How To Improve Your Putting At Home: 9 Drills & A Routine

Putting Drill #1: Four Ball Distance Control

Putting drill focus: This drill is focused on practicing and improving your putting distance control with the main aim of structuring the putting drill so you build on your distance control with each practice putt giving you a proper understanding of your current control technique.

 Putting drill Instructions: 

Create a 2 foot by 2 foot box or any zone using tape or some sort of markers (four glasses will also work great). The goal is to putt all 4 balls into your zone with each ball going slightly further than the previous ball. But the 4th ball can’t go outside of the zone. Start from 3 feet away from the zone and move the distance back as you gain a better sense of distance control.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Four golf balls, four place marks or some tape, measuring tape (optional) and a putter.

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Putting drill #2: Putt to a card or sticky note

Putting drill focus: This is a hard practice drill aimed at improving your putting distance control and accuracy from your preferred practice distance. Using a small target zone like a playing card or sticky note helps simulate the hole on a green ensuring your working on the alignment of your putter face especially from longer distances.

Putting drill Instructions: 

Get a playing card or a sticky note and put it on your floor or carpet, 3 feet, 6 feet, 9 feet or 12 feet away from your start line. Whatever the distance you want to practice on.

Now practice putting the golf ball with enough speed and distance that it stops on top of the card or sticky note. If it touches it and goes past it, try again until it lands on your target.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, sticky note or playing card, measuring tape (optional) and a putter

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Putting Drill #3: Putt to an object

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at improving your putting distance control and accuracy from your preferred practice distance. This is one of the best drills I have used for practicing your putting at home. I spent many a year using this drill at home when I was training to become a PGA Professional. The further the distance the more focus you will need to place on hitting the sweet spot of the putter if you starting line is correct and you miss the object you’ll know you have opened or closed the putter face during this drill.

Putting drill Instructions: 

Mark your required practice distance from whatever length. I have a 3, 6, 9, 12 markers usually set and focus on what distance I want to practice on. Line the ball up and try and hit the object with the ball. Line your golf balls up in a circle around the object so you don’t have to keep placing them.

Pro tip: Another way to practice is mark all the distances you want to practice from and move back a distance once you hit the object (so once you hit from the 3 feet mark, move to 6 feet mark etc.). If you miss, start all over again until you’ve hit the object from all your marked distances. This will help practice how your muscle memory is doing as you progress through the drill.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, tape as distance markers, measuring tape (optional) and a putter.

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Putting Drill #4: Tee at the back and front of the ball

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at helping you get the pace of the ball right, which is often one of the most important aspects of great putting. Practicing this drill will help you find gentle acceleration of the golf ball through impact to ensure a smooth roll and consistent distance control of your putts by keeping a relatively even length of stroke either side of the ball.

Putting drill Instructions: 

Position your ball. Now place tees above the glide path of the ball at various distances ahead of the ball and behind it so that the line of tees match the trajectory of a full swing of your putter backwards and forward. Make sure none of the tees aren’t directly in front of the ball.

Ensure that each corresponding tee is equal in length from the distance to the ball (e.g. the first tee behind the ball is the same distance as the first tee in front of the ball, same for the second tee and third).

Now stroke the ball focusing on lining up the swing with corresponding tees at various putting target distances to help refine your pace, distance and accuracy control.

Pro tip: The backswing should be a fraction shorter than the follow through to help you find that smooth build-up of speed through impact. Combine this with the book putting drill below to keep the face of your putter square.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, golf tee, tape as distance markers, measuring tape, books (optional) and a putter.

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Putting Drill #5: Pencil putting

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at helping you improve your contact and ball glide path by finding the sweet spot of the golf ball when you putt, allowing you to form a good foundation for your putting stroke to build other techniques on.

Putting drill Instructions:

Simply get a pencil or a pen of any length and position directly behind the middle of the ball. Ideally, the pencil should be aligned with a target like or a cup/glass on the carpet at home. Now position your putter directly above the pencil and go ahead and strike your putt. If the position of the putter looks and feels normal you will know you have been positioning the putter correctly prior to trying this drill. If the position of the putter behind the ball looks strange or different then more than likely you have not been addressing the ball out of the centre of the putter.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf ball, putter, pencil/pen, cup/glass

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Putting Drill #6: Book path putting

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at helping you improve and focus on your putting stroke technique, the glide path of your putting stroke and the line of your ball while ensuring the face of your putter remains square at impact.

Putting drill Instructions:

Place two large books onto your carpet at home and leave enough distance between them so that your putter can barely fit between them. Now make practice strokes focusing on keeping the path of your putter straight and ensuring that the putter face is square. If the path of your stroke is not straight and your putter face isn’t square you will hit the books. This is some of the best feedback you can get that the path of your putting stroke wasn’t straight or the putter face wasn’t square.

Pro tip: Place a line of tape from your putting position if you want to focus on the trajectory of the ball or distance markers if you want to focus on distance as well.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, putter, two large books, tape and markers (optional).

