One problem I see frequently with a lot of amateur golfers is their lack of effective putting practice before a round of golf. They often make the same putting mistakes over the opening 6 holes of a round. Mistakes such as the following:

Putts that barely make it 50% of the way to the hole Putts that take a trajectory away from the hole Putts that run past the hole leaving difficult second putts

For all amateurs, the value of spending some time on the practice green can pay huge dividends by saving you shots over the first six holes. Here is a five minute drill to be performed before a round of golf that will help you zone in on your putting alignment and gauge the speed of the greens.

Alignment

To zone in on correct alignment, you should try lining yourself up for a 10 foot putt on the practice green. Put one of your irons (say a 5 iron) down at your toes once you feel you are lined up correctly. Now look down the length of the iron on the ground. Is the alignment correct? Is the club pointing accurately towards the hole? If not, then try changing how you line up a putt. Pick a point to aim for that is closer to your ball, rather than closer to the hole.

Distances

The importance of performing a distance drill is that it establishes in your mind how the speed of the greens is over 3 distances. You can practice several distances if time allows but it's usually simpler to focus on the feeling of putting a long, medium and short putting distance.

Begin with a long putt. Try to make 8 to 12 of these putts and focus on making the distance the ball travels as close as possible to the correct length to establish long green speed.

Next try a medium putt length of about three metres, or preferably, a distance which you find yourself playing often. Again, take up to 8 to12 putts and focus on getting near the hole, and importantly not falling short. The emphasis on this practice drill is to be accurate so you wish to see some putts go in the hole.

And lastly, perform some short putts close to the hole so you get a high number of putts going. This is good for your confidence and will be good practice for the large amount of one metre putts that happen in any round of golf.

These simple drills can benefit all players and save you shots in the early part of the round so always try to put in some practice before a round to establish a confidence in your putting accuracy and distance control.

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