3 Putt Avoidance

Have you ever walked off a green after a 3 putt and thought to yourself “I can’t do that again?” Letting that linger in your brain can really affect your strategy on every shot.

The 3 putt mindset is a bad one. So, the focus going forward or going into next season should be to eliminate 3 putts as much as possible.

Here is why it pays to become a great putter from 10 feet and in.

Can the 3 putt affect your game?

Work your way back to your last 3 putt green.

Were your lag putts short? Did you leave longer putts than you feel comfortable with?

Did you have trouble with hitting the ball too far past the hole?

Then maybe this is happening as well.

Are you thinking “I can’t afford to duff this chip because I can’t make short putts?” I’ve done that…looking at a reasonably short chip or pitch and thinking “I better get this close.”

Then back it up to your approach shot. Are you thinking “I better hit my approach shot close” I have trouble chipping and putting.

Then how about back on the tee. Are you thinking “I can’t afford to hit one in the rough here or I’m out of luck down the fairway and on the green.

In all those cases, starting a hole thinking that way probably means a bogey before you even start the hole. Most likely, even worse.

What to do to correct that problem?

Become a better putter from 10 feet and in. Be sure you are going to make putts from 4 or 5 feet and in. Have confidence in your ability.

It gives you a much bigger target for one thing. Having a 10 foot diameter or 6 foot diameter target is a much better thought than focusing on a 4.25 inch hole in the ground.

You can be more aggressive in getting the ball to the hole or past the hole. You won’t be as concerned about a 4 or 5 footer coming back.

I practice 3 foot putts, 6 foot putts and 10 foot putts all winter. I do the same on the practice green in the summer. Here is a link to some putting drills. The star drill is a good one for putts from 8 feet into 4 feet.

The graphic below is for 2021. These numbers are a big reason pro players score so well. You don’t see them leave putts short very often. They are confident they can make the second putt if it goes by.

(Here is the most “current data” from the PGA website for putting stats.)