Putting Series/Part 6: Training Drills

Putting Drills That Work

How to improve start direction, center contact, distance control, green reading, and putting performance

You walk onto the practice putting green with six golf balls.

You find a hole.

You drop all six balls in roughly the same spot and start putting.

You miss the first one.

The second one gets a little closer.

You make the third.

Then you make the fourth because, by now, you know exactly what the putt does.

After 20 or 30 minutes, you feel like you putted pretty well.

But what did you actually practice?

This is something I want amateur golfers to think about.

There is certainly value in repetition when we are working on a particular skill or making a change to the putting stroke. But eventually, putting practice needs to have an objective.

What are you trying to improve?

Start direction?

Center contact?

Distance control?

Green reading?

Short putts?

Confidence?

Pressure?

Your practice should have an answer.

I keep coming back to one philosophy throughout this putting series:

“Practice with a purpose. Let your performance on the course tell you what needs your attention, and build your practice around it.”Stuart Lambert, PGA

That is how I want golfers to approach putting practice.

Do not simply practice putting.

Practice the part of putting that needs your attention.

Start With Your Performance on the Golf Course

Before choosing a putting drill, think about what has been happening during your rounds.

Are you regularly three putting from 30 or 40 feet?

Are you missing too many putts inside five feet?

Are your long putts consistently finishing short?

Do you struggle to start the ball on your intended line?

Are you hitting putts off the heel or toe of the putter?

Do you continually underread breaking putts and miss on the low side?

Do you putt beautifully on the practice green but struggle when the putt actually counts?

Those are different problems.

They should not all be treated with the same drill.

If you are three putting because your first putt finishes six feet from the hole, hitting 50 three foot putts may make you feel productive, but it does not necessarily address the reason you are three putting.

Your golf game is giving you information.

Pay attention to it.

Then select drills that address what you are actually seeing on the golf course.

Start Direction

A putt has very little chance of going in if we cannot start the ball reasonably close to our intended line.

This is particularly important on short putts.

From three or four feet, a small error in start direction can be the difference between the ball catching the center of the cup and missing completely.

Drill 1: Start Line Gate

Find a relatively straight putt from approximately four to six feet.

Place two tees slightly wider than the golf ball approximately 12 to 18 inches in front of it.

The tees create a gate.

Choose your starting line and roll the ball through the gate.

At first, make the gate relatively forgiving. As your start direction improves, gradually make it narrower.

Do not become overly concerned about whether every ball goes into the hole.

For this drill:

The gate is the target.

If you consistently roll the ball through the gate, you are demonstrating that you can start the ball close to your intended line.

If you repeatedly hit one side of the gate, you have identified a pattern worth investigating.

Drill 2: Putter Gate

This time, create a gate for the putter rather than the golf ball.

Place two tees slightly wider than your putter head.

Set the putter between them and make several strokes without a ball.

The goal is to move the putter through the gate without touching either tee.

Once you can do that comfortably, add a golf ball.

This drill can provide immediate feedback about the way you are delivering the putter.

If you repeatedly hit one tee, pay attention to the pattern.

Do not make a major mechanical change after one bad stroke.

One stroke tells us very little.

Patterns give us information.

Center Contact

Where you strike the golf ball on the putter face matters.

If one putt is struck near the center and the next is struck toward the toe, the ball may respond differently even if the strokes felt similar.

That can affect both direction and distance.

Drill 3: Center Contact

Use tees or another appropriate feedback aid to create a smaller impact area around the center of the putter face.

Begin with short putts.

Your objective is simply to strike the golf ball in the center of the face.

Do not worry about making a 30 footer.

Start close.

Can you consistently find the middle?

As your contact improves, increase the distance.

This drill can also help identify a problem that golfers sometimes incorrectly diagnose as poor distance control.

If you are hitting different parts of the putter face on every stroke, it becomes much harder to produce predictable distance.

Consistent speed begins with consistent contact.

Distance Control

For many amateur golfers, this is where I would spend a significant amount of practice time.

Long putting is not simply about trying to make everything.

From 30, 40, or 50 feet, I want the golfer to develop the ability to control where the golf ball stops.

The goal is to turn long first putts into manageable second putts.

Drill 4: Three Foot Circle

Create an imaginary or physical three foot circle around the hole using tees.

Start with three balls from approximately 20 feet.

Then move to:

30 feet

40 feet

50 feet

Give yourself one point for every ball that finishes inside the three foot circle.

Twelve putts.

Maximum score of 12.

Write down your score.

Next time you practice, try to beat it.

This is important because we have made practice measurable.

Instead of saying:

"I putted pretty well today."

You can say:

"I got 9 out of 12 inside three feet."

Now we have a baseline.

And now we can measure improvement.

Change Your Definition of a Good Long Putt

From 40 feet, I do not want the golfer judging every putt solely by whether it went into the hole.

Of course we would love to make it.

But suppose your putt finishes 14 inches from the cup.

That was an excellent putt.

You controlled the distance.

You gave the ball an opportunity.

You left yourself a very manageable second putt.

Tap it in.

Take your two putts.

Move on.

That is good putting.

