Four things, in this order. Most golfers practise the last one first.
1. Face — 5 minutes — The gate drill
Two tees stuck in the ground just wider than your putter head, about two feet in front of you. Roll putts through the gate without clipping either tee.
A face just 1° open or closed misses the hole from ten feet. The tees tell you instantly — no guessing whether you struck it square. This one was a staple for Tiger Woods.
Pass: five clean in a row before you move on.
2. Contact — 5 minutes — The coin drill
Balance a small coin on your putter face. Stroke a putt. If the coin falls off, your contact was off-centre.
A strike a quarter-inch off-centre sends the ball three inches offline from eight feet. Elite putters find the middle 90% of the time; amateurs manage 60%.
Pass: eight of ten with the coin still on.
3. Speed — 7 minutes — The ladder
Tees at 2, 4 and 6 feet beyond the hole. Putt from 15–20 feet and stop the ball inside the first zone. Then work back.
Poor speed — not a bad line — is the number one cause of three-putts. Aim to finish one to two feet past: the hole plays full size and the ball still holds its line.
Pass: six of ten finishing past the hole but inside the first tee.
4. Read — 3 minutes — Read from below
Walk to the low side of the hole and look up the slope. Then stand halfway between ball and hole, close your eyes for two seconds, and feel which way you are tilted.
Slope is far easier to see uphill than down. Your feet are better at this than you think — and most amateurs read for four seconds from directly behind the ball.
Pass: call the break before you look from behind, then check yourself.
Twenty minutes, in order. Face before contact, contact before speed, speed before reading — because a perfect read is wasted on a stroke that will not start the ball where you aimed it.
— Rob
