The Yardstick Putting Drill to Dominate Inside 10 Feet

This putting drill will improve your mechanics in no time

By
, GolfLink Editor
Updated September 28, 2023
Golfer taking his ball out of the hole after making 10-foot putt
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    Golfer taking his ball out of the hole after making 10-foot putt
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    HRAUN
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This yardstick putting drill is simply glorious. 

It’s cheap. You can snag a yardstick for just a few bucks.

It’s simple. You either roll the ball off the end of the yardstick, or you don’t. If you don’t, hopefully you at least paid attention to how far down and off which side of the yardstick it fell, so you can do better next time.

It’s quick. As instructor George Connor suggests, you can get a lot of value out of doing this drill just a few minutes a day.

Finally, it works. Once you can do this drill successfully with consistency, you’ll notice a lot more of those putts within 10 feet dropping.

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The Yardstick Putting Drill

Instructor George Connor considers the metal yardstick “the greatest putting aid that you can have.”

If you haven’t noticed, there are a ton of putting gizmos and gadgets out there, so that’s some pretty high praise.

So here’s how to do the drill.

Place a golf ball at one end of a yardstick. A metal yardstick is best because it’s thinner and will probably lay flatter than a wooden one, but if a wooden yardstick is all you have, that’ll do just fine too.

Putt the ball, trying to roll it off the other end of the yardstick, 36 inches away. If you don’t succeed, take note of what side of the yardstick the ball fell off, and how far down. That’s an indication of whether your face is too open or too closed at impact, and by how much.

As Connor notes, you don’t need to grind over this drill for an hour a day. Just hit 10 putts with the yardstick and keep track of how many you “make.” 

Do it on a regular basis, every day if you can, and you’ll quickly notice your make percentage jumps up into Steph Curry free throw percentage territory, and stays there.

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The Results Will Speak for Themselves

Once you can roll the ball through the yardstick consistently, you’ll start making a lot more putts inside 10 feet out on the course, here’s why.

If you can roll the ball 36 inches without it falling off the yardstick, which is about 1.5 inches wide, you’ve started the ball within one degree of perfect. 

Given that a golf hole is 4.25-inches in diameter, a putt from within 10-feet hit within one degree of the proper start line, stroked with the right speed, will end up in the hole.

That’s why a $5 yardstick could be the greatest putting aid you can own.

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