Top 6 Tips for Better Putting on Fast Greens

Not everyone is used to playing on fast greens. In fact, it should be considered a privilege to play on fast greens and not something to fear, but rather something to look forward to.

The best part of fast greens is that they run true, meaning if you get the right speed and line, they have a better chance of going in than if you were to do the same on slow greens.

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know to get better at putting on fast greens, from step-by-step instructions to the drills needed to become a better putter overall.

Key Takeaways

If you’re already on the first tee and don’t have time to do the drills, here are the key takeaways to keep in mind whenever you putt on fast greens.

• Familiarize yourself with the greens by warming up with strategic length putts to the hole and to the fringe
• Adjust your setup and posture to choke up on your putter and utilize different aspects of your stroke
• Make contact on the toe of the putter to limit power on downhill putts
• Use Hackmotion to limit and monitor wrist movement
• Prepare ahead of time with useful and proven drills such as Phil Mickelson’s 40, 50, 60 drill
• Acknowledge that a green is fast and make the necessary adjustments

How to Putt on Fast Greens

Special attention needs to be paid when playing a course with fast greens. Average golfers stand to lose a lot of strokes if they are not used to greens that read 10 or over on the stimpmeter.

Warm-Up

The practice green is your friend. The grounds crew ensures this green is always in top condition since it’s usually near the clubhouse and acts as a first impression when golfers arrive.

• Make Easy Putts – Start with really short putts (1–2 feet) to build confidence. Try to roll them in gently.
• Putt to The Fringe – From 20 feet away, putt three balls so they stop on the firnge, and not in the rough or on the green.
• Practice on a Sloped Hole – Find a hole that is on a slope and putt from four sides to practice uphill, downhill, and side breaks.

Still do your regular pre-round driving range practice plan, but when faced with fast greens, always dedicate more time to your putting. 

Choke Up

If you use a putter at or under the standard 36”, then now is the time to choke up on it by an inch or two.

However, if you use a longer putter, this trick won’t work as well since you’ll have to make major grip adjustments.

Choking up may seem like it won’t make that much of a difference, but when the greens are rolling fast having your hands closer to the ball reduces the power that the putter shaft produces.

Although this is a small amount, it could be the difference between your putt stopping a foot past the hole or having it continue three or four feet past the hole.

Use the Toe

When faced with a slippery, 3-foot downhill putt, using the toe could be the difference between par and bogey.

Line up your putt as you normally would, but then just before making your stroke, move back from the ball no more than a half-inch.

This will encourage your ball to impact the toe side of the sweet spot on your putter. By doing this, the ball will come off the putter face more slowly with reduced power.

Implement this only on severe downhill putts so as not to change your usual setup and preshot routine too much.

Focus on Follow Through

Decelerating is the worst thing you can do on any golf shot. To avoid this common problem on the greens, it’s important to focus on the follow-through rather than the backswing.

During your practice strokes, take note of how far back your putterhead is going compared to how far you are following through.

This ratio on fast greens should be 2-to-1. So if you take your putter head back 4 inches, your follow-through should be 8 inches.

Light Grip and Neutral Wrists

If you tend to get a bit intense on normal greens, then you will run into many issues on faster greens.

Using Hackmotion for putting, will reduce excess movement of wrists when putting and keep track of your movements.

You can get detailed information on how and when your wrists move as it provides instant feedback after each stroke.

Using the Hackmotion to improve your putting stroke woul be beneficial, but here is another solution to help keep your wrists more neutral:

Play More Break

Reading a putt is more than half the battle if you want to sink more of them, and reading a fast putt is even harder. Amateurs often think that a putt is faster or slower than it really is.

Missing a putt on the low side of the hole is just like leaving a putt three feet short; it never had a chance.

To find the best line, always choose a target that is outside the hole.

If a putt breaks from right to left, then choose a piece of grass or discoloration that is to the right of the cup and focus your eyes on that.

Drills to Improve Speed Control

Knowing what to do and being able to do it are two different things. That’s why we need drills to familiarize our bodies with the changes we want to make.

Use these drills on a weekly basis to gain more confidence when dealing with faster greens.

Ladder Drill

The Ladder Drill is a super useful way to dial in your feel for distance control on the greens.

It helps you train your touch by forcing you to hit each putt just a little farther than the last, without going too far.

It’s great for anyone who tends to leave putts short or blows them way past the hole. If you’re trying to avoid 3-putts and get better at cozying that first putt right up to the cup, this drill’s for you.

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Blind Putting

Putting is all about feel, so if you struggle with getting good distance on a normal day, you’ll really have problems on fast greens.

This drill focuses on feel and training your body to hit good putts without visual cues.

• Place a tee 12 feet away as your target.
• Hit five putts toward the tee without looking up between strokes.
• Number the golf balls (1–5) to connect the feel with each individual result.
• Focus entirely on how each stroke feels—no peeking.

This is one of the 6 effective putting drills for better speed control.

HackMotion Putting Stability Drill

Excess wrist flicking during putting causes an inconsistent face angle. HackMotion’s Putting Mode tracks wrist flexion/extension in real time, helping you keep your stroke stable.

One of the things we notice when analyzing the strokes of the best players in the game is the consistency from one shot to the next.

To improve your putting consistency, try using the HackMotion Putting Stability Drill. Below is the full step-by-step guide.

40, 50, 60 Drill

This drill by Phil Mickelson will help you get better at long putts, so you don’t leave them way short or blast them past the hole.

It’s all about learning how to control your speed and get the ball close enough to tap in.

Final Thoughts

Understanding that the greens on a certain course are fast is the first step to putting well on them. By making changes to your setup and address, you can limit your chances of making a big mistake.

Prepare yourself by consistently practicing with these drills. If you know the course you’re about to play has fast greens, then start preparing one week before, but the earlier the better.

If you’re short on time, use Hackmotion when you don’t have the resources to have a professional with you.