Lowering your golf score starts with a consistent short game, and putting is the single most important skill for improving your performance. One simple yet highly effective drill is the Compass Drill, also known as the Clock Drill. This exercise is designed to improve your success rate on short putts (3–6 feet) and, with regular practice, can make a noticeable difference in your scores.
How to Practice:
- Find a hole on a gentle slope.
- Place a tee 3 feet from the hole at the North, East, South, and West positions.
- Place a ball next to each tee. You now have four different putts: uphill, downhill, left to right break, and right to left break.
- Work your way around the hole, aiming to sink all four putts. Approach each putt with the same routine you would use in a competition round.
- Once you successfully hole all four 3-foot putts, move each tee 1 foot further away (to 4 feet) and repeat.
- Continue this process, gradually increasing the distance until you can sink four putts in a row from 4 and 5 feet.
Tracking Your Progress:
- Record your results to see how quickly you complete the drill over time, this will clearly show your improvement.
- Extend your stats to the course: track not just total putts per round, but specifically how many putts you make from inside 5 feet.
Consistent practice with the Compass Drill will give you confidence on those crucial short putts and help bring your scores down.
