David tackles a question from a listener about putting practice and shares his favorite drill.
David tackles a question from a listener about putting practice and shares his favorite drill.
When David’s asked what the best drill for improving people’s putting, he suggests that “block practicing one scenario all the time isn’t necessarily as effective as working on one aspect of the putting stroke. The problem is most players try to do aim, path, and speed all at the same time.”
David’s personal favorite drill is having a player find a flat 15-foot putt and put a string at the end of the putt. They then hit putts trying to stop them on the string. Even though this drill in undeniably simple and many players find it boring, David says the most important thing in putting is “having the ability to roll the ball the same distance every time.”
In his experience, he estimates it normally takes good players “three to four months” to perfect this drill. With that being said, once a player is able to master speed, “it defines your aiming points of your green reading, and then it solidifies your aiming process and it fixes path issues because you’re not using speed to get to a different line or path to get a different line… If you fix your speed, you fix darn near everything.”
Lastly, he makes the case for Mark Sweeney’s Aim Point method to master green reading. He says
“I would hope that everybody that’s listening to this… sees a certified Aim Point fitter because it’s life changing.”
In order for it to work however, a golfer’s speed has to be correct time and again.