Aug 8, 2010 By Rich Conwell for The 2 min read

I had a very good student of mine come to me the other day ask how to get better at putting, or more importantly, what drills could be done to improve his putting. After much thought, I realized that the drills I prescribed for him could be helpful to everyone.

Now before I describe these three drills, keep in mind that we are not talking about making putts. If you want to increase your putting skill, you need to increase your feel. So as you improve, make sure you understand that your feel or improvement thereof, is most important in this sequence.

The first drill is what I call the penny pitching drill.

Stand about 15 feet from the fringe of a putting green, or the wall of a smoothly carpeted room, and hit putts to as closely as possible to the wall or fringe as possible without hitting the wall or fringe. This will improve feel and will allow you to become consistent in your distance control.

The second drill is what I call the ladder drill. Using five golf balls, putt the first one 15 feet away from you. The second ball should be putted three feet past the first one. The third ball should be putted three feet past the second one. So now the ladder has a golf ball at 18, 18 and 21 feet. The next golf ball should be putted between the 18- and 21-footer and the fifth ball between 15 and 18 feet. This drill will drive you nuts, but once you get it, your feel will be awesome.

The third drill is called the three-foot drill. Make as many three footers in a row as you can. If you miss one you must start over. The goal is to 20 in a row.

This is going to take you a long time, but you can do it.

This is the only drill where making putts counts, so get ready for a rough ride at first.

Try these drills. Your feel will improve and your skills will improve and ultimately your scores will improve, never a bad outcome.

Rich Conwell is the PGA Head Golf Professional at Uniontown Country Club and can be reached at RichConwell@atlanticbb.net.