How to Improve Putting? (Steps You Must Follow)

Putting accounts for roughly 35–40% of your total strokes every round. More often than not, the difference between a good score and a bad one comes down to what happens on the green.

Think about all those three-putts. Eliminate them, and watch what happens to your score.

Most golfers struggle with the same things, poor green reading, an inconsistent stroke, improper grip, and lack of practice. In this article we’ll cover the key golf putting tips, a step-by-step guide, and the best golf putting drills to keep you getting better.

Key Techniques to Improve Putting in Golf

Before getting into the step-by-step to improve putting, here are the core techniques every golfer needs to work on. Master these and everything else falls into place.

Developing a Smooth Putting Stroke

To consistently strike the ball with the sweet spot of the putter, it’s essential to develop a smooth, on-line putting stroke. Imagine the motion of a pendulum, it swings back and forth along the same path with a steady, unhurried rhythm. That’s exactly the kind of motion we’re aiming for.

Some golf teachers recommend using a metronome for tempo. Download one on your phone and set it to 78 BPM, when it beeps you should be at the top of your backswing, and by the time you’ve followed through, it beeps again. You can also use two tees to mark both ends of your stroke as a simple visual guide. Watch Nathalie Sheehan from GolfPass break it all down below!

Controlling Distance and Speed

Speed controls distance, and it’s just as important as your aim point. Pick the perfect line but under-hit it, and the ball dies short. Hit it too hard, and it blows past the hole without ever breaking. Get the speed wrong and even a perfect read means nothing.

A great golf putting practice drill for this is the ruler method. Measure your backswing and follow-through with a ruler and note how far the ball travels at each length. Do this regularly and you’ll develop the feel for 5, 10, 15, and 20-foot putts without even thinking about it.

Listen to Nick Kumpis from SmartLine Putting break down how to practice this method in more detail.

Mastering Short Putts for Better Scores

Mastering those putts within 3-5 feet is a must to lower your score. The good news is, it’s not that hard to do. A lot of amateurs golfer mess up those short putts because they either don’t take it seriously or they just don’t practice them enough.

A lot of times what I’ll see on practice greens is player’s warming up and hitting 40 foot putts. Thats all good and you will need to work on those as well. But we can easily practice 20 short putts in under 5 minutes. Imagine if we practice them for an hour a week. We’d have everything we need to master short putts on the course.

Some more vetted players will develop what golfer’s call the yips. The yips is when you cant seem to drain those easy short putts. Most of the time a few misses will snowball into a lack of confidence and just slide your putting downhill. If this is happening to you, practice enough small puts until you can get that confidence back. There is no limit. Just get an insane amount of reps in until you can’t miss.

Another great tip is to change your focus. Todd Kolb says that players with yips tend to have to much on the mind and thats causing the hands to flip or create unnecessary tension in the putting stroke. One of his tips is to practice making short putts while looking directly at the hole. This can help get your feels back and keep your mind in more of instinctual place.

Step-by-Step Guide to Improve Your Putting

Good golf putting tips will only take you so far, at some point you need a clear process to follow. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you build a consistent, repeatable putting game from the ground up.

Step 1: Perfect Your Putting Grip

Your putting grip is the foundation of a consistent, reliable stroke. It controls how much wrist action you allow, which directly impacts your accuracy and how you improve putting overall.

Step 2: Set Up with Proper Posture and Alignment

Just like any other shot in golf, setup and posture are crucial to putting success.

To get the ball rolling forward smoothly, we need to avoid hitting down on it. Instead, we want to strike slightly up on the ball. The easiest way to promote this is by positioning the ball toward the front of your stance.

Start by establishing a solid base with your feet about shoulder-width apart. From there, hinge from your hips while keeping your back completely straight. This is what instructors refer to as good posture. Avoid letting your back round or curl, as this limits space for your arms to move naturally with your shoulders. When space is restricted, your hands and wrists tend to take over, resulting in inconsistent, jerky strokes.

Your putting posture will mirror the setup in your full swing, with one key difference: no knee flex. Instead, use your legs as solid anchors to support a smooth, pendulum-like motion.

Step 3: Master a Smooth and Controlled Stroke

To improve your putting, it’s essential to master the fundamentals of the putting stroke. Follow these steps to build a smooth and controlled motion:

Focus on consistency and control. Repeating this motion correctly will help you develop a reliable and confident putting stroke. Most of this I learned from Judd Hobbs. He breaks down how to keep still in the putting stroke and a great drill to get the feel for the putting motion.

Step 4: Develop Precise Distance Control

Step 5: Improve Your Green Reading Skills

To putt with precision, it’s not enough to strike the ball well, you also need to understand how the green will influence your roll. This process is known as green reading, and it’s one of the most essential (yet overlooked) skills in golf. Even professional golfers rely on it heavily, often calling in their caddie for a second opinion when unsure. If you misread the green, even a perfect stroke won’t get the ball to the hole.

