When I'm in a crunch for time I start at 2 ft and have to make 2 consecutive putts before moving to 3 ft... 4 ft, 5 ft, 6 ft. Then I go to 10 ft, 15 ft. At 20 ft and longer I just try to lag 2 within 1 ft of the cup.

what part of putting are you struggling with ?

Around the world, 3-6-9, if you have a piece of hot wheels track you can practice reading the greens, two tees for stroke path

Not sure how many practice balls you have but a drill I use often is to place 25 balls in a circle 3ft (length of my putter) around the hole and try to make all without missing one (start over on miss - )

A slight forward press as you begin the backswing given to me as a tip 30+ years ago by a pro. Worked good ever since.

I like to get the speed of the greens by playing my modified bocce game. I take an Optic Yellow NXT Tour S and putt towards a non occupied area on the putting green. Then with a couple Pro V's I putt and try to get as close as I can to the NXT.
Another game I play is pretty simple. I take 1 ball and pick a random hole on the putting green. No matter what distance I choose the game is to never take more than 2 putts to get it in the hole. If I do, I go back to where I hit the first putt from and start over. The reason I use 1 ball is to simulate actual game play. It might sound nuts but it keeps me in the game mentally.

J,

If you're just trying to "roll a few" before your round, I suggest skipping the short range putts(0-5') and rolling some from 7-8' and then working on a few lag putts from 15 or 20'. This will help you get a feel for how you're rolling it and what the greens are like that day.
If you're going to the course to really grind on your putting, I like to work on all sorts of different putts, not just flat straight ones. I would work on uphill, downhill, sidehill, short, medium and long putts. Try and work in a few games too. This helps you stay competitive with yourself. Always make a goal for that specific drill.

Hope this helps!

- Sam

If your just practicing I would take 2 balls and play a game where you are putting to 18 holes. Try to 2-putt or better each hole. If you 3 putt a hole you put a ball in your pocket and your left with one ball. If you 3 putt the 2nd ball you go back to the beginning. If you 1 putt and you have a ball in your pocket you get to bring that one back out and use it. Go 18 holes & try and make it just like a regular round where you would have some short putts and some longer putts. This will definitely help your putting.

Hey JS,

If you want to be a good enough putter to win golf tournaments, I would recommend the following drils. In 35 years of playing golf I have tried every drill there is and I find these to be the most effective.

1 - every putting practice session start out by making 25 consecutive putts from a 3 foot circle. Try pin locations that have other than flat putts. If you miss a shot then start from the beginning. Eventually you'll get good enough at this you can finish this drill in less then 10 minutes.

2 - the ladder drill. There are other variants to this drill but the one I use is to insert tees in the green spaced at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 feet. Place an alignment rod about 18 inches in back of the hole on the side away from the tees perpendicular to the travel of your putts. Then start off hitting 3 golf balls (do not use range balls) from the 3 foot tee. Your goal is not necessarily to make the putt but to have each putt finish either pin high or between the pin and the alignment stick. If you hit the ball too hard and the ball rolls over the alignment stick or the ball does not finish at least pin high you must start over. Once you complete the 3 foot distance move back to the 6 foot distance and repeat. Now if you miss your target then you have to go back to the 3 foor distance again. Repeat this process until you can succed at getting back to the 18 foot mark and get all 3 balls within the zone between the pin and the alignment stick. Once you complete this task, go back to the 3 foot tee and now you will repeat this drill using only 2 golf balls. If you fail to get each ball into the target zone then you have to start from the beginning with the 3 balls. This drill will take some time to gain proficiency with but if you stick to it you will develop a great sense of speed control. This is a great drill for a serious golfer looking to improve their putting.

3 - lag putting drill. Ahhhhh...my favorite. Now that you are an expert putter from 3 feet because you been working hard on drill #1 above now set up 3 tees. One tee at 20 ft, 1 tee at 30 ft, and one at 40 ft. Start off with 3 balls from the 30 feet tee. Your goal is to get the ball within 3 feet of the pin. If not you start over. Now move to 20 feet, and then proceed to 40 feet. If at anytime you fail then you must start the drill from the very beginning. This drill gets to be very challenging if you set up the practice area so you are putting over a surface which has a moderate amount of break and/or slope.

Finally, get into a habit of developing and practicing a simple putting routine that you own. You must do this as it help get the demons out of your head when you have a tough putt to make in competition.

Practice these drlls and you will be a greatly improved putter.

Goof luck,

DV

Late to this discussion - Sorry. I like DV's lag drill and 1day's drill.
The book Every Shot Must Have a Purpose, by the Vision 54 people, has a drill where you must:
- make three 6-foot putts;
- 2 putt three 30-foot putts, and then;
- 2 putt three 60-foot putts.
I spend the most time on the first part because I struggle with short putts!

Saw a Pelz article for lag putting where you:
- putt three balls to three separate holes on the far side of the green (difficult if the green is busy). Record how far each ball finishes from the hole.
- repeat two more times (total of nine lag putts).
- Add the total and calculate the average.
You can also do a 10th putt, add the total distance and figure your average by moving the decimal point one to the left.
My goal is for each putt to finish w/in five feet. You can adjust your goal accordingly. If nothing else, the drill helps point out your tendencies; mine is to leave lag putts short.

Like what a few others have mentioned, I like to practice putting from 3-6-9 feet. Gaining a high comfort level within this range makes a huge difference in how you approach chipping and pitching. If you get comfortable at 9 feet, you virtually have an 18 foot diameter comfort circle around the hole to chip/pitch in to. I've found that this has relieved so much pressure on my short game. Also, I like to practice my lag putting, starting at 15 feet and moving upwards to 60+ feet. Don't worry about finding a hole on the putting green to practice this on because you can always just stick a tee into the ground and set up a nice practice area with multiple tees at varying distances.