Instruction – Putting Training Boot Camp

I get asked by many of my students what training aids I recommend for putting. Below are some of my favorite training aids to use for rolling the rock (disclaimer: I am not being paid to advertise any of these training aids).

Alignment Sticks

These cost around $3 at Home Depot and are called yard reflective sticks. They can be used for many full swing drills, chipping and putting. For putting, I love having students place the sticks just wider than the putter clubhead width apart, making railroad tracks to putt between. The goal with this drill is to keep your entire putter head between the two sticks. I recommend just doing this drill from 3-5 feet away from the hole.

Alignment Sticks: Drill No. 2 

Place an alignment on the inside of the heel of your putter on right-to-left putts, not allowing your putter to cross the alignment stick. Place the alignment stick just outside the toe of the putter on left-to-right putts and hit putts, not allowing your putter head to cross the alignment stick on the backswing or follow-through. This is a drill seen a lot on the LPGA Tour.

Golf Putting Mirror

One of the biggest inconsistencies I see with students while putting is lack of a consistent setup, which is why I love the mirror training aid. This training aid shows where your eyes are at setup, making sure your distance away from the ball when putting is consistent. It is important to have your eyes over the golf ball or just slightly inside. This training aid also has a gate to make sure you have center contact at impact when putting. This training aid runs about $20 on Amazon.

Chalk Reel

Another favorite training aid of mine is a chalk line. Again, this can be found at Home Depot for around $20. This helps to see if your stroke is too much in-to-out, out-to-in, or on-line. It also helps to see if you are starting your ball on your intended line, pulling or pushing your putts … letting you know if your clubface is square, open or closed when you hit a putt.

Putting Line String and Pegs

This training aid is $16 on Amazon. It  helps to see if your ball is starting on your intended line, as well as helps to visualize and the amount your putts break. It is also a great training aid to see if your stroke is too much in-to-out, out-to-in, or just right.

Any of these inexpensive items can really help improve your stroke and shave strokes off your game. 

Kirsten Pike is the lead Teaching Professional at Las Colinas Country Club. To improve your scores follow her on Instagram at kirstenpike_golfinstruction and visit kpikegolf.wixsite.com