The purpose of golf putting drills are to become consistent with your game in terms of getting the correct distance and accuracy with your putts. In order to achieve this you need to develop a high level of confidence and know that your putting fundamentals are sound. Ultimately this takes a great deal of practice and patience.
Professional golfers will practice with many different golf putting drills because each one concentrates on a different aspect of putting. If your putting game is in need of improvement I highly recommend these five golf putting drills that are the most popular drills used by professionals golfers. By practicing all of these drills together you will be improving on many aspects of your putting game.
(1) Circle Drill: Place six to eight balls around the hole in a circle about three feet from the hole. Repeat putting each one in one at a time. The main benefit of this drill is to gain confidence and consistency. Probably the number one drill to warm up before a game on the practice green if you only have a few minutes to spare.
(2) All in a Row Drill: The benefit of this drill is to work on your putting form. You should be primarily concentrating on keeping your club face square to the ball at impact and your body is properly aligned to the target line. To perform this drill line up eight balls in a row and begin by putting the closest ball first and continue outwards until all the balls have been putted.
( 3) Closed Eyes Drill: Now repeat both the circle and row drills with your eyes closed. This is an extremely beneficial drill for developing tempo and your feel for distance. Being able to visualize your putt will help you significantly develop trust in your abilities.
(4) Cage Drill: The main purpose of the cage drill is to work on the proper stroke length to use to achieve the correct distance. Simply place one club three feet behind the hole. Now place the other two clubs to both sides of the hole forming a cage. The hole will be centered in the opening and roughly a foot and a half away from the two clubs on the sides. Take six balls and practice from ten feet away, then twenty feet and finally thirty feet. The goal is to get the balls either in the hole or in the cage without touching any of the clubs. This is an excellent drill for practicing longer putts and developing the habit of getting to the hole or just past it.
(5) Wrist Control Drill: An important fundamental to putting is to keep your wrists from flexing during your putting stroke and that the wrists are flat at impact. A great drill for this is to swing two clubs at the same time with a club in each hand. Pretend your taking your normal putting stroke and your objective is to keep both clubs about for inches apart and parallel as you swing. This takes a great deal of eye and hand coordination. When you go back to your normal putting with one club you will find that your hands are working together better as one solid unit and any flexing of your wrists will go away.
The average golfer does not allocate nearly enough of his or her practice time to putting as professional golfers do. If you feel your putting game could be improved take an honest assessment of how much time you actually spend on golf putting drills.