The Golf Guru Show

I am working with a very talented young junior that was struggling with his putting. Great ball striker and a very fundamentally sound putting stroke. We put his stroke on video, looked at it and made a few adjustments. My student sees how good the stroke looks and comments,”My stroke looks a lot better than I imagined, so why I am I not holing more putts?” So I then asked the obvious question.”I know that you are practicing, so describe your typical practice session.”I get a few balls and I make some three footers and just putt around the green for awhile,”. Problem revealed. He had no structure to his practice. Also we discovered that he wasn’t seeing enough break on his bigger breaking putts (a very common problem for most amateurs). Bad teacher. I assumed that because he was such a good player, that he knew how to practice. Bad assumption. So I rolled out a very specific, very structured practice plan that I now call Putting Boot Camp. Here is what I gave him and I think it will help you as well if you will do it. Here are the drills that I prescribed and the goal of each drill. Whatever drill that you are doing, you must have a plan and there must be goals and more importantly MEASUREMENT. Otherwise, how do you know if you are improving?

Short Putts:

Drill #1 3,5,7  Find a straight putt. place tees at 3 ft., 5ft. and 7 ft. make 3 putts from each distance without missing. If you miss, start over at 3 ft.

Drill #2 Compass Drill – place 4 balls, one at each side of the hole at 4 feet away. Place a tee beside each ball. find a hole that has some slope on each side so you have a different break from each side. Make each putt twice before expanding the circle a putter length and repeat. If you miss start over 

Drill #3 Breaking Gate Drill – Find a six-foot putt that breaks from right to left. Place two tees on the edge of the hole just wide enough for. the ball to enter the cup. This will help you visualize where the ball will enter the cup and help you to play enough break. Hole 5 in a row and switch to a left to right putt and make 5 in a row to finish the drill.

Long Putt drills:

Drill #1 The 19 inch drill – Absolutely my favorite putting drill. Find two holes that are approximately 20 feet apart. Place a tee 19 inches directly behind both holes. Using 3 balls, putt from one hole to the other. The goal (if you miss) is to leave the ball between the front edge of the hole and the tee (the speed zone). The goal is to get 10 in a row in the zone. If you leave one short or roll it past the tee, start over. I promise that you will improve your speed.

Drill #2 30 foot drill – find a 30 foot putt. Place a spare club behind the hole about 3 feet. Take 10 balls and roll them at the hole. If you don’t make the putt, try to leave it between the front edge of the hole and the club. Count the number of putts that you get in the zone. Your goal is to improve this number. 8 to 10 should be the ultimate goal.

Putting is approximately half of your shots during a typical round of golf. You should plan your practice schedule accordingly. However much time you practice during the week, take 40 percent and work on these drills. I can promise that you will improve your putting stats and ultimately lower your scores. Here is a video archive that will help you with your fundamentals so you can get more out of your new practice routine. Welcome to Guru’s Putting Boot Camp.

2 Lessons to Live by: 1) Have a structured plan to your putting practice and 2) On breaking putts, add 10% more break and you will make more putts and three putt less.                                                                            

  See you on the lesson tee,

Guru