Stats show that the average golfer with a handicap of over 15 three putts a bit more than 14% of the time, or 3-4 times per round. This is nearly 6 times more than the average PGA tour pro.
If this sounds like you, then you’re adding a lot of unnecessary strokes to your scorecard and handicap. That’s the bad news.
The good new is that you can avoid 3-putts and shave these strokes off your score. It’s relatively low hanging fruit.
How do you do that? You learn how to improve your lag putting.
That’s what I’m going to help you with in this article. Here is what I’m going to cover.
- Why high handicappers 3-putt so often.
- What lag putting is in golf.
- The key to lag putting for distance control.
- The best drills for lag putting.
By the time you’re done reading this guide, you’ll have the information and drills necessary to practice lag putting, all but eliminate 3-putts, and reduce your score.
Why You Three Putt So Much
High handicap golfers three-putt so often for a couple of reasons.
- The higher the handicap, the further away from the cup the golfer places their approach shot. Shot Scope says 20 handicappers leave their approach shots from the fairway 48 feet from the hole.
- They leave their first putt short. Shot Scope says the average 20 handicapper leaves their first putt around 9 feet short.
You want to work on getting your approach shots closer to the hole, there’s no doubt about that. Scratch players are getting their approach shots to within 27 feet. That gives you something to aim for.
However, at some point you will hit a point of diminishing returns. No one can consistently place their approach shots to within 10 feet of the hole – including PGA Tour pros.
Besides, if you’re lag putting game is weak, it doesn’t matter if you can hit your approach shots to that of a scratch player – you’ll still leave your first putt far too short to reduce your three putts.
That goes for pro golfers too. They make their 9-foot putts only 50% of the time, so even pros are expecting to two-putt from that distance.
A 90s golfer will make their 9-foot putts about 25% of the time. If you’re leaving your first putts 9-feet short, then you’re setting yourself up to 3-putt 75% of the time.
That’s why you should improve your putting distance control. Even if you get your approach shots 5-10 feet closer to the hole (38-43 feet), you’ll still three-putt far too often. That’s because amateur players are in the three-putt range once they’re 35+ feet out.
So, no matter how you look at it, it makes far more sense for high handicappers to practice their distance control on long putts. It’s the fastest way to shave strokes off your score.
Plus, once you improve your lag putting, you can then work on your approach shots. This will set your game ablaze, as you will set yourself up far many more two putts and maybe a few birdie attempts.
Now, you won’t eliminate 3-putts 100%. Even PGA tour pros 3-putt. Scratch golfers 3-putt 7.8% of the time.
The difference is that 25 handicap players 3-putt around 25% of the time. Eliminating 3-putts would lead to 4.25 fewer scores every round.
So, let’s learn how to do that – by learning how to improve your lag putting.
What is Lag Putting in Golf?
A lag putt in golf is a longer putt. The putt is so long you don’t expect to make it.
Opinions vary on the exact distance in which you should go into lag putting mode. 10 feet is a little short since even 90 shooters can expect to make those 20% of the time or 1 in every 5 tries.
Shot Scope says you should go into lag putting mode at around 20 feet. This is a good point since 90s shooters will only make these putts 6% of the time. This is a bit more than 1 made putt in every 20 tries.
What is the Goal of the Lag Putt in Golf?
It depends on who you ask.
Since you don’t expect to make many of these putts, some people say you shouldn’t try to make them. Your only focus should be on hitting it the right distance – to putt to within a 3-5-foot circle.
That’s a reasonable target, especially from 20+ feet away. Here is the problem – a 90s shooter will still miss a 3-foot putt around 15% of the time and 50% from 5-feet.
This means those golfers will still 3-putt a significant amount of the time.
Other golfers say that taking this approach to lag putting is crazy. They say that you can hole every putt with the right speed and line, so you shouldn’t intentionally miss your putt and just aim to get it close.
So, what should you focus on?
The Key to Lag Putting for Distance Control
I don’t think you should ever putt with the intent of missing it or only getting it inside a 3’-5’ circle. You’re not setting yourself up for much success that way.
But I don’t think you need to spend 20 minutes figuring out the right line to take or stress about making the putt, either. You’re just not going to make it enough to make the effort worthwhile.
Here is my opinion – you should try to make your first putt, but you should focus first and foremost on speed and your line second.
You need both to make your putts from any distance. But since you’re not going to make your 20+ foot putts that often, you should get as good of a line as you can and then shift gears to distance control.
That will give you the best chances of making it on occasion, while ensuring you have a tap in putt the rest (and majority) of the time when you miss.
The best way to improve your putting distance control is by performing drills, so let’s look at a few of those now.
Best Lag Putting Drills
Lag putting is tough to improve because the speed in which you need to hit the ball is always changing. Here are some of the things that can impact putting speed.
- Whether it is morning, afternoon, or night.
- Whether it is hot or cold out.
- If it’s raining or dewy, or if it’s dry.
- The last time the putting green was mowed.
A green’s putting speed will not only change from day to day, even hour to hour, at the course you play at. And then there is the fact that every golf course will have different green speeds, too.
Another reason lag putting is tricky is because it’s somewhat based on feel or perception. What I mean is that no one can tell you to bring your putter back X inches to hit the ball X feet.
That said, lag putting is a skill you can work on and improve by doing drills. Here are some of the best lag putting drills I know of that will help you improve your distance control on long putts.
