Fix Your Three-Putt Problem By Improving Speed (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
Fix Your Three-Putt Problem By Improving Speed (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

One of the biggest killers to your score out on the golf course is going to be three putting. If you can eradicate three putt side of your game you’d be a much, much better golfer. The biggest reason why people three putt out on the golf course is lack of pace control. They get the distance wrong. People often think that it’s the alignment that’s causing the problems. They missed it an inch this way or an inch that way, but you’ll miss putt left and right by inches but you’ll miss putt long and short by feet. When was the last time you saw someone miss a putt 6 foot left or 6 foot right? That very rarely happens but people often leave it 6 feet short, 6 feet long and that’s going to cause a three putt on the return putt. As long as you can get your distance control right you’ll normally leave yourself tap-ins. So when you arrive at the green and you’re 20, 25 feet away, the first thing you should be looking for is the uphill and the downhill breaks, not necessarily too worried about left and right breaks, just focus on distance control first.

If you can roll up 25 foot down towards the hole you’ll generally have a tap-in, unless it was a very, very severe sloping putt. Here’s a really good little tip to help you with the distance control when you’re on the practice green. I’ve laid 4 golf balls out here in a square roughly 2 feet across to each different ball and that’s going to be sort of my visual picture with a hole right in the center and I’m going to try and take my putt now from about 15 feet. I’ll take 3 balls and 1, 2, 3 I’ve rolled them down there. And if I can get 3 balls to stop within my little square, that I would class as good putting. I’ll then step back another few feet, roll them down again, 1, 2, 3, see if I can get 3 more down in this area. If I’m struggling and hitting them too long, too short, try and make adjustments to your stroke. Feel like a slightly short and more controlled stroke if you keep it in the ball too far, but if you consistently leaving the ball short, a slightly long, a slightly more aggressive stroke.

So 3 balls inside the square start at 15 feet and go gradually further and further back. And if you can get halfway across your practice putting green, 20, 25 feet something like that and be consistently hitting putts inside that square, that would tell you that next time you go and play on the golf course if your distance control is as good on the course as it was in practice, you just leave yourself for the bunch of tap-ins. So to eliminate three putting really focus the primary concern is distance control, not too worried about lines as yet, get the speed right and you’ll two putt most things.

 2012-06-07

One of the biggest killers to your score out on the golf course is going to be three putting. If you can eradicate three putt side of your game you’d be a much, much better golfer. The biggest reason why people three putt out on the golf course is lack of pace control. They get the distance wrong. People often think that it’s the alignment that’s causing the problems. They missed it an inch this way or an inch that way, but you’ll miss putt left and right by inches but you’ll miss putt long and short by feet. When was the last time you saw someone miss a putt 6 foot left or 6 foot right? That very rarely happens but people often leave it 6 feet short, 6 feet long and that’s going to cause a three putt on the return putt. As long as you can get your distance control right you’ll normally leave yourself tap-ins. So when you arrive at the green and you’re 20, 25 feet away, the first thing you should be looking for is the uphill and the downhill breaks, not necessarily too worried about left and right breaks, just focus on distance control first.

If you can roll up 25 foot down towards the hole you’ll generally have a tap-in, unless it was a very, very severe sloping putt. Here’s a really good little tip to help you with the distance control when you’re on the practice green. I’ve laid 4 golf balls out here in a square roughly 2 feet across to each different ball and that’s going to be sort of my visual picture with a hole right in the center and I’m going to try and take my putt now from about 15 feet. I’ll take 3 balls and 1, 2, 3 I’ve rolled them down there. And if I can get 3 balls to stop within my little square, that I would class as good putting. I’ll then step back another few feet, roll them down again, 1, 2, 3, see if I can get 3 more down in this area. If I’m struggling and hitting them too long, too short, try and make adjustments to your stroke. Feel like a slightly short and more controlled stroke if you keep it in the ball too far, but if you consistently leaving the ball short, a slightly long, a slightly more aggressive stroke.

So 3 balls inside the square start at 15 feet and go gradually further and further back. And if you can get halfway across your practice putting green, 20, 25 feet something like that and be consistently hitting putts inside that square, that would tell you that next time you go and play on the golf course if your distance control is as good on the course as it was in practice, you just leave yourself for the bunch of tap-ins. So to eliminate three putting really focus the primary concern is distance control, not too worried about lines as yet, get the speed right and you’ll two putt most things.