When the elements keep you indoors and off the golf course, hone your putting skills at home or in the office with these simple daily indoor putting drills. While you can practice on carpet, I recommend purchasing an inexpensive putting mat to most closely simulate the feel, control and speed of an actual putting green.
Distance Control
You can work on your distance control with several different exercises. First, place a something flat and small like a business card or playing card on the mat several feet away, then try putting the ball so that it stops on the card. Second, place a ball on top of a coin on the mat. Putt a second ball towards and as close to it as possible without knocking the first ball off the coin. Finally, just start putting around the room. Find different targets at various distances and practice, over and over again. All of these drills can help improve your putting accuracy.
Straight Line
To work on the straightness of your putt, place a yardstick or a three-foot strip of painters’ tape on the mat. Practice putting the ball from one end to the other along the yardstick or tape to find the sweet spot on your putter. If the ball veers right, then you’re making contact with the heel of putter and conversely, if it rolls left, you’re putting with too much of the toe. Try lining up additional yardsticks or three-foot strips of tape to practice from six, nine and more feet from the hole.
Putting Stance
Keep your putter close by and practice your stance as many times a day as you can in order to build strong muscle memory. Take advantage of the many online videos and tutorials that can help you with the correct putting stance and set-up and then practice in front of a full-length mirror as well as behind the ball. It’s also a good idea to also stretch really well before and after your practice drills.
Try some of these indoor putting drills to improve your game while you’re waiting to get out on the course and check out my previous post for more tips on perfecting your putt. Remember, practice your golf putting drills daily!
