Developing putting drills that work is one of the fastest ways to lower your score. Many golfers lose a significant number of strokes once they get onto the green. By utilizing putting drills, you can learn to get the ball into the hole in fewer strokes.

Any seasoned golfer will tell you that the short game can be stroke-hungry, and that what happens on the green can wreak havoc on an otherwise good score. 3-putts, 4-putts, and even 5-putts are more common than you might think—but there is good news. Putting drills can dramatically help golfers hone their skills on the green, resulting in fewer total strokes.

When it comes to putting drills, spend time concentrating on the three essentials:

• Keeping the face square
• Maintaining a smooth swing
• Achieving distance control

Putting Drills – Keeping the Face Square:

If you are in the habit of hitting the ball with your blade open or closed, try this:

Place a ball on the practice green and put a tee in the ground about twelve inches behind the ball. Put a silver coin on the ground about six inches in front of the ball. Bring your putter back until it taps the tee and then swing it forward, watching to ensure that the face stays square as it passes over the coin.

Putting Drills – Maintaining a Smooth Swing

Putting drills should have a specific purpose and specific goal. With this next tip, you can learn to swing the club smoothly, which is key to maintaining your tempo and striking the ball solidly.

Again, place a ball on the practice green and stick a tee into the ground about 12 inches behind the ball. Bring the club back until it just barely nicks the tee and then immediately go into your fore-swing.

Keep your arms moving in a pendulum fashion and keep your hands still.

Putting Drills – Achieving distance control

One of the most crucial putting drills is learning distance control. The only way to master distance control is through your own touch or feel. Nothing else can replace hands-on practice time when it comes to honing your skills on the green.

There are dozens of practice exercises for distance control, but one of the best is to simply stake out five tees, four feet apart, with the last tee being 20 feet away. Then, concentrate on getting the ball to each of the tees consistently.

If the ball rolls a few inches past the tee, that’s fine. What you don’t want to see is the ball stopping short of or rolling well beyond the target tee.

Notice that you are not aiming at a flag or a cup with this exercise, as this could distract you and cause you to  focus more on accuracy than distance. While it’s true that distance and accuracy must work together, there are times when they should not be learned together.

These are only a few of the many putting drills that are available from golf pros and golfing websites. To master your skill on the green, you will need to invest time and energy. Learn to read the green and how to lag a putt, but most of all, learn to love putting drills. They really do work.