--- title: "How to improve your putting: technique, green reading and drills" description: "The putter accounts for a third of your shots and gets the least practice. Grip, pendulum stroke, distance control, how to read a slope and five measurable drills." url: https://www.teeup.es/en/blog/como-mejorar-el-putt lang: en updated: 2026-09-02 --- # How to improve your putting: technique, green reading and drills Published: 2026-09-02 · Reading time: 6 min ## How to improve your putting A player shooting 90 usually takes **32 to 36 putts**. That is more than a third of the card, with the easiest club in the bag to control and the one almost nobody practises. Going from 36 putts to 32 is four shots. Four shots that need no speed, no flexibility and no changes to your swing. --- ### First, the mindset shift Putting is not about holing them. It is about **not taking three**. The numbers are blunt: even tour professionals hole fewer than half of their putts from 3 metres. If your goal from 10 metres is to make it, you will run it past, leave a 2-metre comeback, and that is where the three-putt is born. Split your putts into two categories: | Distance | Your objective | |---|---| | Under 2 m | Hole it | | Over 2 m | Leave it inside a 1.5 m circle | That single distinction eliminates most amateur three-putts. --- ### The technique, in four elements **(01) The grip.** Putting is the one stroke where the wrists should not work, so the grip exists to switch them off. The most common is the **reverse overlap**: hands opposed, palms facing each other, the index finger of the top hand over the fingers of the bottom one. If you tend to jab at it, try the cross-handed grip, which stabilises the lead wrist. Light pressure. On a scale of 1 to 10, a 3. **(02) The setup.** Eyes **over or slightly inside** the ball. That is what lets you see the true line: with your eyes outside the ball you aim right systematically without knowing it. Test it: get into your putting posture, drop a ball from the bridge of your nose and see where it lands. It should land on the ball or just inside it. **(03) The pendulum stroke.** The movement comes from the shoulders, not the hands. Shoulders, arms and putter form a triangle that stays intact throughout. And the key to rhythm: **the backswing and the through-swing take the same time**. Many amateurs take it back a long way then decelerate, or take it back short and jab. Both destroy distance control. **(04) Ball slightly forward.** Just inside the left heel (for right-handers). This makes the putter contact the ball on the way up, which gets it rolling cleanly instead of hopping. --- ### Distance control is everything If you could only train one thing in putting, this is it. Direction is fixed by the line. Distance is only fixed by **calibration**, and you calibrate with the **length of the backswing**, not the force of the hit. Think of the putter as a clock pendulum: short back, short through; long back, long through. Always the same tempo. The moment you start "hitting it harder" from the same backswing, control disappears. **A useful reference:** build your own scale. Backswing to the toe of your right foot = X metres. Halfway between the feet = Y metres. It is yours and it looks like nobody else's, but once you have it, you stop guessing. --- ### How to read a green Three things, in this order: **(01) The overall slope.** Before you reach the green, look from a distance to see where it drains. Greens are built to shed water, so there is nearly always a dominant fall. Spotting it from 50 metres is easier than from on top of it. **(02) The break on your line.** Crouch behind the ball, on the ball-hole line. Find the **high point** of the path: that is where you aim, not the hole. **(03) The speed.** This multiplies everything above. On a fast green the same slope breaks twice as much. On a slow, wet one it barely breaks at all. Your first clue is the practice putt before you tee off: two putts on the practice green tell you what kind of morning it is. **The number one reading error is not misreading the break: it is leaving it short.** A ball arriving without pace falls away far more than expected. Aim to finish **30-40 cm past** the hole if it misses. **Grain.** On bermuda greens (common in southern Spain in summer) the grass grows in a specific direction and affects the roll. Trick: if the surface looks shiny from where you stand, the grain runs with you and the putt is quicker. If it looks matte and dark, it runs against you and slows down. --- ### Five measurable drills **(01) The ladder.** Balls at 3, 6, 9 and 12 metres. One putt at each, trying to leave them all inside a metre and a half. Score out of 4. It is the best distance-control drill there is. **(02) The one-metre circle.** Ten balls in a ring around the hole at 1 metre. Hole ten out of ten before you leave. It builds confidence in the putts you **cannot** miss. **(03) The gate.** Two tees pushed in slightly wider than the putter head, 20 cm ahead of the ball. Send the ball through without touching them. Corrects face angle at impact. **(04) Consistency test.** Ten putts from 2 metres at the same hole. Note how many you hole. Repeat weekly: it is your baseline and it tells you whether you are actually improving. **(05) One putt.** At the end of every session, one putt from 5 metres. Hole it and you leave. Miss and you go again. It introduces pressure, which is what is missing from 99 % of putting practice. All of these are available with automatic scoring and progress tracking in the **Teeup Academy**. --- ### The mistakes that cost most shots **(01) Leaving it short.** A short putt has a 0 % chance of going in. **(02) Moving your head early.** Listen for the ball dropping instead of watching it. **(03) Uneven acceleration.** Same tempo back and through, always. **(04) Not reading from behind the ball.** It is the only view that gives you the true line. **(05) Changing putter every season.** Consistency in putting comes from repetition. Stick with one. --- ### Frequently asked questions **How many putts should I take per round?** A 90-shooter is usually on 32-36. Under 32 is a good amateur standard; professionals average around 29. **How do I control distance when putting?** With the length of the backswing, keeping the same tempo throughout. Never by hitting harder or softer. **Where should I aim on a breaking putt?** At the high point of the path, not at the hole. And plan for the ball to have enough pace to finish 30-40 cm past. **Which putting grip is best?** Whichever one switches your wrists off. Reverse overlap is the standard; cross-handed helps if you jab. **Blade or mallet putter?** Mallets forgive off-centre strikes and are more stable; blades give more feel. For most amateurs, the mallet is the safe choice. **How much should I practise putting?** Fifteen minutes before every round and one 30-minute session a week already make a clear difference. --- Putting is the only golf shot you can train in your living room. It is also the one that will save you the most shots. That it gets the least practice makes no sense at all. The **Teeup Academy** has the drills with scoring and progress tracking. **Download the Teeup app** and book your next round. --- Source: https://www.teeup.es · Sitemap: https://www.teeup.es/sitemap.xml · llms.txt: https://www.teeup.es/llms.txt · Agent guide: https://www.teeup.es/agent-instructions.md