Golf Putting Tips – How To Stop Hitting Long Putts Short

Picture the scene if you will. You are playing a foursome competition, and it is your turn to play. You have to play the golf ball right from the front edge of the green, a shot of some twenty feet, and your partner tells you all you need to do is lay the ball close enough for him to hole the putt.

I think you know what happens next. Yes, that’s right. You just hit the putt six feet short, leaving your partner a knee trembler to half the hole.

I can’t count the number of times I have been in that situation on the golf course. And I tell you what, I feel I have let my partner down when it does happen. So what can be done about trying to improve your golf putting technique? Why not try the following golf putting drill?

The purpose of this golf putting drill is to teach you a sense of how hard to hit your putts over a given distance. If say, you find it hard to putt close to the hole from twenty five yards out, here’s what I do. Putt to an area of the practice green where there is no hole cut.

Place one golf ball about twenty five feet away from where you are standing. Now, without looking, hit fifteen balls as close as possible to the target ball. Try and putt each ball as close as you can get it to the target ball, but you must not look at the target as you putt the ball.

To remove any temptation to look, I sometimes blindfold myself with a towel. The object is twofold. First, to develop a feel for how hard you should be hitting the putts, and second, to perfect your putting stroke.

When you can hit all twelve golf balls within about three feet of the target ball, then its time to vary the putting distance, and do the same again.

This golf putting drill can be adapted to suit your own needs. What I do is start at about fifteen feet, then gradually increase the distance to twenty five feet.

I would aim to have all twelve golf balls finish closer to the target at fifteen feet away, than the ball at twenty five feet away, as this is what I would be trying to do on the golf course.

If you have the time, I recommend you try this putting drill not only on your home course, but especially on a golf course that you have never played before. It could save you several shots in your round of golf.

photo by Dare*2*Dream