Speed control is vital

Match a good read with good touch

1 Vary your putts

Place balls at random distances from the target and never hit from the same distance in succession. Learn from achievement rather than trial and error and this replicates the variation you face on the course.

IF there’s one thing that all good putters share, it is the ability to control how far their putts roll.

This touch or feel on the greens is important because a putt hit too softly will have no chance of going in and anything hit firmly enough to go more than nine inches past the hole greatly decreases the area of the hole you must hit in order for the ball to drop.

The speed the ball rolls across the green affects the rate that it takes to break – the quicker it is travelling, the less break it will take.

2 Correct pace

Your balls should finish in a 12-inch target area. The ability to control your speed within this range ensures you’re hitting it at the correct pace to reach the hole with optimum speed for the ball to drop.

3 Variety of slopes

Repeat this drill across a variety of slopes – uphill, downhill, right-to-left breakers and left-to-right breakers, to learn how the speed of your stroke affects the roll distance for your putts.

— AFP mathiam Keyser of South africa playing a putting stroke with great care, like how it should be.