How to Improve Putting and Driving Range Practice

We all want to improve our golf game, but may not even know where to begin. Hitting a bucket of balls is beneficial and the most common practice, but it doesn’t help your putting. Luckily, head instructor, Val Verhunce has some solutions for you.

Tip #1: Recognize that every 10-foot putt is actually not a 10-foot putt. I know this sounds confusing, so Val offered a demonstration to explain.

Place a golf ball roughly 10 feet from the hole on a slight downward trajectory, a tee equidistant from the hole and the ball and a dime one foot beyond that.

Aim your putt as if you are trying to putt to the dime six feet away. The slight downward trajectory will carry the ball the rest of the way, giving you the best chance to sink your shot.

Tip #2: Learn to identify every putt as straight. First, place a golf ball roughly 10 feet from the hole, accounting for slope. In this demonstration, Val placed the ball slightly to the right of the hole so the ball would curve left as it approached the hole.

Next, place one alignment rod in front of the ball and a second rod directly in line, closer to the hole. Measure your shot and when you are ready to putt, move the rod that’s directly in front of the ball to the side and aim as if you are putting straight towards the second rod, creating the illusion that you are making a straight putt. The slant of the hole will direct the ball to the hole.

Tip #3: Have patience at the driving range. Too often, Val sees golfers dump an entire bucket of balls, hitting one after another without a break in between.

This is a bad habit to get into because it doesn’t allow for any time to reflect and analyze your swing. Try taking one ball out at a time, go through your routine, and swing away. Then, reflect on your swing before moving on to the next shot. It’s not a race to see how fast you can go through a bucket or how far you can hit a golf ball at the range, so take your time and enjoy golfing on Marin’s only all-natural grass driving range.

Be on the lookout for future tips from our professional’s right here on the Peacock Gap blog!