfers in the throes of the “yips” will alter their grip. The “cross-handed” (“left-hand-low”) and “claw” methods are popular fixes that work wonders for some. While golfers often adapt fairly easily to these grip styles on short strokes, longer putts can prove awkward. In fact, some golfers continue using a conventional grip when theyre 25 or more feet from the cup.

This falls into the same category as changing your grip. Switching to a long putter may be a great way to cure short putting woes, but your lag putting may actually suffer. If you really want to try a different putter type, a belly-style model could be a happy medium.

Theres a long-standing argument that great basketball shooters are born with the gift, and those without it cant hope to achieve true shooting brilliance. Some believe the same thing about lag putting and greenside touch. We say thats hogwash. While you may never become world-class, you can definitely improve at long putting by using the drills described in this article.