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Lag Putting - Tips and Tricks That Work For You

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Scrap Iron

Scrap Iron

On The Eh Team
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Last year I tried to focus on my lag putting and getting myself in a solid position to not 3 putt. I found that if I envision a 2 foot circle around the hole and try to let the putt die into the hole I would often leave myself a makeable second putt.

Anyone else have any strategy on how to get it close to the hole from long distance.
 
Lag Putting - Tips and Tricks That Work For You

Yes, I try to make it everytime and if the speed is right I'm inside the leather or 3' away.

Seriously though, I am always trying to make every putt and my most important factor is what speed get's it in the hole.

There is a drill where you get a piece of string and you try and atop it on the string i did that a bit and it helped with speed control.
 
I use that same method, just get it close and let the ball die into the hole, it seems to work pretty well for me.


Sent from the magic know everything box in my pocket
 
I got one of the best compliments I have ever received a few weeks ago while playing. At the end of the round, the guy I was paired up with said "you look like you are going to make every putt when you get over the ball".

I do try to make every putt, and as said previously...if my speed is right then a two putt is a given. I think being confident and trying to make every putt is the way to go.
 
I've had more than my fair share of comments such as "the line was good" and totally ignoring the fact the ball has run 6-8' past the hole. In the last few months though I've been concentrating on speed to the hole whether it is from 4' or 24' trying to get the ball to just drop or stay close. My cards show I'm not necessarily making any more 1 putts but it sure is easier making a 2 putt from inside 3'.
 
I mentally imagine a hula hoop around the hole Nd try to put the ball in it. Amazing how regularly I can leave it within a foot or two
 
Practice with an alignment rod 18 inches behind the cup and try to leave every putt that you don't make between the cup and the alignment rod...they all have a chance to drop but never more than 18 inches for your next putt.
 
Unless the break is more than 2 feet, for long putts, speed is more important. For short putts, break is more important.
 
Gosh if I could just lag. I'm playing to a 9.5 cap according to GameGolf which is my personal best. However according to other 10 caps I lose 3 strokes a round due to lag putting.

I'll leave a 25-30 footer like 10' short. So frustrating.
 
I'm with the guys who say they try to make every putt no matter the distance. It's been said before elsewhere, but there's something about focusing on a smaller target that gives you the best chance of hitting what you aim at. The 3 foot circle or hula hoop doesn't really work for me, never has.

I know the Make percentages drop the farther you get from the hole but I truly feel like I can make any putt, no matter the length, if I put a good stroke on it.

One of my main putting practices is the Pelz Drawback Drill: With a single ball I start from about 20 feet and increase the distance to 50-60 feet as I add more holes. The point is to leave the ball at least past the middle of the hole but within the leather behind the hole in a semi-circle. If short or outside the semi-circle you must draw back one putter length from your ball for the next putt ... continue till you make it. Keep track of your score for 9 or 18 holes and try to get better every time. This drill not only helps your long putting touch but gives you more practice on the crucial 6 ft and in range when you miss. Also, Using a single ball and keeping score helps simulate putting on the course.
 
Putt to the fringe when practising. Forget about the hole and just work on getting the ball as close to the fringe as possible. I know for myself giving my poor little brain too many things to focus on means I don't do all of them well so I found that focusing on one thing - distance - makes lag putting practice more effective for me.
 
I find myself somewhere between two different methods.

I used to just imagine a 4' circle around the hole as my target and that eliminated 3 putts almost altogether, but the downside was that I found I left almost every putt short and didn't make very many 1 putts.
Now I'm always trying to make every putt but the net result of that is I blow too many balls 4+ feet past the hole. I make more mid/long putts but I also stumble into too many 3 putts.
 
I'm only a mediocre putter inside of 10 feet but I'm a great lag putter maybe because I have a lot of long putts during a round. During a normal round I hit 14 greens but half of those putts are more than 30 feet and often I will have 2 eagle putts per round that are from 45-70 feet. That adds up to about 10 long lag putts per round and I average less than 1 three putt per round.

My keys are light grip pressure and make sure to finish the backswing. People often rush and get their tempo out of whack on putts longer than 40 feet. It's not a faster stroke just a longer one. I also look back and forth from the hole to the ball a couple extra times on longer putts and trust that my eyes will tell my muscles how hard to hit it. The other mistake that I see on long breaking putts 90% of the time is misses on the low side. Play more break and the putt will be breaking towards the hole at the end and the slope will be helping it travel farther. Play too little break and the putts will be breaking away from the hole those last several feet and finish farther from the hole. Nothing more frustrating than having a putt almost stop in gimme range but roll out another 3-5 feet away from the hole. Play twice the break that you think and you will become a better lag putter.

If my lag putting ever gets off I go to the practice green and drop 3 balls along the break line at 15 foot increments from 30 to 60 feet and start the drill with the 30 footer. After 20 minutes of having to vary the speed and I guarantee you will getting those 30, 45, and 60 foots putts closer than when you started.
 
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Lag putting for me is much easier than a 6-7 footer. Basically the first thing I do is identify the slope in the green: down, up, left, right and how steep. What I am trying to do is just get it to three feet at most. I may do a practice stroke or two and imagine the ball coming of the face during that stroke and what the result will be. I can usually feel if I am swinging to hard or soft. Once I am comfortable with the line and stroke, just step up and repeat not taking my eye off the ball until after contact.
 
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