What Are the Two Things You Need for Putting in Golf?

Forget everything you’ve been told about putting being a mystical art. To drain more putts and stop the frustrating three-putts, you only need to master two things: getting the ball to travel the right distance and starting it on the right line. This article will give you a clear, no-nonsense plan to improve both, complete with simple drills you can take to the practice green today.

Good Putting Boils Down to Two Simple Skills

In golf, we love to overcomplicate things. We talk about complex mechanics, follow-throughs, and grip styles until our heads spin. But when the ball is on the green, success isn't complicated. It comes down to answering two questions correctly on every single putt:

1. How hard do I need to hit this? (Speed Control)
2. Where do I need to aim it? (Start Line Control)

If you can consistently answer those two questions with your stroke, you will become a great putter. Everything else is just commentary. Most golfers struggle because they focus too much on one and entirely neglect the other. We’re going to fix that by breaking down each skill individually and giving you a clear path to improvement.

Part 1: Mastering Speed Control (The "How Hard")

If you only have time to work on one aspect of your putting, make it speed. Why? Because a putt with perfect line but terrible speed has a 0% chance of going in. A putt with perfect speed but a slightly wobbly line not only has a chance to drop in the side, but it also guarantees you a stress-free tap-in every single time.

Good speed control eliminates three-putts. It puts constant pressure on your opponents. It’s the single biggest factor in lowering your scores, yet most amateurs spend their time obsessing over the line.

So, how do you develop that intuitive feel for distance? It’s not magic, it’s calibration. Just like a musician practices scales, you need to practice your distances.

The Drill: The Speed Ladder

This is the only speed drill you’ll ever need. It’s simple, effective, and will build a rock-solid foundation for distance control.

1. Set It Up: Go to a large, relatively flat section of the practice green. You don't want a massive slope for this drill. Place tees or ball markers at 10, 20, 30, and 40 feet from a starting point.
2. Step One (10 Feet): Take three golf balls. Your goal is not to make the putt. Your goal is to get all three balls to stop no more than two feet past the 10-foot marker. We practice rolling the ball past the "hole" because you want to give every putt a chance to go in.
3. Step Two (20 Feet): Move back and repeat the process for the 20-foot marker. Again, "make" is not the objective. Consistent distance is the objective. Try to get all three balls to within a two-foot circle past the target.
4. Climb the Ladder: Continue this process at 30 feet and 40 feet. You might find your consistency wavers at longer distances. That's tells you where you need more work.
5. Climb Back Down: After hitting the 40-foot marker, work your way back down - 30 feet, then 20, then 10. This is just as important, as it trains you to adjust your stroke length from long to short.

The Feel You're Building

While doing the Speed Ladder drill, pay close attention to the length of your putting stroke. Control distance with the length of your backswing, not by "hitting" the ball harder. A 10-foot putt might require your putter head to travel from your back foot to your front foot. A 40-foot putt will require a much longer, more flowing stroke. The tempo - the rhythm of the stroke - should remain consistent and smooth. Think of a grandfather clock’s pendulum: it swings the same speed whether it's a small tick or a big tock, but the length of the swing changes. That's the feeling you want.

• Use Your Big Muscles: Good speed control comes from the shoulders, not the hands and wrists. Get in your setup and feel like you’re creating a stable triangle with your arms and shoulders. The stroke should be a simple rocking of this triangle, with the hands staying quiet.
• Lighten Your Grip: A death grip on the putter handle kills all feel. Hold the club just tight enough so it doesn't slip out of your hands. A grip pressure of 3 or 4 on a scale of 10 is about right. This allows you to feel the weight of the putter head and make a smoother, more rhythmic stroke.

Part 2: Nailing Your Start Line (The "Where")

Once your speed is dialed in, you can turn your attention to the second piece of the puzzle: starting the ball on your intended line. A common misunderstanding is thinking you always aim at the hole. On a breaking putt, the hole is the destination, but it is not the starting line. Your start line is the initial path the ball must take before gravity and the green's slope take over.

Missing your start line is the reason you say, "I pushed it," or "I pulled it." Master your start line, and you’ll know every putt had a chance the moment it left your clubface.

The Drill: Tee Gate

This drill is brutally honest. It separates whether you have a read problem or a stroke problem. It isolates your ability to start the ball exactly where you aim, which is the foundation of accurate putting.

1. Set It Up: Find a straight putt from about six feet. This is purely for mechanics, so we want to take the break out of the equation for now.
2. Pick an Intermediate Target: Look for a specific spot on your line about 12-18 inches in front of your ball - a different colored blade of grass, a tiny speck of sand, anything. This is your true target. It’s much easier to aim at something close than something far away.
3. Build the Gate: Place two tees in the ground on either side of that intermediate target. The "gate" created by the two tees should be just slightly wider than your golf ball.
4. Roll the Ball: Now hit putts. The only goal is to roll the ball through the gate. If you miss the gate to the right, you pushed it. If you miss to the left, you pulled it. The feedback is instant and undeniable. Stroke after stroke, your brain will start to self-correct until you can consistently roll the ball through that narrow opening. Once you can do that on a straight putt, start trying it on breaking putts. The process is the same, only the position of the gate changes.

The Setup For a Perfect Start Line

Your ability to consistently pass the Tee Gate test comes from a solid, repeatable setup.

• Square Clubface is Everything: Roughly 80-90% of a putt’s starting direction comes from where the clubface is pointing at impact. No amount of swing path magic can save a crooked face. Before you even take your stance, stand behind the ball and aim the clubface at your intermediate target. Then, build your stance and grip around that already-aimed face.
• Eyes Over the Ball: A reliable checkpoint is to have your eyes directly over, or just slightly inside, the golf ball. To check this, get into your putting posture, hold a second ball against the bridge of your nose, and let it drop. It should land on or very close to the ball you're about to putt. This ensures you're not distorting your perception of the line.
• A Stable Lower Body: Your lower body is the anchor of your putting stroke. Any swaying, wiggling, or shifting during the stroke will change the arc of your putter and affect your start line. During the stroke, your legs and hips should feel completely silent and still, allowing the pendulum motion to come entirely from your shoulders.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a confident putter isn’t about discovering a hidden secret, it's about disciplined practice on the two skills that truly matter. Dedicate time to the Speed Ladder to eliminate three-putts and an equal amount of time to the Tee Gate drill to ensure you give every putt a chance to drop. Master speed and start line, and you'll transform your entire game.

Building these skills on the practice green is essential, but sometimes you need an extra layer of confidence on the course, especially when reading a tricky green. My work with Caddie AI is designed to help with that. When you’re faced with a critical putt, our AI can help you read the break, giving you a clear objective line so you can quiet your mind and focus solely on what you learned here - executing a perfect stroke with the right speed and the right start line.