Before you start
Three things that actually lower scores.
Putting is the most forgiving part of golf when you keep it simple. Keep these three in mind through every drill below.
01 · Speed
Distance control is king.
Most three-putts come from poor speed, not poor aim. Practise pace first, every single time — it's the fastest way to shave strokes.
02 · Confidence
Inside six feet, make them.
This is where confidence lives. A reliable short stroke saves more shots than any long putt you'll ever hole — so we drill the short ones under a little pressure.
03 · Belief
Always finish on a make.
End every session by holing a few easy ones, so your last memory is the ball dropping. You carry that feeling to the first green.
All you need
Your putter
A handful of tees
One alignment stick
No gadgets required
Zone One
Short putts — the ones you must make.
Inside 6 feet
A square face and a pure start line, putt after putt, under a little pressure. Make these automatic and your scorecard changes overnight.
Drill
The Tee Gate
A Tiger Woods staple — for a square face and a true start line.
- Pick a straight putt 3–4 feet from the hole.
- Push two tees into the green just wider than your putter head — a "gate" the putter must swing through.
- For an extra test, add a second narrow gate of two tees just wider than the ball, a few inches ahead, that it must roll through.
- Make 10 in a row without clipping a tee.
Feel: let the putter swing through the gate; don't steer it. Clipping the back tees means the face is twisting at impact.
Game
The Circle of Trust
Dave Pelz — pressure-proofing your short stroke.
- Ring the hole with 6 tees, evenly spaced, a putter-length (about 3 feet) out.
- Putt from each tee, working around the circle.
- Miss one and you start the whole circle over.
- Goal: two full laps in a row. Tour players live above 95% from here — chase that.
Why it works: the "start over" rule adds the nervous flutter you feel on the course, so you practise the make and the pressure.
Drill
The N-S-E-W Clock
The classic "around the clock" — for break from every side.
- Place four tees North, South, East and West of one hole at 3 feet.
- Hole all four, then move the set out to 4 feet, then 5, then 6.
- Each direction breaks differently, so you learn uphill, downhill and both side-slopes from the same cup.
Coaching note: read every one — even the 3-footers. Reading short putts here builds the habit for the course.
Routine
Faxon's Four
Brad Faxon — process over outcome.
Set four easy putts around a hole. The job isn't to make them — it's to run your full routine perfectly on each: read, look at the target, react, roll. Score your routine, not the result. This is how the best putters quiet their minds.
Zone Two
Medium putts — make some, two-putt the rest.
10 to 25 feet
The scoring-chance zone. You won't hole them all, so aim for a good start line with great speed — sneak a few in, and never leave a knee-knocker coming back.
Game
Around the World
The tour-room favourite — confidence from makeable range.
- Ring a hole with 6–8 tees in a circle, 4–6 feet out — pick a spot with a little break.
- Make your way around: one putt from each tee, all in a row.
- Miss and you go back to the first tee. Make the full lap and step the circle out a foot.
Build it: start on a flat circle, then move to one with break so every putt is a slider. That's where real greens live.
Drill
The Zone Ladder
Phil Kenyon — speed control with a margin for error.
- Behind one hole, lay three tees down 1, 2 and 3 feet past the cup, marking three "zones."
- From 10 feet, roll putts that finish inside Zone 1 (0–1 ft past). Then deliberately into Zone 2, then Zone 3.
- Dialling speed to a target zone — not just "hard" or "soft" — is what kills the comeback three-footer.
Rule of thumb: a good putt dies just past the hole. Short never goes in.
Game
Par 18
A nine-"hole" scoring game — solo or as a group.
- Pick 9 different putts of varying length and break (mostly 10–25 ft).
- Two putts = par. One putt = birdie. Three = bogey.
- Play all nine, total your score against par 18. Write it down and beat it next week.
Make it social: brilliant as a friendly match in the group — closest score to par 18 wins.
Why it matters
The two-putt mindset
From this range, a guaranteed two beats a risky one.
Pick your line, commit to a confident pace that finishes a foot past, and let the make take care of itself. Chase the hole with your speed and the worst result is a tap-in — the three-putt simply disappears.
Zone Three
Lag putts — never three-putt again.
30 feet and beyond
From here you're not trying to hole it — you're trying to leave a tap-in. Every drill in this zone is about one thing: distance control.
Drill
The Pelz Ladder
Dave Pelz — the gold standard for lag distance control.
- Place tees at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 feet in a straight line from a starting spot.
- Roll a putt that finishes just past the first tee. Next ball just past the second. And so on up the ladder.
- Every putt must finish past its tee but within 3 feet of it — aggressive, but close enough to two-putt.
Goal: climb the whole ladder without coming up short of a tee or sailing more than 3 feet past.
Drill
The Safe Zone
Dave Pelz — proving you can two-putt from anywhere.
- Imagine a circle one putter-length (about 34 inches) around the hole — your "safe zone."
- From 30 feet, lag balls until three in a row finish inside the safe zone.
- Back up to 40 feet, then 50, repeating the three-in-a-row goal at each.
Why three in a row: one good lag is luck; three is a skill you can trust on the course.
Game
Leapfrog
A feel game for touch — and quietly addictive.
- Roll your first ball out to about 20 feet.
- Every following putt must finish just past the one before — never short, never crashing way by.
- See how many you can stack in a row, each creeping a few inches further.
Feel: this trains touch better than anything — your hands learn what "a little more" feels like.
Drill
Eyes on the Hole
Dave Stockton & Stan Utley — putt by feel, not mechanics.
From 30–40 feet, take your setup, then look at the hole — not the ball — and roll it while your eyes stay on the target. Do a handful this way. It frees your natural sense of distance, the same way you'd toss a ball underhand to a friend without measuring. Trust what you feel.
Take it to the green
Two plans — just press play.
Short on time or settling in for a proper session, here's exactly how to spend it. Both work long-to-short on purpose: build your feel first, then finish on the confidence putts.
2 min
Warm up. 8–10 long putts looking at the hole — just find your feel.
4 min
Lag. Leapfrog, then one climb of the Pelz Ladder (10–50 ft).
4 min
Medium. One lap of Around the World on a 5-ft circle with a little break.
5 min
Short. Tee Gate from 3 ft, then the Circle of Trust. Walk off on a make.
4 min
Warm up. Eyes on the Hole from 30–40 ft, then a slow Leapfrog to settle speed.
7 min
Lag. The Pelz Ladder, then the Safe Zone — 3 in a row from 30, 40 and 50 ft.
7 min
Medium. The Zone Ladder for speed, then a full lap of Around the World (breaking).
8 min
Short. Tee Gate, the N-S-E-W Clock (3-4-5-6), then Faxon's Four for routine.
4 min
Pressure finish. Play Par 18, or make 5 from 4 ft in a row to "win." Miss and start again. End on the make.
Where these come from
The world's best, in your bag.
Every drill here is drawn from the coaches who shaped modern putting: Dave Pelz (the 3-foot circle, the ladder and safe-zone lag work), Phil Kenyon (zone-based speed control), Brad Faxon (routine over results), and Dave Stockton & Stan Utley (feel and seeing the line). None of it needs a gadget — just your putter, a few tees, and the ten minutes that win you the round.