All golfers want to putt better and the best way to improve is to spend more time practicing with putting drills at home. Great putting comes down to the ability to make the same stroke every time and you will only develop that through repetition. Here is the problem – who has time to spend hours on the putting green? We are all busy with family and work, but just hate giving away strokes with the flat stick.
Any easy solution – practice your putting at home. You do not need to drive to the course to perfect your stroke. You can learn to roll the rock in your den, office, or garage.
Build Your “Green”
You can work on your putting in almost any room of your house, but where do you have the best surface? A short, firm carpet is probably the best. You can leverage anything for a hole from a coffee mug to a cut-out piece of paper. The key is to get reps in.
If you do not want to go full DIY, look for a high-quality artificial putting green. There are hundreds of options, all with different shapes, sizes, # of holes, and breaks. You can find one that perfectly fits your space and easily can be rolled up and put in the closest when not getting used. Some cool products are now available for “at home” putting.
Regardless if you go with the carpet and coffee mug design or an artificial green, the key is making your putting practice part of your daily routine.
It Only Takes A Few Minutes
The great thing about practicing your putting at home is that it does not take a huge time commitment. Do you have ten minutes before the kids get home? Practice your putting. On a conference call for work? Roll a few putts. A little downtime before running some errands. See how many putts you can make in a row.
Improving your stroke is not about grinding over putts for hours – it is about developing a stroke over time. Develop some putting drills at home to help you stay focused. Can you make 5 five-foot putts in a row? Can you make 8 of 10 from 10-feet away? The more putts you see hit your target, the more confident you will be standing on the 18th green trying to make that putt to take a few dollars off your friends.
Another great thing about practicing at home, you can try different putting techniques. Try putting cross-handed or with the claw. If it feels good during practice, it will probably work on the course. Test out different putters you have lying around the house. Maybe you have an old one that deserves a 2nd chance for glory the next time you play 18. You can tell a lot about how a putter will perform on the course by how it feels when you are practicing at home.
Putting is the one part of golf that is truly unique player to player. Sure, there are some fundamentals that golf teachers recommend, but there are a lot of different ways to putt well. Do you remember the way Jack Nicklaus putted at the Masters in 1986 when he made his famous run? A giant putter head and a wide-open stance. That approach is nothing like the classic approach Ben Crenshaw used. By practicing at home, you have the freedom to try crazy putting styles and you might just find one that works great for you.
Design a Competition
Ok, now that you have your home putting course – maybe it is a rug or potentially an artificial putting surface – what can you do to keep it interesting? Develop a competition; a way to challenge yourself. You may have to get creative but come up with different putts to practice. Every time you practice, track your stats. If you hit 20 putts, how many did you make? What is your personal record?
Next, turn your home putting into a group competition. Challenge your kids or wife to see if they can beat you on your “green”. Develop a scoring a system and make it a family game you play together. Who is the best putter in your house? Creating a competition gives you practice at putting under pressure – it simulates the same feelings you get when you are on the course.
Do you have friends and neighbors that enjoy playing golf? Next time they are over for a happy hour, see if any of them want to challenge you on your in-the-home course. The main goal – make your putting practice fun and you will do it more often and get more out of it.
Putting Drills at Home: Final Thoughts
The quickest way to lower your scores and improve your handicap is through improved putting. You can make up for several poor shots on a hole if you 1-putt the green. With as busy as we are today, it is hard to take the time to drive out to your local course and simply putt, so develop a way to practice in the comfort of your home.
Design a “green” in your house, keep a putter handy, and when you have a spare minute make a few putts. You can quickly develop a consistent stroke by spending 10-15 minutes per day practicing. Keep it simple, have fun, and enjoy building a stroke you can rely on under pressure on the 1st or 18th green.