How Can I Practice Putting At Home?

Putting is, without a doubt, the most important part of the golf game. A few days ago a friend asked me: "How can I practice putting at home?"

If you want to choose one thing to work on this year to improve your golf game, it would be putting. However, many players don’t think they have the time to get to the course each day and practice putting. If you want to practice at home, I gathered some great drills and solutions to help you learn to practice putting at home.

Ensure You Have The Right Surface For Practice Putting At Home

Some golfers are lucky to have a large carpet in their home that makes for a perfect putting surface. If you do not have this, then you may want to consider a putting mat. I like a carpet better than an indoor putting mat simply because of the space to move around and create more realistic angles that you would see on the course.

If you are going to purchase an indoor putting green, look for something large enough that allows you to stand at the same level as your golf ball. A raised putting green that has you standing off to the side can feel a bit odd and not translate back to the course.

Work On Alignment

Alignment is a major issue for golfers on the putting green. I don’t know about you, but it feels like a complete waste to make a perfect stroke when aiming incorrectly. Your home is the perfect place to work on alignment.

I recommend using some golf alignment sticks, varying hole locations, and taking your time to line up each putt as you would on the golf course. It’s easy to hit one after another to the same hole; when you change things up and putt to three or four different holes, things become a bit more complicated.

Beside Alignment Work On Your Stroke

Even if you nail the alignment make sure that your stroke is on plane. What that means is that you go back and forth with the putter club head square to the target.

This is really important especially with the shorter putts where pull or push with you putter cam cause an unnecessary miss.

What is a push in golf putting?

The push putt for a right handed golfer is a mishit when a putting swing path is from inside out to the right. This cause the golf ball to start to the right of the target. The push in golf putting can be also caused by an opened putter club face to the right of the target. For the left handed golfers a push putt is a mishit to the left of the target.

What is a pull in golf putting?

The pull putt for a right handed golfer is a mishit when a putting swing path is from outside-in to the left. This cause the golf ball to start to the left of the target. The pull in golf putting can be also caused by a closed putter club face to the left of the target. For the left handed golfers a pull putt is a mishit to the right of the target.

Drills To Eliminate The 3 Putt

If you have a large carpet to putt, try to work on your lag putting. Lag putting is where you try and putt the ball to within about three feet regardless of where you are originally positioned on the green. Eliminating three putts is a great way to drop your scores on the course.

If your practice space at home is a bit more limited, you can simply work on those five to six foot putts. If you have a poor lag putt, you will be left with a five to seven foot putt to try and save par or bogey. Practicing this length from home should be easy and will give you more confidence on the golf course.

Training Aids For Putting At Home

If you have a large carpet to putt, try to work on your lag putting. Lag putting is where you try and putt the ball to within about three feet regardless of where you are originally positioned on the green. Eliminating three putts is a great way to drop your scores on the course.

If your practice space at home is a bit more limited, you can simply work on those five to six foot putts. If you have a poor lag putt, you will be left with a five to seven foot putt to try and save par or bogey. Practicing this length from home should be easy and will give you more confidence on the golf course.

Use A Mirror

Many players think to use a mirror to practice their full swing, but it can be very helpful with putting as well. Use a mirror to ensure that you are aligning your putter correctly and that it stays on the proper path. Mirrors can also be used to ensure your eyes are over the ball when you putt.

For golfers with deeper pockets, there are launch monitors on the market that will allow you to track your putting stroke and the changes that you are making. This is a significant investment but great for the golfer that is trying to make a change.

Change The Angle

Stop putting to the same hole over and over again. This will NEVER happen on the golf course. If you want to translate your practice from home to the golf course, you must change the angle of your putts. Look for golf putting mats that have at least three holes to practice with.

Turn Off The Ball Return Feature

Last but certainly not least, stop standing in one location and having the ball return to you. Is this anything like the golf course? For your brain to learn and develop the necessary skills to become a great putter, you must try and recreate the same conditions as the golf course.

Take one putt, analyze why you made or missed the putt, go pick up the ball, make an adjustment to your putting stroke or swing, and putt again. Ball return features may seem like a convenient feature, but they don’t help your game.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now feel ready to start putting at home with full confidence. Putting is by far the easiest thing to practice at home, but it can be done both efficiently and inefficiently. Take your time to set up a great area, and then use the tools out there to help improve your overall ability and take it to the course with you.