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Putt like a Tour pro

Tuesday, 10 February 2009
David Howell
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Follow David Howell's five putting drills

Becoming a consistently solid putter requires some careful work in practice. The following drills have helped me enormously through the years. Together they train all the key elements behind a deadly stroke while making you stronger under pressure. If your short game is in need of a boost before the season, these five putting drills could make all the difference:

1. Distance Drill
Natural feel and judgement for pace is essential. Place two tees on the green, 12ft apart. The aim is to hit two balls to each tee. Each ball should never go further than 3ft past. This is the way to make four consecutive putts at the right speed to two different targets.

2. Feel The Stroke
To feel the fluidity of your swing, make practice swings with your eyes shut. Let your shoulders create momentum and feel as if your lower body is rock solid, this prevents jerky moments creeping in, crucial for putting at all distances.

3. Improve Your Focus
Focus purely on a pure strike, by making sure your head stays dead throughout the stroke. Develop this by putting a coin behind the ball and keeping your eyes locked on the coin, to hear the ball dropping in the cup. Finish the drill once you’ve sunk eight putts in a row.

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4. Pace Drill
Find a slightly downhill 12ft putt and place three tees 3ft behind the hole. The idea is to make 12 consecutive putts at perfect pace not to contact with the tees. Once completed repeat it on an uphill putt. With the added pressure this makes you a better competitor.

5. Pressure Putt
Place four tees 5ft from the hole at four points of the compass. Hole three putts consecutively in each position, and every time you miss, go back to the start. When you reach the final few balls in the drill it will add the sort of pressure you would feel on the course.

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