Drill 5: Distance Ladder

Set targets at approximately:

10 feet

20 feet

30 feet

40 feet

Start at 10 feet and work outward.

Then reverse direction.

40 feet

30 feet

20 feet

10 feet

The goal is to learn what different distances feel like.

Once you become comfortable with the ladder, make it more difficult.

Randomize the distances.

Try:

12 feet

32 feet

18 feet

41 feet

25 feet

9 feet

Now your brain has to continually adjust.

That begins to look much more like golf.

Drill 6: Leapfrog

This is one of my favorite distance control drills because we can remove the hole completely.

Roll your first ball approximately 10 feet.

The next ball must finish beyond the first ball but as close to it as possible.

The third ball must finish beyond the second.

Continue working outward.

You can also establish a maximum distance. If the ball goes beyond your boundary, start over.

The goal is not to make anything.

The goal is to develop increasingly precise control over where the golf ball stops.

That is distance control.

Drill 7: Putt to the Fringe

This is another simple drill that I really like, especially when getting accustomed to the speed of a putting green.

Choose an edge of the green.

Stand approximately 20 to 40 feet away.

Roll the ball toward the fringe.

Your objective is to get the golf ball as close to the edge as possible without reaching it.

No hole.

No concern about break.

No pressure to make anything.

Only speed.

Change your starting position and do it again.

This is an excellent drill before a round because you can focus entirely on learning the speed of the greens.

Short Putting

Short putts require a different emphasis.

From three feet, distance control is obviously not the same challenge it is from 40 feet.

Now I am more interested in:

Start direction

Face control

Routine

Confidence

Commitment

Drill 8: Around the Clock

Place four golf balls around the hole at approximately three feet.

Think of the positions as:

12 o'clock

3 o'clock

6 o'clock

9 o'clock

Putt each ball.

Once you can consistently make all four, move to four feet.

You can eventually place eight balls around the hole.

This gives you more than short putting practice.

Depending on the slope, one putt may be uphill.

Another may be downhill.

One may move right to left.

Another may move left to right.

Now we are combining start direction with green reading.

Add Some Pressure

Once the drill becomes comfortable, change the rules.

You have to make all eight putts consecutively.

Miss one?

Start again.

Suddenly the seventh and eighth putts feel a little different.

That is a good thing.

We want some of our practice to create consequence.

There are no consequences when you hit six balls from the same spot and simply rake another ball over after a miss.

On the golf course, the putt counts.

Eventually, practice should reflect that.

Green Reading

We have talked throughout this series about reading greens from large to small, identifying high and low, using our eyes and feet, visualizing the entire journey of the ball, and understanding the relationship between line and speed.

We can practice those skills too.

Drill 9: High Side Challenge

Find a breaking putt from approximately eight to twelve feet.

Hit five balls.

There is one rule:

Do not miss on the low side.

This is particularly useful for golfers who routinely underread putts.

If the ball starts too low, gravity is already moving it farther away from the hole.

This drill encourages you to become more comfortable playing enough break.

Watch your misses.

If every putt finishes below the hole, your golf ball is telling you something.

Drill 10: Same Putt, Different Speeds

Find an eight to twelve foot breaking putt.

Play the first ball with a firmer pace and less break.

Then try the same putt with a softer speed and more break.

Can you get both balls to finish near the hole?

Can you make both?

This drill demonstrates one of the most important concepts in green reading:

There is no correct line without the correct speed.

The same putt may have more than one successful path.

A firmer putt may take less break.

A softer putt may require more.

Line and speed work together.

Drill 11: Eyes Versus Feet

Read a breaking putt using only your eyes.

Make a prediction.

Do not hit it yet.

Now carefully walk along the putt and use your feet to feel the slope.

Which side feels higher?

Which feels lower?

Does the slope change?

Does what you feel agree with what you saw?

Read the putt again.

Then roll one golf ball.

Compare your prediction with what actually happened.

We are training our ability to gather information.

See it. Feel it. Confirm it.

Drill 12: Hand Trace

This is a green reading technique I use to help visualize the entire journey of the golf ball.

I hold my right hand out roughly parallel to the ground.

Starting at the golf ball, I visually follow the path toward the hole while moving and tilting my hand to mimic the contours of the green.

If the green rises, my hand rises.

If it falls, my hand falls.

If the slope changes direction, my hand follows that change.

I continue all the way to the hole.

The hand is not a measuring device.

It is a visualization tool.

I am trying to build a three dimensional picture of what the golf ball will experience on its journey.

A long putt may begin uphill, encounter a side slope, flatten in the middle, and then move downhill toward the cup.

I want to see those changes.

I want to understand the ground before deciding how the ball should travel across it.

That leads to another principle I use when reading greens:

“Don't just read the line. Read the journey the ball has to take to get to the hole.”Stuart Lambert, PGA

Take Your Practice to the Golf Course

Technical drills have value.

Repetition has value.

But eventually, we have to transfer those skills to something that looks like golf.

This is where I want you to stop using six golf balls.

Take one.

Drill 13: One Ball Journey

Take one golf ball and choose a hole.

Go through your entire process.

Read the green.

See the contours.

Feel the slope.