So why is green reading so important? Because misjudging the slope or speed of a green can leave you facing long second putts, turning makeable two-putts into frustrating three-putts. To avoid that, you need to read the green effectively before you ever take your stroke.

Here’s a simple pre-putt routine to help you analyze any green with confidence:

1. Walk Around the Hole: Take a full-circle look at the green to assess slope and break from every angle. Look for high and low spots and notice how the land moves—sometimes what looks flat from behind the ball isn’t flat at all.
2. Check the Speed: Evaluate the moisture, texture, and condition of the green. Wet greens need more force; dry greens roll faster. Use both your eyes and feet to judge how fast the surface feels underfoot.
3. Read the Grain: Grain affects how the ball rolls. Lighter grass color means you’re putting with the grain; darker means against it. You can also check the edge of the cup. Clean edges show where the grain ends; torn edges show the direction it grows.
4. Feel Slope with Your Feet: If your eyes can’t see a break, your feet might. Stand along your putting line and notice your balance. More weight on your left foot means left break; more on your right means right break.
5. Watch Other Putts – If someone in your group putts before you, pay attention. Their ball gives you a real-time preview of break and speed, especially if they’re close to your line.

For players looking to go even deeper, advanced techniques like the AimPoint Express method or plumb-bobbing can add extra layers of accuracy. Tools like green maps, golf apps, or even personal notes from frequent rounds can also help you build a deeper understanding of your home course over time.

At the end of the day, green reading is what bridges your read to your stroke. The more information you gather and trust, the more confident you’ll be over every putt.

Step 6: Practice Short Putts with Focus

Short putts might not be as flashy as long bombs from across the green, but they’re where rounds are won or lost. A missed three-footer can undo a perfect approach shot, so dedicating time to these is essential. When you practice short putts, don’t just go through the motions, focus on building confidence and consistency. Pick a spot on the practice green, place three to five balls in a circle around the hole, each about three feet away, and sink each one with full intention. Reset and repeat.

Don’t be shy to do this for a long period of time as often as you can. Especially if you’re new to golf. Removing missed three foot putts from your score at first will drastically improve your overall enjoyment of the game.

Step 7: Establish a Consistent Pre-Putt Routine

Establishing a pre-putt routine can be such a simple way to improve putting. It requires no change in mechanics or for you to learn a new technique.

Since every hole and round ends with putting, putts will always have the most pressure. For example, if you have a short put to break 80 for the first time, you may start to get nervous and mishit the ball. The cause fo this will be more due to lack of focus or lack of confidence. A pre-putt routine will put you in the zone for each putt, no matter the implication of your current putt.

Let’s break down a 3-part pre-putt routine that any player can benefit from. After you’ve read the green, picked out your spot:

1. Stand next to the ball and take 2 practice putts while looking at the hole to feel the distance.
2. Address your putter behind the ball first. Than step in and plant your feet.
3. Take a deep breath

Now it’s time to putt!

It can sound odd sometimes to do the same little things before a putt. But you’ll notice quickly that it calms you down and putts you in the right frame a mind. Golf is very reliant on the mental game, this will play into that.

If that doesn’t do it for you, here are a few other small things you can incorporate into your pre-putt routine:

1. Stand behind the ball for 3-5 seconds before addressing the ball and visualize the ball taking the perfect line and landing in the hole.
2. Take a 2-3 second look at the hole right before you start your stroke.
3. Stand behind the ball and take practice swings while looking at the hole.

It can vary for everyone but I strongly suggest stringing some of the above mentioned steps and repeating it time and time again no matter what the situation is. This will improve putting quickly and can be implemented so easily!

Step 8: Track Progress and Adjust Your Technique

This is the least attractive way to improve putting but one of the most effective. If you are on a journey to get better at putting, you’ll always be tinkering with your putting technique and trying subtly new things.

If we do this without documenting our results, we end with an estimate of if the changes improve putting or not. Sometimes we may even go back to the old ways we did things because we didn’t even know that we did better. It just felt like we didn’t.

I’d suggest getting a log to track putts per hole and what grip, pre-putt routine, or drills we are curretly doing. This will allow us to get real results on if our practice and techniques are working better or worse than our old ones. With proper data tracking, we can confidently try new things all the time. Giving us an advantage on our journey to playing better golf.

You can use a golf journal like Journal18 to track putting performances. I personally like to track my putts per holes on my scorecard.

Effective Putting Drills to Sharpen Skills

The fastest way to improve your putting is through deliberate, focused golf putting practice, not just mindless repetition on the green.

These golf putting drills are designed to sharpen your accuracy, distance control, and consistency from the comfort of your home or the practice green.

