How to Lag Putts Like the Pros

Every golfer hates to three putt.  There is nothing quite as frustrating on the golf course as hitting two beautiful shots into the green, only to waste them by three putting for a bogey.

Even worse, if you have had to scramble your way up the hole and find yourself with a long par putt, walking off with a double bogey can be demoralizing for the rest of the day.  However, having the ability to lag the ball close to the hole from long range is something that will quickly help you shave strokes off of your average score.

If you watch any golf on TV, you will quickly notice how proficient the professional golfers are at lag putting.  They still three putt from time to time, but the best players are able to get the ball down in two from nearly any position around the green.

Pro golfers understand just how important every shot is to their overall success, so they certainly don’t want to waste any with a sloppy three putt.  In addition to saving strokes, lagging the ball well can help reduce stress for professional golfers by not requiring them to sweat over a four-foot comebacker.

Improving performance in your ability to lag putts is something that every golfer should strive to achieve.  But how do you do it?  It’s actually pretty simple if you follow this straightforward advice.

Practice Lagging Your Putts!

This should be an obvious point, but unfortunately it is one that is missed by almost every amateur golfer.

When the average golfer practices putting (if they practice it at all), they generally stand just a few feet from the hole.  While it is important to practice your short putts, your long putts need just as much attention.  You can’t expect to get better at something if you never practice it, so your lag putting performance is going to remain poor until you put in some time on the practice green.

Each practice putting session that you complete should include a period of time that is spend rolling the ball all the way across the green.  Find the two holes that are the farthest apart on the putting surface and putt back and forth between them for a few minutes.  Don’t worry about your technique at this point – simply roll the ball back and forth while working on controlling your speed correctly.

Through repetition you will naturally become more adept at lagging long putts close to the hole and you’ll start to gain a better feel for distance as you gain experience with these longer putting strokes.

Here’s golf legend Tom Watson with more on why practicing your lag putting is so important for saving strokes:

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Stand Taller Over the Ball

For the most part, your lag putting stroke should be exactly the same as any other putting stroke you make on the greens.  However, when you are putting from particularly long range, it may be helpful to stand up slightly taller at address.

You will need a long swing to hit the ball firm enough to handle an extra-long putt, and standing taller will facilitate that longer swing nicely.  Keep in mind that you still want to be able to keep your hands mostly out of the putting stroke when putting from long range, so be sure to rock your shoulders freely back and through the stroke to create speed.

Even while you are making a bigger stroke, it is imperative that you keep your lower body absolutely stable.  Striking your putts on the sweet spot is an important ingredient in good lag putting, because you will only be able to control your speed consistently when you hit the sweet spot time after time.

In order to find the sweet spot at impact, you need to keep your lower body quiet.  During the stroke, pay attention to the position of your knees – as long as your knees aren’t moving, you can be sure your legs are staying still properly.

The “Gate Drill” is another excellent putting practice method you can use to improve your ability to hit the sweet spot, and in the process gain more distance consistency with your puts.

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Don’t Try to Make the Putt

When you’re lagging the ball across the green, try to get the thought of making the putt out of your mind.  You may think that you should be trying to make every putt you look at, but the chances of knocking the ball in the hole from long range are slim to say the least.  Even the very best PGA TOUR players only make 20-25′ putts 30% off the time.

Instead of thinking about making the putt, picture a three-foot circle around the hole and use that as your target.  If you can get the ball to stop inside that circle, you will set up an easy second putt.

Thinking about making your long putts will put you in an aggressive frame of mind, which could easily lead to rolling the ball several feet past the cup.

Prepare Properly

How do you spend your time before you tee off?  Do you head to the range to hit a warm-up bucket of balls, or do you visit the short game area to chip and putt?

No matter what parts of the game you like to work on prior to getting your round started, lag putting needs to be included.  Since green speeds change from course to course – and from day to day on the same course – you need to dial in your speed control prior to heading to the first tee.  The concept is no different than hitting the range before your round to see how that day’s weather (wind, cold, etc) will affect your ball flight.  In fact, lag putting is a great way to finish your warm-up session.

Once the range balls have been hit and you have done some chipping and short putting, roll a few putts across the entire length of the practice green.  You want to have the feeling of the green speeds fresh when you start your round, as there is a good chance you will face a somewhat long putt right away on the first hole.

It never feels good to start the day with a three putt, so be prepared right from the start to deal with long lag putts if they should be required.

You are never going to totally eliminating three putting from your game.  Even the best putters will three putt on occasion (former Master’s champ Adam Scott averaged 0.83 3-putts per round in 2015!), so forgive yourself when it happens from time to time.  But don’t treat this as an excuse to not practice your lag putting.  Performing the practice methods discussed here will dramatically help to limit the number of three putts you record per round.

Use the tips above to sharpen your long putting performance and your putts, and scores are sure to start dropping!

Cover Photo by Steve Fannon on Flickr