If you are a golfer then you know that the putting is the most important part of your game. Without any hesitation, you must take as much practice as you can do with this skill. However, sometimes when we are in the middle of winter season where there is no possibility for having golf practice outdoors we might consider practicing indoor.
In this article, I am going to tell you about some of the things that you could do inside your home to improve your putting stroke effectively.
If you want to improve your putting, the best thing you can do is get out on the green and practice. There’s no question about that. But what if you don’t have time to head to the course or play at home? You still need to putt to improve, and that’s where practicing indoors comes in. Here are some tips for effectively practicing your putting stroke indoors during the snowy season or for busy people who simply can’t fit a round into their schedule.
Practicing your putting stroke indoors has long been a challenge for golfers. There are always the well-known practice aids such as putt-putt or the putting green. But what do you do if putt-putt is closed, or you don’t have a putting green?
Practicing your putting is one of the most effective ways to improve your game. However, sometimes it’s just not practical to practice on a golf course. For example, you may live in an apartment or don’t have the luxury of practicing at the end of work.
I recommend practicing your putting each week even though you may not be able to practice on a golf course. Many people need to practice indoors if they have busy schedules and families at home as I do.
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When practicing your putting stroke it is important to have the right equipment at home. It is also important to consider things such as the orientation of your house and where a short putt could make it into your house if you miss. If a short putt makes into your house, you may lose valuable practice time cleaning up the balls.
Putting is the most difficult of golf’s four major skills. It’s also the easiest skill to practice. Because you can putt inside or outdoors, and because it takes just a handful of balls to get some practice in, putting is something you can work on no matter when and where—and it’s something that everybody struggles with: young, old, pro, beginner.
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This is how to practice Putting at Home using these 6 drills:
1 Practice Putting Using Book path
Every golfer puts differently. If you’ve ever seen the PGA tour, there are different kinds of approaches and strokes associated with it. My home drill begins with two phone books that have to be wide enough apart to where a golf putter can barely fit between them. This is because with putting it’s important to focus on keeping your head steady and shoulder still for a straight stroke.
To start off, simply make a practice stroke by stepping up to the two phone books placed on the ground. Make sure your routine is the same for each practice stroke: see ball, look down at target, etc.
The drill is designed to help you practice tracking the putter’s path straight. You may have some difficulty tracking your putter face along its path. But the purpose of this practice is not to see if you can square your putter face before impact when chipping or pitching but if you can stay straight while practicing putting at home.
2 Use Phone Books and Parallel tape for straight path
Now it’s time for a closer look at your putting stroke. The phone books are set up again, only this time a 10 foot piece of painter’s tape is placed on the path between the phone books. The painter’s tape is parallel to the front of the books and creates a target line along which you can stroke putts.
The idea behind this phone book drill is to see how straight your strokes are when you putt using a consistent back swing and putting stroke. Use the books to check your movement while you practice this drill.
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Using the same phone book drill, you can also make a target line on a pyramid of three phone books. A triangle-shaped box that is 10 foot wide by two feet high will give you plenty of room to practice your shorter putts with less distraction.
The stance that you use to make a golf stroke is important because it will affect how your ball travels down the entire course. Your backswing is only one part of a putting stroke. The same goes for your forward swing: where you grip the putter is just half the equation.
3 Improve your Putting Stance
The putting set up and golf stance is one of the most important parts of your putting stroke, but it is often ignored. It can be hard for true golfers to find time to work on there putting, so that is why instead of hitting balls on the driving range or practicing at a tee box, you should try taking just 20 minutes each day to focus on your set up and golf stance.
It’s no secret that putting is the key to any good round of golf. How many times have you gotten frustrated after a lousy round and said, “I just need to putt better?” Well, maybe you should take a look at your putting stance. Let’s say you’re putting on a carpet floor with no ball marker or marker in front of the cup. Does this change your putting stance? Of course it does. Practice your putting stance with some good putting aids like the Pure Strike Putting Mat which solves all these problems and more.
4 Improve Putting with Ball Distance Control
So by putting into a zone, you learn to control distance and make each putt slightly further than the previous one without over-hitting it. I’ve found this drill to be perfect for when I’m trying to practise my chipping as well because it teaches me to feel each rock and replicate that feeling but slightly further with each chip.
Putter practice can get boring, but this drill will soon change your mind. It works on 3 ball putting distance control, while creating pressure to replicate the distance of the previous putt that is slightly further. You’ll begin to feel each putt, slowing down your stroke and speeding up your reaction time.
Three ball distance control, seems pretty self-explanatory and basic but is an important part of learning how to putt well and consistently. I still like to include this drill in my practice sessions as it challenges you to focus on your distance as you want all 3 balls to be landing inside the same zone area, but not mushing into each other.
5 Putting to a Tee
One of the most effective ways to practice your putting is to set up a golf tee upside down. Starting 5 feet away, putt a ball so that it knocks the tee over. Then move back so you’re 8 feet from the tee, 10 feet from the tee, and so on.
Work your way back to 20 feet and try to still knock the tee over with your short putts. Doing this gives you amazing control of your putter face, and you can feel when you close or open your face during the stroke.
6 Right Handed and Left Handed Putts
In putting practice I like to try techniques to build your solid stroke and ingrain good putter habits. One of my favorite drills is using just one hand to make one handed putts.
I have a drill for you that will help improve your putting stroke even more. It is called one handed putting, where you putt with just one hand on the putter. The reason why I do this drill is so that you will improve your overall feel of the putter and incorporate your non dominant side. This is because some people are naturally right handed while others are naturally left handed, so learning to use your non dominant hand and improving your feel with it will help you gain a better sense of overall feel with the club.
One of the biggest problems I see when people are learning to putt is they learn a two handed stroke. The key to great putting is with a very straight arm and hand that makes a perfect “V” when viewed from above. One handed putts ingrain this type of one hand technique, I hope you can give this drill a shot today as you move toward your next round!
Practice putting one-handed from 3 feet away from a target until you can hit it 9/10 times in a row. No looking at your hand or thinking about the mechanics of your stroke. Just do it. Once you can putt one handed for at least five (5) minutes without looking at your hand and still make most of the putts, you’re ready to move on to two handed putting practice.