Every year Canadians shake the winter doldrums off their golf game, and head out to the fairways. Those early weeks in the season as we whip the rust off our games can be a challenge. With that in mind, throughout April, Golf Town Instructor Franco Sirianni has shared tips to help kickstart the season. This is the final column in the series. 

Consider this your Golf Town Spring Tune-up. 

It’s the club in your bag that you use the most but is sometimes forgotten. Many golfers are solely focused on spending hours on the range hitting balls, when the reality is that statistics show we should be spending as much time on the green learning to make putts.

Low handicap players understand the importance of a good short game, especially when it comes to putting. Truthfully, almost all professional players have exceptional ball striking skills, meaning most tour events come down to who putts best. This clearly shows that the putter in your bag is the club that can lead to the greatest improvement in your game.

With the proper techniques, everyone can develop into a solid putter. The following putting drills are designed to improve your ability to make more putts when it counts.  

Clock drill for short putts

Missing short putts is a killer. Nothing is more frustrating than hitting a great drive, placing the approach shot on the green, but missing a short putt and walking away with bogey. Practicing those knee knockers will make a huge difference in your score and the clock drill is excellent for all shorter putts.

Here are the key elements of the drill, which is aimed at putts inside of eight feet, but be sure to vary your lengths.

• Start by placing two balls at each of these positions on the clock—12, 3, 6, and 9.
• Start your distances two feet and five feet from the hole, finishing the shorter putts and moving onto the longer ones. Repeat twice.
• Change yourdistances to four and eight feet, and finish the short putts first, repeating the drill twice.
• The goal is to make all eight putts in a row. If you miss any putt in the sequence, start over. This will instill the skill you need to ensure you make those short putts.

Long Distance Drill

These tips are designed to improve putting from longer distances, leaving you closer to the hole on your second putt and making more pars.

• In this drill, you are attempting to control the distance you hit each putt. This drill begins by placing a tee in the ground at 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet and 30-feet away from the hole. Hit a putt from the closest tee and work your way back to the furthest tee.
• The idea is to get the ball to stop as close as possible to the hole, hopefully within 24-inches of the cup. The next step is to repeat the distances and trying to close your distance to the hole to 12-inches.
• With practice you’ll narrow the gap of your lag putts to the hole, and limit three-putts.
• Repeat this drill at least four times, and then try it uphill and downhill. Once you can successfully navigate this drill, your feel on the greens for distance should improve.

Path Drill

Many amateurs push or pull the putt off line. This is caused by your path either being too far from the inside or too much from the outside. This drill will help develop a consistent path and keep your putter moving back and forward, instilling a straight path.

• Find a flat area on the green and place two alignment sticks on the ground wide enough to place the putter head behind the ball.
• Swing the putter between the two sticks and hit the ball. If the putter hits any of the sticks you are not swinging the putter down the target line. Make sure the putter head stays low to the ground and follows through.

​ A Class A PGA of Canada Professional, Franco Sirianni teaches at Golf Town’s store in St. Hubert, Que. He can be reached at fsirianni@golftown.com.