How to practice putting at home: 8 simple drills to improve your golf game

Improving your putting stroke is one of the easiest ways to lower your handicap and take your golf game to the next level. However, many golfers don’t want to spend too much time on the practice green to get the perfect putting stroke. The good news is that these players can simply practice putting at home with the easy drills described in this article. These drills are convenient and effective, allowing players to get plenty of reps in as little as 10 minutes.

Practice putting at home: 8 indoor putting drills for a perfect stroke

Drill #1: Use books or boxes to guide your putting stroke

This first putting drill is a great way to make sure you’re hitting the ball with a straight putting stroke. It’s also one of the easiest drills to set up and practice.

For this exercise, you will need two large books or boxes of equal height. Place the two books next to each other, just far enough apart so that the putter face fits comfortably between them.

Now, put a ball in between the two books, and hit the ball with your putter face square while keeping your putter head from hitting the side of the books. Hit these practice strokes while focusing on keeping your putter path straight.

If your swing isn’t straight, you will hit the side of the books. Keep practicing until you can hit the ball clean without too much effort.

Drill #2: Use tape to guide your golf ball

This drill builds on the prior exercise to further improve your putting technique. Similar to the first exercise, you want to place two phone books next to each other with just enough space to fit the putter head.

Next, lay down several feet of tape to create a line leading from the ball out to your target area. The goal of this drill is to hit the golf ball so that it stays on the tape as it rolls towards its target.

These types of exercises are known a straight line putting drills. They will not only improve you putting stroke, but they can also improve your putting accuracy for a straight back and straight forward swing.

Drill #3: Putt to a tee

This exercise is a great and simple way to take your putting game to the next level. And the best part is all you need is a putter, ball, and golf tee.

To do this exercise, first set up your tee on the ground or your putting mat. Then hit the ball to the tee and try to knock it over.

You can start out close, and then move further away with every successful put. Try starting at 5 feet away, and then adding 5 feet of distance until you reach 20 feet. You will be surprised by how much your putting stroke improves as you successfully add more distance.

Drill #4: Putt to a playing card

Out of all the putting drills on this list, hitting to a playing card may be the most difficult. However, the effort will be worth it as it significantly improves your putting distance control.

In this drill, you will attempt to hit a ball so that it stops on a playing card. This seemingly simple exercise will help you develop a soft touch on your putting stroke.

This exercise is great for players who constantly find themselves overhitting the ball when they are out on the golf course. Improving your distance control will significantly cut down on overhit balls that sometimes leave you in a worse position than when you started.

Drill #5: Distance control using three balls

This drill is another great way to practice your distance control for your putting stroke. For this exercise, you want to use tape to mark a 1ft by 1ft square on the floor. This drill will especially improve your lag putting.

Next, set 3 golf balls up for hitting a reasonable distance away from the box. The goal is to hit each golf ball so that it stops in the box, but each ball should be hit slightly further back in the box than the ball before it.

That means that ball #2 should go slightly further than ball #1, but ball #3 should go even further away than the other two balls. However, all three balls should still land within the box.

This drill can be a little tricky to master, as you want to hit the first ball so that it barely enters the box, to leave room for your next two shots.

Drill #6: Golf stance putting practice

This exercise is one of the easiest putting drills to practice around your house, any time you have a spare minute or two. Not only that, but all you’ll need is your golf club.

To do this drill, keep your golf club close to you while you’re at your couch or office desk. Then, when you have a minute to spare, practice getting into your putting stance.

Doing this will help improve your muscle memory and your overall form.

For pointers on your form or for good general putting tips, see our article here on golf putting tips for beginners.

Drill #7: Right handed putting swing

This exercise will help improve your putting grip and build confidence in your overall stroke. To do this drill, stand a couple of feet away from your target and then practice hitting the golf ball while holding your putter with only your right hand.

When swinging, hit your practice strokes focusing on how your club responds when holding with one hand vs two hands. You may notice things about your grip that you never noticed when using both hands.

Drill #8: Left handed putting swing

This exercise is similar to the previous one, except you want to use your left hand. Once again you will stand a couple of feet away from your target, and then practice hitting the ball but with your left hand only.

Doing this will improve your muscle memory and coordination in your left hand, and make putting that much easier when you finally use both hands.

Why you should use a mat to practice your putting drills?

Putting mats are an easy and convenient way to practice your putting game. They are relatively cheap and provide a much better in-home surface than the carpet or hardwood flooring. They also are much easier to maintain than any backyard putting green.

Many putting mats can approximate the feel of a real putting green. This is important because you want the surface that you practice on to feel similar to a real game. This is especially important for distance control, where the smoothness of the surface plays an important role in how far the ball will roll.

Finally, putting mats are both easy to store and easy to set up whenever they are needed. All it takes as a couple of minutes to have the mat ready to get a bit a practice in.

What are the benefits of doing indoor putting drills at home?

• Comfort: Practicing in your home is easy and comfortable. You can wear whatever you want and practice whenever is easy for you. You also don’t have to deal with other people wanting to use the practice green while you’re on it.
• Convenience: Practicing at home means that you don’t need to lug your equipment all the way to the course. Furthermore, it’s easy to get in 10 minutes of practice here or there throughout the day.
• Privacy: You are free to work on whatever drills you would like, without other players peering at what you’re doing.
• Focus and repetition: putting at home lets you practice key situations over and over until you feel completely comfortable with them. It’s the easiest way to quickly build up muscle memory and confidence over a short period of time.
• Better Alignment: Improving your golf alignment is one of the quickest ways to get better. These drills help you to focus on your setup including your alignment with the ball.

Conclusion

Home putting drills are an easy and effective way to improve your putting stroke. They can be done quickly and easily, and with minimal extra equipment needed. They are also a great way to isolate specific parts of your swing that need improvement. Put these drills into practice, and you will surprise yourself with how quickly your start to lower your handicap.

FAQ