Speed Control Drill

Speed Control Drill

✅ What you need: A Target Circle or a few tees, and an EyeLine Stroke Meter (recommended).
✅ Time required: 10–15 minutes
✅ Purpose: Build a repeatable system for distance control
✅ Difficulty: Beginner-friendly, but scalable for any skill level

How to Do This Drill:

Choose a flat putt from about 20 feet. Place a Target Circle around the hole — or use tees to mark off a 3-foot zone if you don’t have one.
Set your control stroke. Use the Stroke Meter (or a visual reference like your putter head to your back toe) to create a repeatable “stock stroke.” This becomes your baseline.
Roll a few putts using that stroke. Don’t guide the ball — just repeat the stroke and observe how far it rolls. You’re learning your default distance.
Make it a game. Score 5 points for a make, 3 for landing inside 3 feet, 1 for inside 6 feet, and -1 for anything outside. It keeps you focused and gives your practice a purpose.
Practice adjusting. Try longer and shorter putts. Try uphill and downhill slopes. Make small adjustments from your reference stroke and learn how each change affects distance.

About this Drill

This drill is inspired by the way elite players like Bryson DeChambeau approach putting — with a repeatable system.

Bryson knows exactly how far a specific stroke rolls the ball on a flat surface at a known green speed. From there, he adjusts based on slope, speed, grain, or whatever physics-based wizardry he’s cooking up that week (minus the soaking-your-golf-balls-in-Epsom-salt routine).

The point is, he’s not guessing. And you don’t need to either.

This drill helps you build your own version of that system — no spreadsheets or chemistry sets required. You’ll establish a “stock stroke” — a consistent length and tempo that rolls the ball a known distance. That becomes your control stroke. Then you can make small adjustments from there.

For example, if your stock stroke rolls 20 feet on your home course, and you’re playing a course with faster greens? You make a slightly smaller stroke. If it’s uphill? Slightly longer. The system gives you a foundation for making smart adjustments instead of relying on feel alone.

Before a round on unfamiliar greens, here’s how to dial it in:

Find a flat 20–25 foot putt on the practice green.
Hit 5–10 putts using your normal stock stroke.
Measure the average roll distance — this becomes your new control for the day.
Take mental (or physical) note of how much you need to add or subtract for longer, shorter, uphill, or downhill putts.

Now, when you step onto the first green, you already know what your stroke is going to give you — and how to adjust from there.

Why You Need this Drill

Speed control is one of the biggest separators between good and great putters. And most of the time, it’s not about “feel” — it’s about calibration.

If you’re constantly blowing it past the hole or coming up short, it’s likely because you don’t have a clear baseline for your stroke.

Most golfers rely on feel and guesswork. This drill replaces that with structure.

It helps you:

Establish a repeatable stock stroke. You know how far it rolls. That’s your starting point.
Build confident touch. A consistent stroke is one you can trust — especially under pressure.
Make smarter adjustments. You’re no longer guessing — you’re tweaking a known quantity based on slope and green speed.
Eliminate the 3-putt. You stop “trying to get it close” and start putting with purpose.

The best part? You can use this drill before your round to quickly understand the greens — and putt with confidence from the very first hole.