From Neil Wilkins
Director of Instruction, Sienna Plantation Golf Club
This drill uses lengths of string spaced at regular intervals away from the golfer, and it's my preferred method to practice lag putting.
For many years I have used this drill in my one-day golf schools, summer junior programs, evening clinics, and individual putting lessons. It takes the hole out of the equation, with a total focus on distance control. This drill will challenge all players - from the rank beginner to a single digit handicapper - and will help keep the boredom out of your practice session.
I'm not positive, but I believe I learned this string drill years ago from a noted sports psychologist named Dr. David Cook, who is now at The Golf Academy at La Cantera in San Antonio, Tex.
This is how it works: simply cut five or six pieces of string, about three-feet long each, and lay them down on the practice green, progressively farther away. Space them about three feet apart.
I like to start at about 20 feet, but you can do this from 60 feet. You can practice downhill or uphill.
Get out a dozen balls and try to roll them so that the ball stops in-between the strings. Use your eyes - look and react to create feel for distance.
Try to roll your first ball just over the very first string so that it stops between the first and second strings. Then roll the second ball over the second string, stopping it before the third string, and so on.
After you've mastered putting balls in-between each set of strings, from the closest to the farthest, starting mixing it up. Putt to the last string, then to the first, then to the third, and so on.
If the ball stops between your target strings, the longest "second putt" you will encounter will be 18 inches (imagining the hole located midway between the strings). Remember to use your eyes - look and react.
It is uncanny how good your direction control is when doing this drill, and please take your mind off the line. Line-bound putters tend to have poor distance control. Loren Roberts told me once that he feels he can make a putt on any green if he hits it the right speed. He said that when he putts, all he thinks about is the speed he will roll the ball.
Try this lag putting drill next time you're on a practice green and your distance control is sure to improve.
About the Author
Neil Wilkins is Director of Instruction at Sienna Plantation Golf Club in Missouri City, Texas, in the Houston metropolitan area. Neil works with students of all levels, from juniors to beginners to low handicappers to tour players. Among the players he works with is PGA Tour winner Ryan Palmer. For more information, visit Neil's website at www.swingimprovement.com.
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