One of the more interesting statistics shared with us by Hank Haney when I attended his teaching seminars ten years ago was that when Tiger Woods three putted one time or less in a 72 hole tournament, he won 80% of the time.
That’s an amazing statistic and really signifies the importance of putting in the game of golf.
It was his caddie, Steve Williams, that kept those statistics.
Most bad golfers are bad putters. Given that putting accounts for about 40% of the strokes played in a given round, it makes sense that a bad golfer will focus on putting to lower their scores.
Unfortunately, this is rarely the case, as most golfers spend far more time on the driving range rather than on the practice green.
Bad golfers are bad putters mainly because they are bad at controlling their speed on long putts.
The result is that they end up with a four foot putt or longer on their second putt, which they promptly miss.
When I was teaching regularly, I learned an excellent drill for improving my speed control on long putts. The drill comes in two parts as follows.
First, set yourself up somewhere on the practice green where you are at least 30 feet from the edge. Place a tee about 3 feet from the edge of the green.
Throw down ten balls and hit ten putts toward the tee you placed near the edge. Try to hit the putts so that they end up between the tee and the edge.
After you hit ten putts, count how many balls you kept between the tee and the edge of the green. Then repeat and try to beat that score.
In part two of this drill, place two tees, six feet apart and three feet from the edge of the green. Now you must be sure that all of your putts roll between the two tees, while keeping them from going over the edge.
Part two of the drill helps you focus on both speed control and direction.
When you are able to hit ten putts between both tees AND between the tees and the edge of the green, you will have developed good speed control for your long putts.
It’s a good idea to work on this drill from 25 feet to 50 feet if you have time. And, you should do a shortened version of this drill before every round of golf so you get used to the speed of the greens for that particular day.
Check out the video as I demonstrate the drill.
