I know that practice is difficult, if down right Boring with a big “B”. So this is my little pep talk…just do it! Take some time and practice on the putting green. Here’s a little drill I like to do.
The Ladder
This is a staple, in fact it’s a widely used approach to learning about distance control and speed. Brandon Evans from Village Greens of Woodridge wrote a nice article about it and you can view it here. Go ahead it’s ok to go to other sites…I don’t mind, in fact I would appreciate it if you did. It helps re-enforce my thought process if you see that “it’s not Rocket Science”.
The set up for this drill is simple. You’ll need 5 golf balls and a hole to putt to. Start out on a level flat putt. As you become comfortable, move to a left to right or right to left putt.
- Arrange the balls evenly spaced about 2 feet apart
- The closest ball is 2 feet, while the farthest ball is 10 feet from the cup
- Work your way back, focus on the roll and the distance your putter travels
- Repeat 4-5 times
The goal is to make every putt, but that’s not an easy thing. What you really need to measure is where do you begin to miss. If you have trouble with the shorties…then you need to spend more time at that distance. When you get better (when your Shot IQ improves) those 6-10 footers won’t seem as difficult and you’ll make a fair share of them.
Pay close attention to how far your ball travels when it doesn’t go into the cup. Don’t leave them short! Those never ever go in. Try to have your putts travel beyond the target. After doing this drill for a while, you will notice that your putting stroke will become slightly longer the further you move back, and you should have a “feel” for how long the stroke needs to be.
Just remember a ladder helps you get to high places…
