Five Putting Practice Methods You Can Do at Home

We’d all love to spend more time at the golf course. With the constraints of the real world, however, you may not have any more hours in the week that you can dedicate to visits to your local course or practice area.

But does that time limitation mean you can’t improve your golf game?

Of course not!

Putting is one of the easiest things to practice away from the course – and it is something that everyone could stand to work on more often. So, let’s look at some simple putting practice methods that can be employed when you have a few free moments around the house.

#1 Get Comfortable with Your Grip

This is perhaps the simplest of all practice putting methods, which is why it’s perfect for using at home. With this drill, you aren’t even going to need a golf ball – you’ll just want to have your putter available for some quick rehearsal strokes.

The idea here is to make practice putting strokes without a ball while focusing on your grip. The grip is often overlooked while putting, but it is extremely important.

Not only do you want to have your hands in a comfortable position, but you also want to maintain light grip pressure through the stroke. It can be hard to focus on your grip while hitting an actual putt on the practice green, so it’s best to work on this at home without even using a ball.

If you notice that one of your hands is out of position, or that your grip is too tight, make the necessary adjustment and keep practicing.

#2 Nail Your Starting Line

One of the biggest keys to quality putting on the course is starting the ball on the right line as often as possible. If you miss your intended starting line, the putt will almost certainly miss the hole in the end.

This is another good drill to use at home because it doesn’t require you to get a true roll for the entire length of the putt – you only need to judge the first few inches after the ball leaves the face of the putter.

To try this at-home drill for yourself, you’ll simply need a putter and a few golf balls. Find a surface in your home that is suitable for putting, such as some low-pile carpet or even a hard floor that won’t be damaged by this activity.

Instead of setting a target off in the distance, where the ball will have time to be impacted by the slope and texture of the floor, set your target up just a few inches in front of the ball. A dime works well for this task, as it is small enough to require a precision strike.

Hit as many putts as you would like, over and over again, with the goal of rolling your ball directly over the dime each time.

#3 Learn to Feel the Putting Stroke

Relying on your eyes too much during the putting stroke is a recipe for trouble.

Watching the putter as it swings, and making any corrections you think need to be made, is never going to lead to consistent results. So, another useful home putting practice method is to hit some putts with your eyes closed.

You may be surprised to find just how much you learn about your stroke when you must rely on your feel instead of your eyes.

The setup for this drill is just like the last one, in that you’ll only need your putter and a few golf balls. You don’t even need to have a target for this drill, although you could add one if you like. Just make your normal stroke with your eyes closed and strive for solid contact in the center of the putter face.

You’ll feel when you have missed it slightly toward the toe or heel.

If you can consistently strike the middle of the putter while your eyes are closed, that’s a good indication that your technique is sound.

#4 Invest in a Quality Mat

Okay, so this isn’t necessarily a practice “method”, but it’s worth including in this article. Practice putting mats for home are not hard to find – but many of them aren’t much of an upgrade from your carpet.

Buying a quality putting mat will give you a consistent surface on which to practice while you are at home. Many of these mats come with alignment aids to work on your address position, and you’ll be able to practice your putts from several different distances.

A home putting mat is particularly useful for the player who lacks confidence when facing short putts. Seeing the ball go in the hole repeatedly from short distance is a huge boost to your attitude.

When you get back onto the course, you will have positive memories of your home practice sessions, and that reinforcement may be just what you need to start converting more short putts during your rounds.

#5 Have a Friendly Home Putting Competition

If anyone else in your home is a golfer, or if you have golfer friends visit frequently, consider setting up a small putting course to hold a friendly competition and work on your skills under pressure. Dealing with pressure is a big part of putting well, so creating some minor pressure in the practice environment is a popular technique.

Of course, in addition to learning how to make good strokes will feeling the pressure, this kind of putting game around the house is just a fun way to pass the time – especially in the colder winter months when the weather may not be so attractive for a regular round of golf.

Creativity is your biggest asset when trying to think of new ways to work on your putting away from the course. Use our ideas as a starting point and mix in your own concepts to address the weakest parts of your putting performance.

With any luck, these at-home sessions will pay off in a big way when your next tee time arrives.