Outdoor Putting Drill

Last week we discussed some basic drills we like to use during the cold when it gets dark early. In this post, we’ll expand on that drill and take it outside to the practice green.

Here you will need the alignment mirror and the WellPutt WellStroke mat. Start by placing the alignment mirror about 3 feet from the hole. Here we’ll focus on our stance and posture, the whole time keeping our eyes over the line. We’ll take about 3-5 practice strokes with just the putter and no ball. Once we feel comfortable over the line, we’ll add a golf ball to the drill. Make 5 putts from 3 feet using just the alignment mirror.

Next, we’ll go 90 degrees around the hole and attempt to make the same stroke, but without the alignment mirror. Again, we want to make 5 putts from 3 feet and “feel” the stroke like you did over the alignment mirror.

Next, we’ll move 90 degrees around the hole and place our WellStroke mat about 3 feet from the hole. We then place tees on each side of our putter at the address position, about 3-4 inches behind the ball, and about 3-4 inches in front of the ball. Similar to the alignment mirror, we’ll make about 3-5 practice strokes with just the putter and no golf ball. We just want to “feel” what the stroke feels like when it passes through our tee gates without hitting any tees. Once we are comfortable, we’ll then add a golf ball and attempt to make the stroke and make the putt. We will make 5 putts from this station before moving on.

Finally, we move 90 degrees around the hole to our final position. Similar to Step 2, we’ll attempt to make 5 putts from 3 feet while “feeling” the stroke we made at the previous station.

We will make this circle about 3-5 times, not moving from each station until we’ve made 5 putts. You can make it more difficult by attempting to make 5 putts in a row, or else starting back at the beginning. You can also add tee gates to the front of our WellStroke and attempt to make the putt through that gate.