6 Simple Putting Drills to Practice at Home That Actually Work
When you get the golf bug, it’s hard to find enough time to practice.
Luckily, putting is incredibly easy to practice at home.
You won’t necessarily need a putting mat to practice these drills; if you have a short carpet with a relatively flat surface, it should be enough.
Here are 6 putting drills to work on wrist position, aim, control, and more.
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6 Best Putting Drills to Try at Home
T Rex Drill
HackMotion has taught us plenty about putting, but one of the most important things is consistency in the putting stroke.
The best players in the game are able to keep their strokes consistent from one putt to the next.
This T Rex drill helps you aim for a stable wrist position throughout the stroke to improve overall accuracy and consistency. If you repeat the same motion every time, you’ll start making more putts.
For this drill, you can attach the HackMotion wrist sensor to your lead wrist. Hold the putter out in front with your elbows flexed and tucked against your torso. From this position, you’ll want to bend forward until the putter reaches the ground.
Maintain the T-Rex position and practice your putting stroke, focusing on keeping your wrists stable.
Putt Against a Wall Drill
If you can find a wall to use in your home, you’ll have a good workspace to work on your putting. Pick a straight wall; it doesn’t matter if it has a baseboard.
The wall works as the outer edge of your putting arc. When you swing back you’ll notice the putter moving away from the wall, it will move close to the wall at impact and then away from the wall again on the follow through.
As you improve at this drill and can make a tighter, more efficient arc, move slightly closer to the wall.
If your putter touches the wall (especially on the backswing) you may be taking it way outside the path and causing yourself issues with consistency.
Coin Putter Tempo Drill
If you have ever struggled with how fast your putting stroke should be, this coin putter tempo drill is a great one to try.
Simply place a coin on the back of your putter. It’s very easy to do with a mallet putter, as you’ll have plenty of space to leave the coin.
However, it will also work with a blade putter.
Next, you’ll want to take some putts to ensure the coin does not fall off. If the coin falls off as you strike the ball or swing through, your tempo is a little fast.
This is a drill Rory McIlroy works on to make sure he doesn’t gain too much speed when he’s under pressure.
Aim at The Ghost Hole Drill
It’s a little easier to practice this putting drill if you have a putting mat with some break. However, you can practice hitting to a point at any time, so we thought we’d include this one in there to help.
Most golfers struggle with trusting the line they set up on the greens. Instead of trusting the spot and knowing it’s going to break toward the hole, they often manipulate the putter’s face and instead of trusting it.
For this drill, place a ghost hole or a marker ? of the way to the hole, aligned with the intended break point. Let natural rotation in the backstroke occur through impact, and make sure that you are not manipulating the stroke, even if you are not aiming at the hole.
Analyze your forearm rotation to ensure there is no steering and that you remain consistent throughout.
Alignment Stick Under the Arm Drill
This drill is a unique one where you use an alignment stick under your arm to ensure that your shoulders are properly incorporated into the stroke.
To do this, put the top end of an alignment stick on your right shoulder and the bottom end balanced on your putter.
Apply slight pressure by tucking your shoulders back and maintaining this distance throughout the putting stroke.
You’ll notice you can rock your shoulders back and forth and keep the putter head moving together in a vertical arc.
The concept here is that if the putter head is moving the shoulders should be rocking as well. Properly moving the shoulders will also help improve your wrist action in your putting stroke.
Putting Gate Drill
Putting gate drills are good to practice at home and on the putting green. For this simple drill, you need three golf balls.
Use one golf ball to hit, and then place two golf balls out in front of you as a gate to putt through. You can use other things like tees or even alignment sticks on the ground to create the gate.
The goal is to be able to make putts through the gate.
Make this a game for yourself, and if you hit the gate, start over.
In addition, measure the space or width of the gate and gradually make it narrower.
Wear your HackMotion while doing the gate drill and see how consistent you can get your stroke.
Final Thoughts
In addition to practicing drills at home with your putter, ensure you are also adding some pressure.
Use these drills to make the putts count and to ensure that you are focusing on each one.
Simply rolling golf balls around your bedroom carpet isn’t going to help you become a better player. When you add a little pressure, you’ll see the practice transfer to the course.
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