Putting Drills For Speed Control

Putting drills for speed are, in my opinion, the simplest and most convenient to work into your busy schedule.

Investing in one of the best putting mats, indoor putting greens or putting aids will allow you to 'go mobile' with your practice, meaning you can put in those extra reps at home, at the office or wherever else you fancy.

It's no secret that becoming a quality putter takes time and effort, but you also need the right guidance in the form of the best putting tips and putting drills to help you nail those fundamentals.

In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach John Howells shares one of his favourite putting drills for speed, used by Tiger Woods, and there is even a bonus drill from Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach John Jacobs to give you that extra boost towards putting perfection...

'Picture' The Putt

Tiger Woods has often spoken about how his father, Earl, taught him to ‘putt to the picture’. Tiger really goes to town on scoping out a putt, looking at it from multiple angles. But the final stage of the process – the routine he goes through just before hitting the putt – is that he will get in by the side of the ball and take a lot of mental pictures.

In his mind, he will almost take a photo of the hole and visualise what the slopes are doing around it. Then he will putt to that picture on his practice strokes before stepping in and doing it with the ball. 

Pay Attention To The Bigger 'Picture'

Many golfers become locked on the ball and don’t look at the target enough. Make sure you go to the low side or even the other side of the hole to really take things in, then finish near the ball to take a final mental picture before it’s go time.

Pre-round, work on distance control by focusing on how different-sized back and through strokes perform – ideally symmetrical both sides.

The 'Picture' Perfect Putting Drill

Start with 20ft putts, both uphill and downhill, taking those pictures in your mind and being aware of what the putts do. Having a vivid image and responding to it will help you become more instinctive and improve your feel.

Now progress to 40ft putts to see what it takes to get that distance right. These two key lengths provide a good bandwidth of putts to use on the course. Then you can just comfortably respond when you face putts of those distances at key moments.

Bonus Putting Drill For Speed: The Ladder

This little drill is designed to help you develop a better feel for pace rather than grooving a better technique.

Place two tee pegs in the green then walk to about 15ft and put down a ball. Then, moving to side and getting ever closer to the tees put 5 more balls down. Each ball should be a different distance from the tee pegs.

Go through your normal routine, trying to get the first ball to rest between the pegs, then move smoothly and reasonably quickly on to the next slightly shorter putt in the sequence with the same aim in mind. Importantly each putt will have a slightly different break and in turn this will affect the speed.

Try to keep the rhythm of your stroke consistent and alter the distance of each putt through the length of the swing. This is an important point that will really help your distance control out on the course. It’s a great drill that will improve the simple mechanics of your stroke, leaving you with better, natural pace control.

Here are a few top tips to nail this drill: