How to Eliminate the Dreaded 3-Putt
Part 1: How to Improve Your Long Distance Lag Putting

3-Putt Greens Are Wrecking Your Scores

Few things in golf are more frustrating than successfully reaching a green in regulation, only to walk off with a bogey after a disappointing 3-putt. Not only do those 3-putt greens add several unnecessary, wasted strokes to your scorecard, but the negative impact they can have on your confidence can linger for the rest of your round.

We’ve all been there. Facing a 20 - 30 foot first putt, we regrettably leave that putt woefully short of the hole (or run it well past the hole), needing to then make the next one just to save par. But far too often, we fail to convert that one, resulting in a nasty 3-putt.

In reality, though, while it’s frustrating to accumulate all those wasted strokes, that outcome is fairly common for higher handicap amateurs. As we’ll illustrate below, their probability of sinking putts longer than five feet is less than 30%, meaning that they’ll unfortunately suffer a 3-putt about 7 out of 10 times, even from that relatively short distance.

But what really was the cause of that 3-putt? Was it due to a lack of good distance control on the first putt, which left you too far from the hole to have a reasonable chance of making the next one? Or was it poor technique and low confidence on the short putt?

Well, unfortunately, the answer is probably both. The recipe for the dreaded 3-putt usually consists of ineffective lag putting on the long ones, combined with flawed technique on the short ones.

In this article, we’re going to focus on the first part of that recipe: improving your distance control on long putts, so that you leave yourself a second putt of no more than 3 - 5 feet. This will reduce the number of times you experience a 3-putt green and will eliminate a lot of those wasted strokes that are currently tarnishing your scorecard.

In a subsequent article, we’ll focus on the other part of the recipe, which is how to get better at sinking the shorter putts that remain after your initial lag putt.

Understanding the 3-Putt Problem: Statistics Tell the Tale

Take a look at the illustration below. In a nutshell, this tells you all you need to know about why you’re having too many 3-putt holes.

What it shows are the statistical probabilities for a 15-handicap golfer to sink a putt from various distances. And for comparison purposes, it shows the analogous probabilities for a Tour Pro from those same distances.

Key takeaways:

• The 15-handicap amateur is pretty good from 3 feet, sinking more than 8 of 10, and decent from 5 feet, having a 50/50 chance of a make.


• But when putting from longer than 5 feet, the 15-handicapper’s probabilities decline precipitously. From just 8 feet, they’ll make less than 30% of their putts, and it goes down rapidly from there.


• From longer distances, because the probability of a make is so remote (from greater than 18 feet, 15+ handicappers make just one percent of first putts), those amateurs should shift their focus entirely from trying to make the putt, to executing an effective lag putt so that the result is a remaining putt of 3 - 5 feet where at least your chances improve significantly. In other words, on long first putts, they should direct most of their focus on controlling their distance.

The Importance of the First Putt

In his 1997 book called “Training a Tiger,” Tiger Woods’ father, Earl Woods, relayed the thinking that he had drilled into the young Tiger about the importance of distance control on lengthy putts. As he put it, “My personal philosophy in putting is that there are no three-putt greens. There is only a poor first putt.”

While he may have been a bit brusque in his wording, the data corroborates his philosophy. The table below shows the average distance that amateurs have remaining on their second putts. In other words, these are the putt lengths that you generally have remaining after you’ve made your first putt. And, as you can see, those lengths increase as a golfer’s handicap increases.

Lag Putting Tips for Better Distance Control

To improve your lag putting from long distances, there are a number of modifications you should make to your stance and stroke. Below are some recommendations that you should adopt when hitting long putts, and we’ll follow that up with a drill to help you practice and improve your lag putting.

• The first recommended change would be to stand a little taller at address. Unlike on short putts, where most golfers set up in a bit of a “crouch,” you should assume a more upright posture on longer putts. Standing taller will make it easier to get a feel for the amount of pace needed and, at the same time, make it easier to produce the bigger swing that is necessary.


• For long putts, it’s crucial to remember that it’s the size of your stroke that determines your distance, not the amount of force applied to the hit. Your backswing and follow-through length should be similar. Too many amateurs try to control distance either by how hard or how soft they hit the ball, or by implementing a short backswing followed by a long, accelerating through-swing. Both of those methods, however, will lead to inconsistent results. Whether putting from 15 feet or 30 feet, the overall tempo and pace of your stroke should be about the same. The only differentiator between the two strokes should be in the length of the swing.


