It's so important to get your putter firing from the first hole. Most amateurs know that and yet, what I see all the time is golfers practising a handful of short putts before they tee off. To my mind, this is a big missed opportunity. In the video and article below, I'll share a simple pre-round drill to use instead, that will hone your feel before you head to the first tee.
Pace Putting Drill
As I mentioned, lots of golfers hit short putts to a hole before they tee off and I can see the reasoning behind that as it can build confidence from seeing the ball going in the hole. However, what happens to your confidence if you miss? And more to the point, what are you doing to develop a feel for the pace of the greens?
If you can get a grip of the pace, you'll hole out more often and keep 3-putts off your card so I want you to change it up. It's not to say you can't devote some time to the short ones but I want you to get a proper feel for the pace of the greens. This is much more important.
To do this, forget about putting to a hole and instead just find some open space that is unoccupied. If possible, hit some left-to-right putts, some right-to-left putts, some uphill putts and some downhill putts.
The idea is simple and requires just two balls. I want you get the first one out there into a rough area and then the second one to just gently nestle up to it. By taking the hole out and focussing on a smaller target, you'll narrow your focus and concentrate only on speed. The more balls you hit, the more your results will improve and you'll create an instinctive feel for the pace of the greens.
Don't rely on having the pace down because you played recently and putted well. It might be subtle but the pace of greens change every day based on a variety of factors. In the video above, for example, the greens were ironed five minutes prior to filming.
So, change up your pre-round putting routine to incorporate this simple pace drill. It'll boost your confidence and undoubtedly lead to more holed putts.
