A Golf Putting Drill That Will Help You With the Correct Length of Your Stroke

If you are experiencing a problem with controlling the distance with your putts, I have an excellent golf putting drill for you to try that may correct the problem. To begin with you need to understand that the proper way to control the distance of your putts is with the length of your putting stroke. So often the average golfer will take a short back swing and then apply a lot of force quickly to gain the momentum and speed he or she is trying to achieve. This is exactly what not to do and you will never be able to consistently get the correct distance on your putts.

Your goal for regulating the distance of your putt is with the total length of your putting stroke. Basically you want the backstroke length to be equal to or no more than your follow through length. For example, on a forty foot putt you do not want to take the putter back a few inches and the suddenly swing hard at the ball to generate a lot of speed. What you do want is a smooth rhythm to your stroke that accelerates at an even pace through impact whether it is a short putt or a long putt. The variable that you are controlling for distance is the total length of the stroke, shorter for short putts and longer for longer putts.

An excellent exercise for developing the proper length is called the putting stroke length drill. To begin you will need four balls for this drill.

(1) Three of the balls will be lined up in a row and they are used as your guide balls.
(2) Set one ball in the middle of the row equal distance from the two outer row balls.
(3) Each of the outer row balls will be six inches from the middle ball.
(4) Place the last ball about a club face length away and parallel to the middle guide ball.
(5) Now the ball we are going to be putting with is the last or fourth ball, so position yourself so you are parallel to the row formed by the three guide balls.
(6) Begin to take your practice putt. You will be using the back outer row guide ball to mark the end of your back stroke length and the front outer row guide ball will be the end of your forward stroke length.

Continue taking practice putts with the goal of keeping your total putting stroke length between the two outer guide balls. Keep your head stable and your eyes directly over your putting ball. Concentrate on developing and maintaining a smooth rhythm and even pace stroke with your back and follow through length the same. Use the outer balls as your guide. If you are consistent then each ball should have traveled the same distance.

Next move the outer guide balls farther apart about twelve inches from the middle and repeat taking practice putts. This would be more for a medium distance putt. After becoming proficient at this distance move the guide balls even further apart for practicing longer putts.

Once you are able to consistently achieve the same distance for a given stroke length, measure how far the ball has traveled. For example, if you take the club back six inches and the ball travels four feet make a mental note. Do this for eight, ten, twelve, etc. inches. Then when you are on the green and faced with say a ten foot putt you will have a good idea of how long of a putting stroke length you will need to achieve that distance. I realize that the speed will vary for different greens compared to the green you are practicing on but this technique will greatly reduce the amount of judgment you will need to make.

By repetitive practice of this golf putting drill you will be developing the proper putting stroke length. In addition you will be building a smooth and flowing tempo to your putting stroke.

Once you develop a good understanding of the correct length of your putting stroke incorporate other effective golf putting drills into your practice routine. The key to mastering putting is having a good understanding of the proper fundamentals and practicing with golf putting drills that get results.

Also for more information on learning proper putting fundamentals visit http://golf-how-to-putt.blogspot.com/ where you will find comprehensive lessons on grip, set up, proper stroke, reading greens and help for common putting problems.

About the author, John Paolino is a life long avid golfer who spends countless hours researching the game and writing lessons for golfers that are easy to follow so others can implement quickly and improve their game.