• When judging the proper speed and break on a long putt, you should take a tip from the pros. What they often do when assessing how the ball will react during its roll is to mentally break that long putt into two parts. They will look at what the ball can be expected to do during the first half of its approach to the hole, and then how it will subsequently react during the second half, paying particular attention to the last five feet. On a 30-foot putt, for example, it’s much easier to judge how and where to hit it when focusing on these shorter 15-foot segments than when trying to judge the entire putt.


• As mentioned earlier in the article, amateurs will perform much better on these long putts if they stop consciously trying to hole them. Instead, they should re-direct their focus to getting the upcoming putt to within a 3 – 5 foot circle around the hole. Your stroke will be much freer, smoother, and more stress-free when you can focus on this much larger target circle rather than trying to aim for that really small target that is just 4 ¼” wide (the diameter of the hole).


• Center-face contact is important on all golf shots, but particularly on these long putts. Missing the sweet spot by even just a little bit will cause the putter head to twist, resulting in a putt that won’t roll nearly as far as you intended. Off-center hits are the killer of good distance control and accuracy. To make good, center-face contact, focus on solid fundamentals: good contact starts with good posture, a proper grip, aligning your eyes over the ball, keeping your wrists stable, and maintaining a steady body.


• Grip pressure on long putts should be firm enough to control the club, but not so firm as to create tension in your hands and arms. Too many golfers grip the putter too softly which can lead to a loss of control of the putter head.


• You should modify your takeaway on long putts just a little to incorporate a slight hinging of the wrists. This will make it easier to judge the distance and the amount of pace needed. According to famous instructor Butch Harmon, "This gives the head of the putter time to gain momentum from the longer backswing. Allow your wrists to react to the weight of the club by hinging them a bit. This prevents you from rushing the backswing and making a short, stabby motion. The result is poor contact and a putt left short." (Golf Digest, September 1, 2009).


• And, finally, improving at long distance putting requires practice. All too often, the only time amateurs hit practice putts is during the few minutes before teeing off for their round. If you really want to knock strokes off your handicap and eliminate 3-putts from your repertoire, getting better at distance control is essential. That means spending time on the practice green, working on your lag putting. Below is one excellent lag putting drill that will help you improve in this critical area.

Drill to Improve Distance Control on Long Putts:  The “2-Putt Drill”

We love the 2-Putt drill, because it incorporates several of the things that go into becoming a better long-distance putter.  First, it forces you to hone your distance control, requiring an effective lag putt that puts you close to the hole.  Second, it forces you to focus hard on making the short remaining putt.  And third, it incorporates a little real-life pressure that will get you used to performing when you’re experiencing some tension, just like you do during a round.

Here's how those three elements come together in this very effective drill:
•    Step 1:  Set up initially at a distance of 30 feet from the hole and place 5 balls down at that spot.
•    Step 2:  One after the other, putt each of the 5 balls, trying to lag each one as closely as possible to the hole.
•    Step 3:  Proceed to where each ball ended up and attempt to hole out the 5 (hopefully) short remaining putts.  Your goal is to convert five successive 2-putts.
•    Step 4:  If you do, then go back to the 30-foot distance you started at and repeat the same process two more times, to make 15 consecutive 2-putts.  However – and here’s where the element of pressure comes in -- if you 3-putt any of the 15 putts, you have to stop and re-start the entire drill from scratch.  You’ll definitely feel a little tension as you attempt to avoid 3-putting and having to start over, a feeling that mimics what you’ll feel on the actual course. 
For those with a real desire to improve, after you’ve successfully completed the 15-putt circuit from 30 feet, move back to 40 feet and do it again from there.

Final Thoughts

Tony Lema was a star on the PGA Tour back in the 1960’s. He made an interesting comment regarding the importance of putting that all amateurs reading this article should take to heart. He said, “You don't necessarily have to be a good golfer to be a good putter, but you have to be a good putter to be a good golfer.”

As with other short game shots, size and strength offer no advantages when putting the ball. Anyone can become a better putter, if you’re willing to spend some of your regular practice time on the putting green. If you do, it will be well worth the investment. The reward will be lower scores and a lower handicap.

Okey, now that you’re on the road to conquering Part 1 of the 3-Putt problem with better long distance lag putting, make sure to read our follow-up article that addresses Part 2: ”How to Make More Short Putts and Eliminate the Dreaded 3-Putt.”

For more helpful tips on how to become a better golfer, read Five Ways to Improve Your Golf Practice and Achieving Peak Performance: Lessons from Elite Golfers .