How to Lag Putt Like a Pro + 3 Drills to Help You Improve
The Importance of Lag Putting and how it helps you stay confident from the fairway.
Now for all you beginners and “newbies” out there, you may be wondering, “what exactly is a lag putt?”
Great question! A “lag putt” is your first larger/longer/approach putt when you are on the green that you have landed on. When you “lag” the putt, it means you’ve gotten it close to the hole so you can have an easy final putt.
The main reason I wanted to take this post head on, is because I just got off a challenging a golf course tee to green. My ball striking and driving were on point, but my score suffered because I was not putting well. Case in point: my lag putting was not pretty, which then started to affect my approach shots and the proximity to the hole. Instead of picking my points for good positioning on the greens, I was simply trying to hit the green, and then firing at flags I shouldn't, which is again a confidence issue due to bad putting.
So, based off my personal experience, you can believe me when I say putting is crucial to improving your overall game!
Putting well helps your confidence in the fairway because if you’ve been putting well, it takes the pressure off your approach shots and irons. When you can put it on the green anywhere, you feel more confident you can get down in two putts or less. Once you start to feel more relaxed over your approach shots because you feel you can putt from anywhere, you are more confident to take on more flags!
3 Lag Putting Drills for beginners:
Tempo
Start practicing your putting stroke with a putter in your hands whenever/wherever you can. Really try to focus on tempo and how smooth you can putt your blade of the putter back and through. Just simply practice your stroke 4-5 minutes just putting strokes nice and slow. Good smooth back stroke and good smooth follow through. HOLD the Putter through after impact!
20-30-40
Go to your local golf course or practice facility with a good sized putting green. Start at 20 feet from the hole, and try to find something that is flat since you are just beginning. (Curves, breaks, slopes, uphill/downhill/side....we will get to that later.) Take out 5-6 golf balls and start just putting them up to the hole for feel and only think about tempo, just your stroke and live with the results.
After you’ve warmed up, take 3 of your golf tees and putt them behind the hole you are practicing to, and make a small semicircle out of them. Now that you have your hole and a finishing target play the lagging game. You have 5-6 balls, you have to be able to put 5 out of 6 of the balls within the semicircle or hole to move on to your next location. NO you cannot leave the putts short, and they have to finish within the semicircle.
Once you have done this, move back to 30 feet, then 40, and etc. The repetition will help you get comfortable with gauging the distance and feel.
2 Foot Basket/Hoop It
Now that you are warmed up, and your practice drills have taken 30-40 minutes depending on your time limits and your commitment, but if you want improvement you must put in the time! Have a PAR-TEE!
Go to 50 feet and farther and try to find a spot with some kind of break in it (left to right, right to left, double breaker, down hill, uphill, etc) and place tees or draw a circle around the hole about 2 feet in diameter. Take some time and try to make the putt obviously, but when you are faced with something very daunting just find a way to get it close! Practice getting the 5-6 golf balls in the circle. After you have done this for a while, go back to 20 footers and they will seem pretty make-able.
Lag putting is an art form in it's own right, but with much practice and remembering tempo, it can be something that you no longer fear, but look forward to. This will be the start of your road to improvement!
So remember, before heading to the range and hitting countless golf balls for no reason, make sure you practice your lag putting! This will greatly improve your game if you’ve been trying to break a certain number, and it’ll get you more confidence on the golf course.