You're Correct!

When it comes to long putts, the most important aspect you need to think of is controlling the distance that you roll the ball. For most amateur golfers when you face a longer putt, the first thought that goes through their minds is not to three putt, yet the best way to avoid three putting is to have good control over the speed and distance you hit your first putt.

One of the best ways to control the distance your ball rolls is to learn how to feel the length of the stroke you need to make with your dominant hand. To do this, you need to take away the focus from your outcome and more towards the process of the motion you are trying to make, then you will find it easier to hit your putts the required distance on a more consistent basis.

Next time you are on the practise green, take a couple of balls, take your set up position and only hold the putter in your dominant hand - for most right handed players this will be your right hand. Make a putting stroke with a nice, smooth tempo and watch where your putt rolls out to. Do exactly the same thing on the next putt and try and roll your ball as close as possible to the first one. The more times you do this, the closer the grouping of your balls will become.

Put both hands on the handle and make a putt. Pay attention to your tempo and the length of the stroke that you make. Look to see the distance your ball travels, feel your dominant hand working in a similar way to when you made your one handed strokes. The more you repeat the same length of backstroke, the closer the grouping of your putts. This will make it easier for you to judge the distance of your longer putts during your round and help reduce the number of three putts you have.

As your putter head moves smoothly back and through, you will naturally accelerate the putter into the ball, so if you intentionally try to increase the tempo of the stroke into impact you will struggle to consistently control your distance, as you cannot repeat the speed of the acceleration. If you allow the putter to accelerate naturally then you will control your distance more often.

If you try to make a shorter backstroke than normal then you will have to hit at the ball and force your follow through to be longer if you want to get your ball to travel a longer distance. This is a sure fire way to increase the number of three putts you have because you will have very little control over your first putt.

Keeping your hands and arms nice and firm during your stroke is good up to a point. If you have a longer putt then it becomes easier to control your distance with your backstroke and tempo as long as your wrists are a little soft. This will enable your putter to naturally accelerate. If you keep everything firm, you will leave most of your putts short as it becomes more difficult to control the tempo and maintain a centered strike.