By Tyler Olson, PGA Associate ·
To putt better, work on speed before line. A lot of bad putts come from leaving the ball way short or rolling it well past, not from aiming wrong. Control distance with the length of your backstroke, keep the same rhythm on every putt, and try to roll the ball so it would stop a little past the hole if it missed. Once your speed is dependable, reading the line gets a lot easier.
In putting, speed decides how much the ball breaks. The same putt hit softly curves a lot, and hit firmly it curves less. So if your speed changes every time, no read you make can be right, because the line depends on how hard the ball is rolling.
Speed also decides how long your next putt is. A putt on a good line with bad speed can leave you a long way from the hole. A putt with good speed and a slightly off line usually leaves a short tap-in. That is why I tell golfers to learn speed first and line second.
The easiest way to control putting distance is to change the length of your stroke, not how hard you hit. A short putt gets a short backstroke, a long putt gets a longer one, and the rhythm stays the same on both. A lot of new golfers do the opposite: they make the same small backstroke every time and then jab at the ball on long putts. That jab is where most distance mistakes come from.
Try to make the backstroke and the follow-through about the same length, and let the putter swing like a pendulum. Keep your grip pressure light. A tight grip makes it hard to feel how far the ball will go.
Greens in Utah County can get firm and quick in the heat of summer and slower when they are wet in spring or fall. Before a round, roll a few long putts just to see how fast the greens are that day.
A putting routine is the same short set of steps before every putt, so your brain has a job and nerves have less room. Here is a simple one. First, look at the putt from behind the ball and decide on the speed and a spot to start the ball on. Second, make two practice strokes beside the ball while looking at the hole, feeling the length of stroke that putt needs.
Third, set the putter behind the ball, aim at your spot, take one last look at the hole, and go. Do not stand over the ball for a long time. The longer you freeze over a putt, the more tension creeps into your hands and arms. Keep the routine about the same length every time, on short putts and long ones.
A good drill for putting speed is the ladder drill. Put a tee in the green as a starting spot, then place markers (tees or ball markers work) at roughly 10, 20, 30 and 40 feet. Putt one ball to each distance, trying to stop it right at the marker. Then go back down the ladder from long to short.
Here is the twist that makes the ladder drill work: on some rounds, do not look at where the ball stops until after you say out loud whether it was short, long or right on. That trains you to feel distance through the stroke instead of just reacting to what you see. Ten or fifteen minutes of this before a round, or a couple times a week, builds a lot more feel than knocking in the same short putt over and over.
The most common putting mistake for beginners is decelerating, which means slowing the putter down right before it hits the ball. It usually happens when the backstroke is too long for the putt, so the golfer tries to save it at the last second. A shorter backstroke with a smooth follow-through fixes most of this.
Other common putting mistakes are looking up early to watch the ball, gripping too tight, and spending all your practice time on line while ignoring distance. Keep your head still until the ball is well on its way, and split your practice so at least half of it is about speed.
Putting lessons help most when you can't tell whether your misses come from aim, stroke or speed. Putting looks simple, so a lot of golfers never get any instruction on it, but small things like ball position, eye position and grip pressure make a big difference in how the ball rolls.
In my 30-minute lessons in Orem and Vineyard, I watch your stroke, figure out the main thing causing your misses, and keep it to one or two changes. You leave with a written practice plan, so you know exactly what drills to do and how long to spend on them before the next round.
Yes, a little. A putt that comes up short never has a chance to go in, so aim for a speed where a missed putt would stop just past the hole. You do not want to blast it far past, just enough that it reaches the cup.
Short, regular sessions work better than one long one. Ten to twenty minutes a couple of times a week, with at least half the time spent on distance drills like the ladder drill, is a solid place to start.
The putter matters less than your speed control and setup for most beginners. The main things are that it feels comfortable and is a length that lets your eyes sit roughly over the ball. If your current putter feels okay, work on speed before shopping for a new one.
A consistent routine helps a lot, because it gives your mind something to do besides worry. Pick your line, make your practice strokes, set up, and go without freezing over the ball. Practicing short putts with a little pressure, like trying to make several in a row, also makes them feel more normal on the course.
Most golfers look at the ball during the stroke and keep their head still until the ball is on its way. Looking at the hole during practice strokes is a great way to feel the distance. Some golfers do practice looking at the hole while putting as a drill to build feel.
Thirty minutes, one-on-one, and a written practice plan you keep. Most students start with the 5-Lesson Package.
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