The area most overlooked by amateurs is three-putting. According Golf Digest Top 50 Instructor and Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructor Todd Sones, most players don’t get their first putt close enough, which leads to challenging 2nd putts and too many three-putts.
Lag putting is all about feel, and it’s the reason most people three-putt. When they hit a green in regulation, they’re putting from distances between 30 and 80 feet, and because they don’t get their first putt close enough, they three-putt.
Todd, who’s also on the Golf Academy of America’s National Advisory Board, says one of the secrets to the mechanics of lag putting is getting your speed from your backstroke, not your forward stroke.
In a pendulum putting stroke, the gravity created from distance the putter travels back is what helps it accelerate on the forward stroke.
Most people have a 1:3 putting stroke, a 12-inch backstroke and a 36-inch forward stroke. For feel, try reversing the ratio. While the goal is to be equal on both the back and forward strokes, practice hitting putts with a 3:1 ratio, a 36-inch backstroke and a 12-inch forward stroke. Feel the weight of the putterhead as it swings down.
In this video, Todd explains how you can improve your distance control by letting gravity accelerate your putterhead:
Tried this today while practicing. Works great! After the first three or four putts, everything was within three feet. Great drill.