Putt to the Dime

Putting is one of the easiest thing to work on over the winter but is often overlooked while you aren’t in the middle of your golf season. If we look at statistics from the PGA Tour, we can see that players only make roughly 50% of the 8 foot putts they face. We can evaluate that statistic in a lot of different ways, but here’s how I think you should look at it.

If you two putt everything from 9 feet to 30 feet on the PGA Tour you will be close to an average putter. However, if you miss a putt inside 8 feet you will lose over half a stroke to the field. So which is more important – two putting from 9 to 30 feet or making putts inside of 8 feet? I would say making all the putts you should make are the most important.

Here is an in home putting drill to improve your putting accuracy during the winter months and make more of those 8 foot putts. Find a room with carpet that rolls accurately and fast enough to compare to the golf courses you play. Then simply place a dime on the ground and putt to it starting from 5 feet away. Why a dime, you ask?

When players step over a short putt they often get nervous. There are many reasons as to why but it really comes down to their fears and lack of confidence. What if you constantly practiced putting to a smaller target? If you can hit a dime, then the actual golf hole will look like you are putting to a peach basket!

Simply put, putting to a smaller target from shorter distances with accuracy will require you to keep the face angle of your putter near perfect. In order to successfully make a 5 foot putt, your face angle cannot be more than 2 degrees open or closed to the correct line of the putt. What do you think your face angle would be if you can hit a dime from 5 feet? Once you start hitting the dime every time, you will have the confidence to freely stroke the ball into the hole.

Now to focus on speed. How do you cut down on three putts? You make sure your second putt is next to a tap in. Try this drill to work on improving your speed on the green.

Take a piece of string and lay it as straight as you can on the ground. From 15 feet away, roll 5 putts to the string trying to get every ball to stop right on top of the string. To build consistent speed, roll 50 putts from this distance and before you know it you’ll start developing a consistent delivery speed with your putter resulting in fewer pesky 4 foot par putts and more made putts from 10-20 feet.

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