The Gate Drill for Better Accuracy

This simple but effective putting drill is designed to help you consistently start the ball on your intended line. By creating two narrow “gates” with tees, you’ll get immediate feedback on your stroke and alignment. It’s a great way to build confidence and precision on the greens.

1. Set Up the First Gate: Place two tees in the ground about a putter head’s width apart. This creates a small gate just wide enough for your putter to swing through and strike the ball cleanly.
2. Position the Ball: Place a golf ball in the center of this first gate. This is your starting point.
3. Set Up the Second Gate: About one foot in front of the first gate, place two more tees slightly wider than the ball. This second gate acts as your accuracy checkpoint.
4. Practice the Drill: Stroke the ball from the first set of tees and try to roll it cleanly through the second set. If the ball clips a tee, adjust your stroke to improve your aim and alignment.
5. Purpose of the Drill: Repeating this drill trains you to strike the ball squarely and send it straight toward your target, improving your overall putting accuracy.

Watch Skip Guss perfectly demonstrate the drill below.

The Clock Drill to Improve Distance Control

The Clock Drill is a focused and challenging exercise designed to help you build confidence and consistency with short putts, especially those crucial 3-footers. By practicing from multiple angles around the hole, you’ll develop better distance control and mental toughness under pressure.

1. Set Up the Drill: Place 6 golf balls evenly around a hole, each one about 3 feet away. Picture them positioned like the numbers on a clock at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o’clock.
2. Start Putting: Begin putting from any position. Try to make your way around the circle, sinking each 3-foot putt.
3. Set the Goal: The objective is to make 16 putts in a row without missing. After finishing the first full circle (6 putts), repeat the circuit until you reach 16 consecutive makes.
4. Restart If You Miss: If you miss a putt at any point, start over from the beginning. While this may seem strict, it simulates pressure and helps sharpen your focus.
5. Why It Works: This drill conditions you to handle short putts under pressure and from different angles, just like you’d face on the course. Stick with it, and you’ll be knocking down those 3-footers like a pro!

The Coin Drill for Centered Strikes

This simple drill helps you develop a consistent stroke by giving you immediate visual feedback on your impact point. Using a coin as a reference behind the ball helps you train your eyes and stroke to hit the ball squarely every time.

1. Set Up the Drill: Place a coin directly behind your golf ball just close enough that your putter will pass over it as you strike the ball. The coin should be centered on your intended line.
2. Use the Coin as a Reference Point: As you putt, watch how your putter moves over the coin. If you strike the ball and your putter passes cleanly over the center of the coin, you’re hitting the ball square and on line.
3. Watch for Misses: If your stroke veers slightly to the left or right, the coin will give you instant visual feedback. Missing the center of the coin may indicate you’re contacting the ball with the heel or toe of the putter.
4. Repeat for Feel: Keep repeating the drill, focusing on getting that clean, centered stroke. Over time, this will help you build the feel of striking the ball purely and consistently.
5. Take It to the Course: By training your stroke this way, you’ll bring a better sense of alignment and contact with you onto the course leading to more confident, accurate putting.

Common Putting Mistakes and How to Fix Them

A very common mistake amateurs make is they don’t have good alignment to the target when putting. A simple trick can be to draw a line on your golf ball and lined that up with the target and then build your stance from there.

One thing I fell victim to when I started golfing and many do, is feeling like you have to hurry up on the green. Without a doubt, pace of play is important. However, you do not have to rush.

Lastly, make sure you consistently hold your putter the same way every time. Always changing the way you hold the putter or how much pressure you hold it with, will lead to errors. A great way to solve this is pick a grip you like and set up a routine of how you place your hands on the putter. Use logos on the grip to ensure you can remember.

Mental Strategies for Confident Putting

Mental focus is a huge part of the game of golf. I believe it’s a product of how hard it really is. You need to stay focus. Pre-putt routines are my go to suggestions for new golfers. A pre-putt routine tell the mind to prepare for a putt and enters the zone. All the pros do it and it’s for good reason.

Within that routine, you may have visualization. If you don’t you should strongly consider adding it. Visualization is a known way to improve almost anything in life. Same goes for golf, see it, believe it achieve it. This philosophy will always lead to better mental clarity in the game of golf.

Lastly, do not pay too much attention to the implications of a putt on your score. Follow your routine, and get in the zone. You’re best efforts will always come when you are going through your checklists like you always do.

Conclusion

Putting isn’t just a part of your game, it is your game. You don’t need a new putter or a swing overhaul to get better. You just need to improve your putting with intention and consistency.

Pick one drill from this guide, build a pre-putt routine, and start tracking your putts per round. Small improvements on the green add up fast. The journey to better golf doesn’t start with a new driver, it starts by sinking that three-footer with confidence. Now get out there and go improve your putting!