Distance drills I use often

[John Graham]

To dag on cold to practice today 47* on Oct 1! I gotta move or need an indoor putting green.

Why not both. If you're gonna ask.....

[John Graham]

For this one, you may need a rope or other distance measuring device(tape measure, etc.).

To test your ability to hit it where you are looking try this. Take 4 balls and find a spot on the putting green where you have at least 15 feet all around you. Hit one putt from each point on the compass(north, south, east west) and try to make it roll 10 feet. Use your eyes to determine where you think 10 feet is and roll it to that point.

This drill will help with two things. Visualizing the proper distance and then rolling it that far. Similar to throwing a ball, you will use a little less mechanics as you try and make the distance what you see. Use the rope or tape measure to confirm how close you were to your goal. This drill will really surprise and challenge you.

[John Graham]

Hit putts from 20, 30 40 and 50 feet(if possible). Your goal is to get the 20 footer within a foot of the hole. Add six inches for every 10 feet you go back. 1-1/2 feet from 30, 2 feet from 40 and so on.

Remember this drill is for distance control. 2 feet short from 40 feet away should be exceptable and a reasonable two putt. When you see 3 feet around the hole, you'll be amazed at how big it looks. That is actually 6 feet across at any point through the hole.

Obviously, making the two and three footers is another part of your putting that takes practice. Unless the pin location is on a severe slope almost all of those putts will be inside the hole. Do not aim outside the hole on purpose for those short ones.

[John Graham]

This drill is for producing solid contact more often which is an absolute must to controlling distance.

It's simple. Take two band-aids and stick them to the putter face so the soft padded part straddles the sweet spot of the putter. Hit putts normally and try not to hit the soft fluffy part of the band-aid.

Remember- Truly solid putts are solid horizontally across the face and vertically on the face just like any other club. Just like any other club, if you don't hit solid you shouldn't expect to go as far if you had hit it solidly.

[John Graham]

For this drill, you may need a helper. Here's how it works and it works best on a green with an uphill and downhill feature. Choose an amount of time you want the ball to roll. Let's say 3 seconds. Hit putts going uphill and try to make the ball roll for 3 seconds exactly. If done correctly, the 3 second putt should go a particular distance.

Now turn around and hit putts downhill that roll for 3 seconds exactly. If done correctly, you will notice that the ball has covered less distance than the uphill putt. This can be an eye opener for many. The downhill putts roll slower and the uphill putts roll faster.

If you can control the amount of time the ball rolls than you have a great sense for touch. This is very hard but can help the next time you face a downhiller. Try to figure how long you want the ball to roll and hit that time.