Putting · Drill
Check Your Contact Before Changing Your Stroke
Part of our putting programs for three-putts, start line, reading greens. Build a program with it
After a few misses, it's tempting to change everything. Your read, your ball position, your stroke. Stop. Check your contact first. Hitting the heel or toe changes both speed and start line. It can look like a bad read. At address, let the putter sit flat on the ground. Line the ball up with the center mark. For feedback, put two rubber bands around the face, a ball's width apart. Putts have to go between them.
The drill
- Let the putter sit flat.
- Center the ball on the face mark.
- Put two rubber bands on the face.
- Hit putts between them.
- Fix contact before anything else.
Why it works
A putter face is small, and an off-center hit twists it. Contact toward the heel or toe sends the ball off line and takes speed off the putt, so a good read can still miss. Centered contact keeps the face square through impact and gives a consistent roll and distance, so you can trust what the misses tell you about your read.
Common mistakes
- You lift the toe or heel at address, so the putter does not sit flat.Let the putter rest on its sole, and adjust your posture or grip so the club hangs naturally.
- You line the ball up with your eyes or the shaft instead of the center mark.Look down at the face and place the ball directly in front of the center mark before you set your feet.
- You aim at the hole and ignore the rubber bands, so the ball clips them.Set the bands a ball's width apart and count only putts that pass cleanly between them.
How you'll know it's working
- The ball passes between the rubber bands without touching either one.
- The ball starts on your chosen line and rolls at the speed you expected.
- Contact feels the same each time, with no sharp or dull feedback from the heel or toe.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Start with short putts of a few feet on a flat surface so you can focus only on striking the center.
Harder: Move to longer putts or add a slight slope while still keeping every ball between the rubber bands.
Common questions
How do I know if I'm hitting putts off the heel or toe?
Watch for putts that start off line or come up short or long for no clear reason. The rubber band drill shows it quickly, because off-center strikes clip a band.
Should I fix my contact before changing my putting stroke?
Yes. Poor contact can look like a bad read or a bad stroke, so check it first to avoid changing things that were fine.
