What is a Lag Putt in Golf?
A term commonly used on the Golf Practice Guides blog is Lag Putt. We also use the term Lag Putting often when talking about how to improve your “Lag Putting” skills. As a beginner to the game of golf you’re probably confused as to what this means and why it’s important.
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Definition of Lag Putt
A lag putt is simply a term for long distance putt. But it’s a putt where the distance is far enough away that the golfer doesn’t expect to make the putt. Instead, he/she wishes to “lag” the ball within a few feet of the hole, leaving a short putt remaining to finish the hole for par.
How to Successfully “Lag” a Putt
Start out by pacing around the green, feeling the bumps and slopes underneath your feet, to get a feel for how the green will affect the ball during it’s long journey to the cup.
Then stand behind your ball and visualize it’s path to the cup. Imagine a pro tracer like you see on TV, following your ball and tracing it’s path to the hole.
Next decide the line you need to start the ball on before the green starts effecting it’s path. Pick out a spot near your ball that you can line the ball up with.
Step up to the putt and look at the hole again getting a feel for distance. Make a few practice strokes to get better feel for the power needed to make this lag putt a success.
Lastly, set your putter face down behind the golf ball and attempt your lag putt.
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Best Lag Putting Drill to Improve Your Lag Putts
Using the above steps, find a hole on the practice green and drop your golf ball about 20 feet away. Go through the pre shot putting routine to get set up for this lag putt.
Then attempt 20 Lag Putts from this distance and record how many out of 20 you successfully lag to within a few feet of the hole. Take note if you’re short, left, right, or long of the hole and make adjustments. Try to successfully lag putt 80% of the putts before moving on to Round 2 of this putting drill. In other words, get 16/20 within a few feet of the hole.
Now move back to 30 feet and attempt 30 lag putts from this distance, going through the proper lag putting pre shot routine described above. Successfully complete 80% of your lag putts to within a few feet before moving back to 40 feet.
Here is the chart to follow for passing this lag putting drill at each distance:
- Level 1 (20ft) – 16/20 lag putts within 3 feet
- Level 2 (30ft) – 24/30 lag putts within 3 feet
- Level 3 (40ft) – 32/40 lag putts within 3 feet
- Level 4 (50ft) – 40/50 lag putts within 3 feet
Try out this drill and let me know you completed it by commenting “PASS” below in the comments! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out some more articles we’ve linked to below.
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