This article was machine-translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean original
Hello, this is Choi Jong-hwan. Whether you are a professional or an amateur, the very first practice you should do when you get on the green is training for lag putting. Your subsequent practice only makes sense once you have developed the feel for lag putting.
01Step 1 — Make a miss at the top of the hole with three balls
You only need three balls. Try to miss three balls higher than the hole with an appropriate speed. Once you start missing, hit the ball again with the intention of making at least one of the three.
Once you get the hang of the slopes on both sides, try the same approach on mid-range putts, which are shorter distances. Also, consider the distance remaining after a slight miss on a long putt—usually about 2 meters. If you practice with three balls on various slopes at this 2-meter distance, you can quickly build experience regarding the 2-meter situations on the greens you will be playing on today.
02Step 2 — Testing Direction and Speed in Long Putts
Assume a lag putting situation and try proceeding like this.
- First ball: Intentionally attempting a miss that curves slightly to the left of the hole.
- Second ball: Intentionally attempt a miss where the ball rolls around the lower side of the hole (these two are tests to assess the green conditions).
- Third ball: Based on the previous two experiences, try stopping the ball high up the hole with the feeling that "it will go in at this speed."
When you have this experience, you develop a sense of the situation. You physically learn, "I need to hit it this well to easily finish the next putt, and maybe it will go in."
03Step 3 — Finish at a distance of 2m
If you have spent about 5 to 10 minutes getting the feel for lag putting, now finish with three putts from 2 meters away.
- First ball: An attempt to lip out from the high side of the hole.
- Second ball: Based on the first experience, look a little further to the left and try again.
- Third ball: Actually trying to sink it using the feel I got from two experiences.
If you gain experience like this for about 5 to 10 minutes and head up to the back box—that is, the tee-off spot—you will have sufficiently warmed up before entering the round. Try doing it exactly in this order before your next round.