Pendulum Drill
Place a tee 20 feet away from the cup, and another tee every 5 feet after that. You’re going to make some putts from each tee.
Before you do, make sure to look at the distance between the tee you’re hitting from and the cup to get an idea of how hard you will need to hit it.
For every putt you hit, focus on the back and forth, or pendulum, of your putting stroke. Pay especially close attention to how far you take your putt back and through relative to how far the ball went.
While the green speeds will vary day to day, having a ballpark on whether you need to take it back to inside or outside of your trail foot will give you a starting point for adjusting your stroke.
You can use this info to adjust your stroke how fast the greens are on any given day.
Closed Eyes Drill
Set up just like you did in the pendulum drill. Get your tees spaced out at different distances and then start hitting some putts.
Here is where this drill is different – you want to close your eyes while you make each putt. Before and after you hit the ball, guess how far the ball went and where it went to.
This will show you how bad your perception is – at first – which will get better the more you practice lag putting. You’ll also get a better feel for lag putts as you’ll take your eyes out of the equation.
10, 20, 30, 40, 50 Drill
Setup a ball at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 feet – all in the same line. Hit one ball from each location until you get five putts in a row within a 3-foot radius of the hole.
If you fail to get a putt within 3-feet, start over.
88% Two Putt Percentage
The average PGA tour pro two putts 88% of the time from 30 feet or more from the hole. The goal of this lag putting drill is to see how you compare.
Here is how this drill works.
Toss a ball to a random spot from at least 30 feet or more from the cup. Go through your normal putting process – read the green, line up the putt, and perform your practice strokes. Then make the putt.
If you didn’t make the first putt, then make the 2nd putt.
Do this 10 times. Write down how many times out 10 you were able to 2 putt or less from 30 feet and beyond.
The goal of this drill is to apply some game-like pressure on your second putt. This pressure will help you get much better at knocking in those 2-4 footers.
Ladder Drill
For this lag putting drill you want to setup squares or rectangles that are about a foot long. You want to putt from one square to another – preferably one that is long away to practice your lag putting.
This will help you get your speed dialed in, since too soft will miss the square and too hard will overshoot it.
You want to mix up the squares you hit too, so that you don’t get into a groove.
If you want to make this drill a little tougher, make the rectangles (narrow) squares so that you work both speed and direction.
Tips for Lag Putting
The drills above should help you improve your lag putting and reduce the three putts you make every round.
Those aren’t the only things you can do to improve. Here are a few lag putting tips to keep in mind as you go through the drills above or during your next round.
- Look at the hole while doing your practice swings. This will help give you an idea on how far you need to bring the putter back. This is good to do whether you have a short or lag putt.
- Read the putt from the side. We do not have good depth perception. By looking at your putt from the side, you get a better idea of how long a putt you really have.
- Stand tall when you putt – taller than you would for a shorter putt. It’s tough to bring the putter back for enough or hinge when you need the extra distance. You still want to keep your lower body still and rock with your shoulders, which will help you get some extra speed.
- Aim small, miss small. Many people say not to try to make lag putts, but if you’re just focused on distance/speed than aim, you might hit it anywhere – including several feet away. Aim for the cup. You won’t make it often, but you’ll set yourself up for more two putts when you miss.
- Don’t read every inch of break. Your ball won’t break as much the first 1/2 or 2/3 of the putt when it is going its fastest. Focus on the last 1/3 or so instead, as that is when the ball will slow down and break more.
- Don’t aim to hit the ball a couple of feet past the cup. Opinions vary on this, but one thing that is for sure is that the faster your ball is going, the smaller the cup. Put another way, a ball that is going 51 inches per second (9 revolutions per second) – a speed that will carry the ball 4’ past the hole if you miss – has only one line across the cup that will give the ball enough time to drop. Compare this to 10 inches per second (2 revolutions per second) – you will have about 2/3 of the hole where the ball will have enough time to drop. That’s a huge difference.
My final lag putting tip is to turn your practice sessions into games. Keep score. Give yourself points. Here is what that might look like using a couple of the drills above.
- Give yourself points for hitting your square in the ladder drill. Take a point away for coming up one square short or going one square long, two points for two squares, and so on.
- Mark how often you’re two putting in the 88% two putt drill. Pretend you need to two putt to make par, and track your scores accordingly (-1 for birdies, E for pars, +1 for bogeys, etc.).
Playing games for lag putting will help you retain what you’re learning. It will also force you to focus as you’ll want to beat your previous score. It will also create some pressure to simulate what you would feel while lag putting during a round of golf.
Keep these tips in mind when going through the lag putting drills above or when lag putting on the course, and odds are you’ll reduce your three putts.
Conclusion
There is a hierarchy of what is most important in golf. If you read Lowest Score Wins or Every Shot Counts, you know that putting is not at the top of the list.
Even though you may not want to spend a large amount of time on putting, the truth is that if you’re three putting multiple times per round, you’re adding unnecessary strokes to your scorecard.
Lag putting and avoiding three-putts is low hanging fruit. If you want to shave some easy strokes off your handicap, you won’t find many easier things to do than practice long putts.
Plus, it won’t take you long to make significant strides in this area of your game using the lag putting drills above.
Before you know it, you’ll be three putting less and playing to a lower handicap. Then you can go back to focusing the majority of your range time on hitting your driver.