Lag putting to a zone

Setup

1. Pick a hole with some slope around it. Mark a zone about a putter length from the hole on every side, using tees or a loop of string.
2. Put a tee at about 8 m, 12 m and 15 m from the hole, each on a different line so the slope changes.
3. Players pair up and putt from the same tee, taking turns.

How it runs

1. Each player putts two balls from the nearest tee, then the pair moves back.
2. Finishing inside the zone scores 1. Inside the zone and past the hole scores 2.
3. Short of the zone or well past it scores nothing; holing it scores 3.
4. Before each putt, say whether it is uphill, downhill or across, and where you want it to stop.
5. First pair to 15 points, or most points after three rounds.

Coaching points

• Read the slope near the hole most carefully; that is where the ball is slowest and breaks most.
• Look at the hole, not the ball, for your rehearsal strokes so the arms feel the distance.
• Change the length of the stroke for distance, not how hard you hit; keep the same rhythm.
• Strike the centre of the face: off-centre strikes come up short.
• On a downhill putt, picture a hole short of the real one; uphill, picture one past it.

Common mistakes

• Quick, jabbing strokes that make the long ones come up well short.
• Reading only the line and forgetting the speed.
• Walking off without watching how the ball finished, so the next putt learns nothing.