Nothing is worse on the golf course than cruising through a good round only to three-jab on a pivotal hole, and before you know it the entire round has quickly lost momentum, writes Brandon DiCroce of Fairway Approach.
Three putts frustrate even the likes of the most laidback golfers like Freddie Couples and Ernie Els, and they can get the better of us average hacks and quickly ruin the next tee shot.
Thankfully, there are a number of putting drills to help us reduce the amount of three whacks we take with our putters, and one of the best is the Ladder Drill.
More often than not, your first putt will be what leads you to a three putt.
You will either blow the ball past the hole and leave yourself some 10 feet, or leave it a mile short with little more than a prayer to get you into the hole. Sound familiar?
One key to reducing three putts on a hole is being able to gain some feel on longer putts.
If you can get your first putt within two to three feet, you give yourself much more opportunity to make your second putt. Put yourself in this position more often, and you’ll be carding lower scores on a consistent basis.
Enter the Ladder Drill...
The concept is this: set a few tees on the green 20, 30 and 40 feet from the hole.
Start the drill at 20 feet away, and go for the cup.
The goal is to move from 20 to 30 to 40 feet without missing the cup; this is obviously quite difficult, so it may make sense to modify the drill and try to put three to five putts within one to two feet of the hole from each distance.
Try this drill before your next round, and you’ll probably notice you have much better feel from distance.
Let us know if this drill works for you!
Brandon DiCroce is the Founder of Fairway Approach, a golf website focused on helping golfers take a smarter approach to golf. He’s been playing amateur golf for over 15 years, and is originally from Syracuse, NY.
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