Green Reading Targeting Drill
This Green Reading Targeting Drill is from the Golf Practice Planner.
Name
Green Reading Targeting Drill
Category
Putting Practice Drills
Difficulty
5 out of 10
Time
15 minutes
Props
Rubber Disc. Tee peg. Putter. 1 hole. 1 ball. Golf Practice Planner.
Overview
This drill can take a long time to complete. Enjoy the challenge. Using the “disc” for the apex, and “tee peg” to line up the putt will teach you to read and visualise the putt. With this drill, you’ll learn how to pick your “start line” and “where the ball starts to track” towards the hole. If you can match line and pace you’ll hole a lot more putts!
Steps
Step 1: Watch
Watch the video.
Step 2: 20 Foot Putt
Pace out a 20 or 30 foot putt. Understand that the make percentage on tour for a 20-foot putt is only 14%. It’s also roughly the first length putt for all golfers (amateurs and pros). So, if you make 2 out of 10 from 20-feet, that’s Jordan Spieth level!
An average club level golfer (a 17 handicapper) from 20 feet will 3 putt 1 in 4 because they under-read the putt which causes the ball to go 3+ feet wide and/or long. So, if you’re going to make a mistake on the read, make it on the “high side”.
Step 3: Read
Go through your routine to read the putt. If you haven’t got a green-reading routine, then take a peek at the AimPoint Express Putting Drill. You might also like the putting hypnosis drill to get into the zone and the distance control putting drill to banish 3 putts.
Step 4: Tee Peg
Set a tee peg parallel to the hole to act as a visual for your “start line/aim point”. If the putt slopes more, you’d move the “start line” and therefore the tee peg more to the side.
Step 5: Rubber Disc On Mid Point
Place a rubber disc at the midpoint of the putt, where you want the ball to be rolling over. This is where the ball is going to track towards the hole. The “track line” is where the ball will leave the “start line”. The more break there is, the earlier it will leave the start line. The less break there is, the later it will leave the start line.
Step 6: Make One Perfect Putt
Make one perfect putt, then move onto another putt using the same drill. Make sure you aim at the tee peg (start line/aim point), then visualise how it’s going to curve over the rubber disc. Using this method forces you to make the perfect putt. Try to roll the putt 6 to 12 inches past the hole (if it misses the hole).
This will improve your green reading, start lines, pace control, targeting, and visualisation.
You might need to do quite a bit of adjusting with the rubber disc and tee peg until you have them in the perfect position. And that’s okay! Be patient.
Step 7: Keep Score
Keep score. How many putts does it take to hole your first one?
If you enjoyed this free golf practice drill, you might like my Golf Drills Practice Planner. If you're a golf nerd, you're gonna love it.