Drills to Help Improve Lag Putting

Lag Putting Basics

Being able to lag putt is crucial in helping you save strokes during your round. It is a skill that can be learned by implementing drills to help improve lag putting into your practice routine. In this article we are going to give you two drills to help you learn how to correctly lag putt.

Lag Putting Goals

Understanding what a lag putt is the first step. A lag putt is a putt that you are not really trying to make because of the difficulty level in the putt. For example if the greens are fast and you have a downhill breaking putt or perhaps you are 30 feet away from the cup, the odds of you making the putt are low but you can easily turn this situation into a 3 putt which is maddening. So the object is to roll the ball close enough that the next putt is a tap in (within two feet). Now that you understand the goal of a lag putt here are some drills to help improve lag putting.

Lag Putting Drills

One of the best ways to learn how to lag putt is by using several tees. What you want to do is measure from the front of the cup 1 foot. Then make an imaginary line using two tees. Place one tee a foot to the left on the line and the other a foot to the right. Then measure from the cup 2 feet and do the same thing with two more tees and repeat it again going 3 feet from the cup.
Next give yourself at least a 20 foot putt. Try leaving your first attempt in between your 3ft and 2ft "lines" next try a putt and keep it between the 2ft and 1ft line and finally try to get it in between the cup and the 1ft line. Mix your practice up do not hit 10 of the exact same putts in a row. The next dill to help improve lag putting is basically the same thing only you want to go behind the hole and measure. Try to implement a downhill putt for this drill.
The goal for this drill is to help you learn to not leave it short so you still have a downhill putt for your second. Your goal here is to make sure that you have an uphill putt without running it by 4ft. Again you want to learn the proper touch to leave it between your "lines". Learning how to do this will save many strokes off your game as you can hopefully eliminate the dreaded 3 putt. Drills to help improve lag putt should be done regularly so you can take what you learned on the practice green and implement it out on the course.