Even if you've made a perfect read of the green, know the speed, and know if you're putting with or against the grain, an imperfect putting stroke can send all that hard work down the drain. Working on your stroke on the practice green is essential to improving your golf game, and certain drills can help elevate your putting game to a new level.
Hit the Sweet Spot
Putters have a built-in sweet spot right in the middle of the club face, where the club's gravity is centered. Hitting the ball with that sweet spot is essential to getting a perfect roll. To help you practice hitting the ball on the sweet spot every time, wrap two rubber bands on either side of the sweet spot, and hit a bucket of balls at a hole on the practice green. If your alignment is off, the ball will hit one of the rubber bands and veer off course. Over time, you'll learn how to adjust your stroke in order to hit the sweet spot every time. Don't worry about holing the ball every time. Once you've got the sweet spot down, you can concentrate more on speed and accuracy.
Target Practice
Many golfers undervalue the power of a good two-putt. In an attempt to get the ball in the hole, they'll misjudge their putt and leave it too short or hit it past the hole, leaving them with a nasty second putt for par or bogey. Setting yourself up for an easy second putt is the key to shaving strokes off your score, so try the target-practice drill. Cut circles out of three different colors of paper. The smallest circle should be just larger than the size of a golf hole. Cut another circle two or three inches larger than that, and another bigger still than the second one. Paste or tape the circles together and place this construction over the golf hole. Stand at least 20 feet away, to simulate a long putt. Concentrate on getting the ball within that circle on your putt. The outside circle is worth 5 points, the next circle 10 and the circle directly over the hole is worth 20 points. Set a number of points as a goal, and don't stop until you hit your goal.
Wall Drill
Pushing and pulling the ball during a putt is a common mistake for amateur golfers, and causes the ball to go off line on the way to the target. An easy way to remedy this mistake is the wall drill. Stand with your feet perpendicular to a wall and line up as if you were putting, with your stroke going parallel to the wall. Your putter head should be an inch or two away from the wall. If, during your stroke, the putter head brushes the wall, you're pushing the ball. If the back of the putter head moves toward your feet, you've got a problem with pulling the ball. Use the wall as a guide to adjust your stroke accordingly.
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