What drill will help you build confidence over short putts?

Centeredness of contact and controlling the putter face are critical for good putting. Tiger’s tee putting drill serves as a fantastic method to find the center of the putter face, while refining your putting stroke at the same time.

Simply by placing each tee on the outside of the heel and toe of the putter, this creates a gateway from which the player strokes the putt. Placing the ball in the middle of the gateway ensures that the player strokes the ball in the middle of the putter-face for pure contact. If the player makes a faulty stroke, the putter will hit the tees, providing instant feedback whether positive or negative.

You need 3 golf tees. Place 1 tee at the toe of the putter. Place 1 tee at the heel of the putter. Creating a gate. Place the last tee directly behind the putter on the intend line of putt (to restrict the backswing-NO backswing allow!). Then push the ball into the hole. This will develop face control which is highly important from 4 feet and closer. After 10 push makes. Place the back tee 1 putter head away from the “gate,” begin the push drill again. Still no backswing just place the putter further away from the ball. After another 10 makes place the back tee 2 putter heads away from “gate.” Repeat drill. This will develop better competence in face control for putts inside 4 feet.

The best drill I use is to take 3-4 balls, start about 3 feet from a hole and work all the way around the hole, trying to make 18 in a row. You miss you start over, when you get to 12 or so you start feeling the same pressure that you feel on the course. If you get to where you can make 18 in a row, knowing that you only have to make one at a time on the course seems easy. Also when you can make 18 in a row go to 27 or move back to 4’

My favorite drill to build confidence on short putts is easy to set up and only requires a ball and tee. Start by finding a 5ft putt that is slightly uphill and dead straight. Next, push the tee into the back of the hole so that the head of the tee is sticking out slightly and just below the lip of the cup. Start at 3ft away and hit putts with enough speed that the ball hits the head of the tee as it’s falling into the cup and gradually progress back out to 5ft as you get going. This will ensure you’re hitting the short putts with enough acceleration and authority to take away the desire to “guide” them into the cup.

I like what I call the touch drill. It forces the player to focus on speed and results in better touch on the greens for all length putts.

Take some colored tees, quarters, dimes and pennies for clear distinction and create a small grid some three feet apart. Space the items, say the white tees (one on the left and the other on the right about the three feet apart. Then take the next set of items, say the quarters and do the same thing about a foot back from the tees. Do the other small items the same way until you have a grid of about four or five spaces with imaginary lines between the objects. Then, place a ball you’ll be putting about five feet away from the first line on the grid and put to it. Try to get the ball to stop just past the first line (of sight between the two matching objects) but short of the second line. Then, bring the ball back to the original spot and do it again, this time trying to stop the ball just past the second line but short of the third. Do this until you complete the drill. I place the grid just in front of a hole on the putting green so when I complete the grid successfully my last putt is to go through the drill and into the hole.

One important element that forces me to focus and be successful on the speed is: If I were to pass the line I’m shooting for and the ball ends up too far into the next grid or beyond, I start the drill over again. If I miss the putt into the hole as my final test after completing the drill, I start over again. I don’t penalize myself for being short on any putt and allow myself more tries to get it right without starting the drill over again. You’re bound to have better touch after working on this touch drill and will surely become a better putter.

I like to use a yard stick that is about an inch wide. Just wide enough for the ball to barely fit on it. I then putt it off the yard stick into a hole about 6 inches to a foot from the end of the stick and I make sure the ball has to travel for at least three feet on the yard stick. This lets me know I’m stroking the ball on my line. If you can putt it straight 3 feet off of a stick you can make any short putt. And it builds confidence in my stroke seeing the ball consistently fall off the end of the stick.

Hear the ball go in the cup, never watch it. The drill is from 5-8 feet 3-5 balls, during each stroke keep your head/eyes from moving by hearing the ball fall into the cup.

If you want to make more putts stop making practice strokes after you stand up to the ball. Stand behind the ball and look down the line you want to roll the ball on then walk up to the ball and set your putter down behind the ball aiming at your target and then stroke the ball down that line. This avoids the problem of second guessing your aim as you address the ball.

A drill I learned from my college golf days is probably my favorite drill for short putts especially pressured short putts. It’s called beat the pro. So you set up 4 tee’s in a circle starting off at 4ft. The pro is an imaginary pro so if you miss 1 putt that’s 2 points for the imaginary pro and zero for yourself. If you make the putt that’s 1 point for yourself and zero for the imaginary pro. The first one to 21 points wins the game. Once you beat the imaginary pro from 4ft you take a step back and play the game from 5ft, and so on and so forth. This can help practice pressure situations especially when the imaginary pro has close to 21 points as well as yourself!

My advice today….a short putt is all about nerves and no little confidence, meaning the putt means something, whatever the wager or event or etc.

Mechanics with putting can be changed….but my advice today, Breath in for 5 seconds, Hold for 2 seconds, and Blow out for 8 seconds.

It works and a simple Out of Bounds solution.