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Putting Drill #7: Putting to a tee

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at helping you improve and focus on your pinpoint accuracy, as well as keep the putter face square, while also having the added benefit of allowing you to ensure this can be done at various stroke speeds by bringing various distances into this putting drill.

Putting drill Instructions:

Place a golf tee upside down. Now measure a distance of 3 feet from the tee. Place a ball from the 3 foot distance marker. Now try and knock the tee over. Once your comfortable at this distance, measure out 6 feet, 9 feet,12 feet and 15 feet (or extra distances at a time you’re confident at further distances). Now focus on hitting the tee.

Pro tip: Incorporate it with the book path drill above at further distances if your struggling with your speed and stroke technique until you get used to the increase in stroke speed and distance.

This drill is one of the best for getting a feel of when you’ve closed or opened the face of your putter during your stroke as your target is small and is without a doubt, a challenge to hit accurately.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, golf tee, tape as distance markers, measuring tape (optional) and a putter.

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Putting Drill #8: One-handed Putting

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at helping you improve your putting confidence and stroke, don’t believe it, well try it out. You may think it’s just for show-offs but its super effective due to its simplicity and stroke improvement potential. It’s one of my favorites!

Putting drill Instructions:

Place a target on the carpet to putt to from any distance. If it’s your first time, start from 3 or 6 feet away and using only your left or right hand (not both), stroke one-handed putts trying to hit your target. Ensure that you keep the putter path straight still as well as the face of your putter square to your target.

Pro tip: If your struggling with this aspect incorporates the book method outline above into this drill. If you’ve nailed it, make your object smaller to make it a lot harder, start with a glass then move to a golf tee as you get better. Remember to focus on all the skills and techniques in the last 7 drills to perfect this one.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, target (cup, glass, tee), tape as distance markers, measuring tape, books (optional) and a putter.

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Putting Drill #9: Backside up against the wall

Putting drill focus: This putting drill is aimed at helping you reduce the movement in both the lower and upper half of your body during the putting stroke. The more you move your body putting, the more you will reduce your chances of holing the putt.

This drill focuses on removing the tendency of movement during a putting stroke and is something that comes from our full swing where your body rotates through impact. Some golfers feel that this is what needs to happen, albeit to a lesser extent, and most often you don’t realise you are doing it. Simply, it is very difficult to keep your upper body quiet when your lower body is moving. Your lower half needs to remain quite solid and stable. This putting drill is designed to ensure you grasp the fundamentals of a sound putting stroke by keeping your lower body and head steady.

Putting drill Instructions:

Firstly, position your backside up against a wall or a door, you just want to be gently touching it but enough to give you good feedback. Set-up into your putting stance and build a solid, strong stance. Now imagine that your lower body is set in concrete.

Make a stroke where you feel that both sides of your backside remain in constant contact with the wall throughout your stroke while keeping your head still. If you are doing this correctly you will notice how your upper body is now working independently of the lower half. Depending on how much lower body movement you had to begin with, this may feel a little different or massively different…..either one is good.

Once you have made enough practice then hit some putts using a ball. It does not matter whether you can only hit a putt 5 foot or 15 foot, you will still feel the difference. If you are limited for space and want to feel like you hit the putt a little harder than position a cushion or pillow 5/6 foot in front of you and then you can hit your putts harder. Try it yourself, you will find a difference and it will help you feel the correct movement of both the upper and lower body.

Items needed for the putting drill:

Golf balls, putter, a cushion (optional) and a wall.

These drills will focus on improving your putting at home, selecting the putting drills on the areas you want to focus on improving. This can then be incorporated into your routine or just picked to practice whenever you like.

Still not convinced of the benefits to improving your putting at home, well here are my top 3 reasons as to why you should start today.

There are a whole host of ways to improve your putting at home, and equally as many benefits so let’s quickly go through my top 3:

• You are in the comfort of your own home for a start, so it doesn’t matter whether you are wearing a shirt and tie, shorts or even your pyjamas…there is no green etiquette here!
• You can practice when you like where you like and for as long as you like. You can practice in a “block” style approaches like in the routine section above, where you set aside a certain amount of time to improve your putting at home for the allotted time. You can have a more varied approach and split the practice throughout the day, morning/evening etc. or you can spend 5 minutes here and there while watching a football game, a PGA Tour event or any other sport that you are into…do what works best for you.
• Practicing and improving at home allows you to solely focus on improving the putting “stroke”, which is the actual movement of the putter. At home, you don’t need to factor in the wind, the dew on the green, the amount of slope/ break on the green, the pressure that you are putting yourself under to hole that 6 footer.

Check out some other putting tips that may help you improve your putting:

• Tips: Found The SweetSpot!
• The Holy Grail…Finding the SweetSpot!
• Aligning Your Putter With The Ball

You will be surprised about the level of confidence you can gain from improving your putting at home, you may just realise that you really are a good putter if you don’t get overly bogged down and just practice. Sometimes you just need to hit some putts and develop your trust in your own ability.

Give it a try and improve your putting at home today!

Enda McLoughlin

PGA Professional and P2 Grips Inventor

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