Your putting distance control is the most important part of the solution. If you can control your speed more effectively on the greens, you will keep the ball closer to the hole, which gives you a much better chance of making your second putt. One of the great putting books of all time from Dave Stockton discusses this concept further.
While beginners can typically aim their putts with reasonable accuracy, hitting the ball the right distance proves more challenging. There's no magic tip that will get you stroking every putt just right, but practicing and playing regularly will help you develop feel in relatively short order.
Putting is all about proximity. When you get outside of 10 feet your chances of making putts dramatically falls. This is exactly why focusing on your speed from these distances is crucial. Most golfers don’t pay attention to this skill, and it is costing them multiple shots per round.
In fact, many beginners already have putting experience from playing miniature golf. But once you're on a real-life golf course, the putting green takes on a whole new dimension. The cup looks smaller, the slopes larger, the target a lot farther away.
As you stand behind your ball reading the break, ask yourself, “What is the best speed for this putt?” If it's uphill, breaking left to right or slow greens, go on the former side. If it's downhill, breaking left to right, and slow greens, go for the trickle approach.
8:189:20Golf putting distance control - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo that you get an idea of what you need to do the second is walk the length of the putt. NoticeMoreSo that you get an idea of what you need to do the second is walk the length of the putt. Notice what information you pick up through your feet. The third is to visualize the path of the putt.
3:254:48HOW TO PUTT ON FAST GREENS - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNice soft hands nice short stroke. And we can see that's very quick all right missed on the high.MoreNice soft hands nice short stroke. And we can see that's very quick all right missed on the high. Side. You can see there the pace is key very short stroke very soft. Hands.
0:369:54PUTTING SERIES | How to Adjust For Different Green Speed - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou put a few balls around the green trying to adapt or adjust to today's green speed. And then youMoreYou put a few balls around the green trying to adapt or adjust to today's green speed. And then you go out on the first hole. And you leave your first put five foot. Short you miss the next putt.
0:493:11Long Distance Putting Drill - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIn your backswing. You can see that my first cut the backswing was about to here now we're gonnaMoreIn your backswing. You can see that my first cut the backswing was about to here now we're gonna step up quickly to the next. One. It's going to be a little bit shorter.
1:515:40PACE PUTTING: 3 drills to improve your DISTANCE CONTROLYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipFeet. Well if you can't hit a 10 foot pattern next to the hole you're never going to be able to withMoreFeet. Well if you can't hit a 10 foot pattern next to the hole you're never going to be able to with a 40 foot putt or at least not consistently.
Best Putters for Fast GreensPING Kushin 4 (Best for inside 10 feet)Odyssey White Hot Pro 2 (Best budget option)Scotty Cameron Newport 2 (Sleeper pick)EVNROLL ER1.2 Tour Blade (Best for mis strikes)Taylormade Spider X (High MOI style for all green speeds)
Resiliency, uniformity, smoothness, and firmness contribute to overall green speed. Resiliency is the capacity of the turf to absorb shock and affects the ability of a putting green to hold a properly struck golf shot. Uniformity implies that each green on a course and all areas of each green putt the same.
Fast greens break more than slow greens Whatever break you're used to playing at your normal course, you're going to want to double it for greens rolling at a 12 or higher.
Trying to make greens faster than they should be leads to higher maintenance costs, turf damage, lost hole locations, and rounds of golf that are slower and less enjoyable. Sacrificing other aspects of putting green quality in the pursuit of speed just doesn't make sense.
A green speed of 7 is generally considered very slow and is slower than a green speed of 9 (a moderate speed). A stimp rating of 13 or 14 is considered lightning-fast. Most PGA Tour venues have green speeds of around 12.
In the above pictures I have chosen two holes at least 30 feet apart. I try to pick two holes so that in one direction I’m putting slightly uphill with a particular break — for example, left to right. Therefore, coming back the other way the putt is downhill with the opposite break.
My late college coach, NCAA Coaches Hall of Fame member Charley Matlock, was well ahead of his time in terms of tracking his players’ stats. I remember we were playing in a college event at Bull Creek in Columbus, Georgia. I was paired in round two with future Ryder Cup player Chip Beck. We were both playing well and in the hunt.
Finally, take a very close look at the ground-level putting sequence of yours truly putting toward the tee in the fringe. Notice how my entire body and head stay very quiet well past impact. In fact, notice I don’t look for my ball until it has almost arrived at its destination some 30 plus feet away from me.
When you are on the course, your goal with every putt is to roll the ball up as close to the hole if you can. If it falls in, that’s even better. However, during practice, you can change things up a bit in order to develop a better feel for your speed control.
On longer putts, those you would put in the ‘lag’ category, there’s nothing wrong with leaving a putt short, since the goal is just to two putt and move on. But when you are close enough to think about making a putt, you don’t want to leave those opportunities short – putts that don’t reach the hole have no chance of falling in.
From time to time, you are going to face extra-long putts on the golf course. This is particularly true if you happen to play on a course with big greens.
There are low hanging fruit in everyone’s golf game. I consider these the easiest things to fix in order to lower scores quickly. Three putting is easily at the top of the list for golfers looking to break 100, 90, or even 80.
Make no mistake, improving your speed on the greens has to be earned. You simply can’t understand these concepts, and expect to improve on the golf course. You have to put some work in.
Improving your speed control on the greens is an absolute necessity if you want to make more putts and reduce three putting. The only way to do it is to practice it effectively, and using some of the tools listed will help.