As most of us know, putting can be considered an almost pure mental game. It’s all about feeling confident in your ability. If you can learn to believe that you can make any putt within 20ft, the game becomes a lot easier.

But even the tour pros feel confident some days and not so confident on others. It is for this reason that they continually work on a good mental strategy to optimize the probability of holing putts and making a good score.

We’ve all experienced the hole looking bigger on some rounds and smaller on others, which we know is simply our own perception and directly related to our confidence. When we feel confident, the hole looks bigger. I’ve previously discussed the importance on a solid routine to help you feel more comfortable over the ball, but here is a tip for training your mind to make the hole look bigger and give you extra confidence to hole more putts. It works like this – if we make the hole smaller when we practice, we will learn to focus harder and the hole will seem bigger on the course.

Start by putting a tee on one side of the hole about half an inch from the lip of the hole and about half an inch in from the edge as you look down the line of the putt. If it is a slight right to left putt, put the tee in the on the left side of the hole (and vice versa). Hit 5 putts from 6-10ft, dying the ball into the side of the hole. Now put another tee in the ground about half an inch from the other tee, toward the center of the hole. Now hit another 5 putts. Now place another tee, this time in the center of the hole, so now there is only one half of the hole to roll the ball into. Roll another 5 putts. Repeat this exercise with left to right putts (and vice versa). Then remove the tees all together and see how much bigger the hole feels.

Because you are rolling the ball into a hole of decreasing size, this makes your focus on the putt (and where the ball will enter the hole) so much more acute. So when you have all 4 1/4 inches of the hole to look at, it will seem a “hole” lot bigger. You will feel that putting is easier and you will hole more putts! Try this while you are on the practice green before your next round.

Would be great to hear your feedback on this drill.