Trace the journey if that is part of your routine.

Choose your speed.

Choose your starting line.

Go through your pre putt routine.

Roll the ball.

Then finish the hole.

No second attempt from the original position.

No dropping another ball and saying:

"Let me try that again."

You got one opportunity.

Just like golf.

Now move to another location.

Choose a completely different putt.

Different distance.

Different slope.

Different break.

Do it again.

This is where practice begins becoming performance.

Drill 14: Nine Hole Putting Challenge

This is one of my favorite ways to finish a putting session.

Choose nine different holes or nine different starting locations around the practice green.

Use one golf ball.

Try to make each first putt at least 15 to 20 feet, with a variety of distances, slopes, and breaks.

Play every hole until the ball is in the cup.

Score it like golf.

One putt is birdie.

Two putts is par.

Three putts is bogey.

Par for nine holes is 18.

And putt everything out.

No gimmies.

Record your score.

The next time you practice, try to beat it.

Now we have combined:

Green reading

Start direction

Distance control

Short putting

Routine

Decision making

Pressure

Performance

That is putting.

Do Not Do Every Drill

This may be one of the most important points in this article.

I have given you 14 drills.

I do not want you doing all 14 every time you practice.

That is not practicing with a purpose.

Choose drills based on what your game needs.

If you are three putting because your long putts are finishing six feet from the hole, spend more time with:

Three Foot Circle

Distance Ladder

Leapfrog

Putt to the Fringe

If you are missing short putts because you cannot consistently start the ball on your intended line, work on:

Start Line Gate

Putter Gate

Around the Clock

If you are striking the heel and toe of the putter, spend time on:

Center Contact

If you consistently misread breaking putts, work on:

High Side Challenge

Same Putt, Different Speeds

Eyes Versus Feet

Hand Trace

Then finish your session with:

One Ball Journey

or

Nine Hole Putting Challenge

That final step matters.

I want you to take whatever skill you worked on and see whether you can use it when you only get one opportunity.

Block Practice Versus Random Practice

There is nothing wrong with hitting several putts from the same location when you are developing a skill.

That is block practice.

If we are working on start direction, I may want you hitting several balls through the same gate.

If we are working on center contact, repetition can help us recognize patterns.

But we should eventually transition to random practice.

Change the distance.

Change the slope.

Change the target.

Use one ball.

Why?

Because that is what happens on the golf course.

You might have a four foot left to right putt on one hole and a 45 foot downhill putt on the next.

Golf does not give you five practice attempts first.

Your putting practice should eventually require you to:

Read. Decide. Commit. Execute.

Keep Score

If you want to make your practice more meaningful, start keeping score.

You do not need sophisticated technology.

Use your phone.

Use a scorecard.

Use a small notebook.

Record things such as:

Three Foot Circle: 8 out of 12

Four Foot Gate: 9 out of 10

Around the Clock: 7 out of 8

Nine Hole Putting: 20

Come back a week later and test yourself again.

Now you can answer an important question:

Am I actually improving?

Practice should give us feedback.

A Simple 20 Minute Putting Practice

If you only have 20 minutes, that is plenty of time for a productive session.

Spend approximately five minutes on start direction and center contact.

Use the Start Line Gate or Putter Gate.

Spend five minutes on distance control.

Use the Distance Ladder, Fringe Drill, or Three Foot Circle.

Spend five minutes on the specific area your golf game tells you needs attention.

Maybe that is short putting.

Maybe it is green reading.

Maybe it is long distance control.

Then spend the final five minutes playing golf.

One ball.

Different holes.

Different distances.

Keep score.

Now those 20 minutes have an objective.

The Lambert Golf Academy Putting Progression

Putting improvement should follow a logical progression.

1. Build the Setup

Establish a comfortable, balanced, and repeatable position.

2. Fit the Putter

Fit the length, lie, loft, head design, alignment, grip, and other specifications to the golfer and their natural setup.

3. Train the Stroke

Develop repeatable movement, face control, center contact, and rhythm.

4. Control the Distance

Learn how stroke length and rhythm influence speed and distance.

5. Read the Green

Understand slope, speed, break, starting line, and entry point.

6. Practice With a Purpose

Identify what your game needs and choose drills that specifically address those skills.

7. Make More Putts

Bring everything together on the golf course.

Read. Line. Speed. Routine. Confidence.

The Bottom Line

Putting practice should have a purpose.

Do not measure the quality of your practice session by how many golf balls you hit.

Measure it by what you learned and what you improved.

If you struggle with distance control, practice distance control.

If you struggle with start direction, practice start direction.

If you struggle with green reading, practice reading greens.

If you struggle under pressure, create consequences in practice.

Then take one golf ball and put everything together.

Read the putt.

Choose your speed.

Pick your line.

Trust your stroke.

Putt it out.

Keep score.

Because eventually, practice has to look like golf.

And remember:

“Practice with a purpose. Let your performance on the course tell you what needs your attention, and build your practice around it.”Stuart Lambert, PGA

Build the setup. Fit the putter. Train the stroke. Control the distance. Read the green. Practice with a purpose. Make more putts.

Stuart Lambert, PGALambert Golf Academy