Too often I see players that can hit their tee shots dead perfect every time to the center of the fairway. They play target golf to the green, usually hitting that high fade that just snuggles into the green when it hits the putting surface. Then they get up and 3 putt for a bogey and move along. Even after they work so hard on their game, they score no better than the guy that rifles his drive into the trees, punches out, blades a 7 iron right of the green, dribbles his chip to the edge of the green and makes a brilliant put to save bogey. It makes me sad for them, and for me when it happens. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Mastering the mid-to-long range putt isn’t a difficult task, in fact, it can be pretty easy if you know what your goal is. The first issue is most people look at long puts as a “lag putt” or a putt to just “get it close” so they don’t three put the green. Unfortunately, this usually doesn’t work out so well for them and they end up three putting the green anyways. It seems to me that the people that have the best luck with those 40 foot putts are the ones that are trying to make them, not get them close. Think of it as a drive or a fairway approach. If you have a spot in the fairway without trouble, you get aggressive and go for the shot. On a green that has nothing to challenge your approach, you shoot at the stick. On a putt with nothing between you and the hole, you need to go for the hole.
Going after a 30 or 40 foot put does not mean you have to be aggressive. A slower paced, methodical stroke is often the best way to putt a ball, period. Whether you are standing over a 2 footer or a 20 footer. the center of the cup needs to be your target. Stop putting yourself in the mental trap of “getting it close” or just get it inside 3 feet on those longer putts. If you try to make everything, you may end up with a three putt here or there, but you’ll probably find your putting numbers improve quickly and you have far fewer three puts from longer distances.
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