Improve Your Speed Control with Three Identical Putts Drill

Three Identical Putts is a simple but very revealing speed-control drill. It helps you train your ability to reproduce the same stroke over and over, which is one of the biggest keys to good distance control on the greens. Just as importantly, it exposes how well you sense the size of your stroke, the pace of the putter, and the quality of contact. If your tempo is inconsistent or your awareness is poor, this drill will show it quickly. If you can make three putts roll the same distance without watching them, your touch is usually in a very good place.

How the Drill Works

The idea is straightforward: you hit three putts that should all travel the same distance, but you do it without watching where the ball finishes. Instead of relying on your eyes, you have to rely on feel.

Set up on a relatively flat section of the green and choose a general target area rather than a hole. A putt of about 30 feet is a great starting point. You are not trying to make the putt. You are trying to produce the same motion and the same roll three times in a row.

After the first putt, keep your eyes down or deliberately avoid tracking the ball. Your job is to sense how large the stroke was, how much energy you put into it, and how solidly the ball came off the face. Then you hit two more putts, each one trying to match the first as closely as possible.

Only after all three putts are finished do you look and evaluate how close they ended up to one another. A strong result is having the balls finish within about a foot of each other.

There is also a second version of the drill. In that variation, after each putt you make an immediate prediction based purely on feel:

Good = within about a foot of the intended distance
Long = more than a foot past
Short = more than a foot short

This adds a diagnostic element. You are not just training speed control; you are training your awareness of speed control.

Step-by-Step

Find a section of green with enough space for a putt of about 30 feet. Pick a spot out on the green as your general distance target.
Set up and hit your first putt with your normal routine. Once the ball leaves the face, do not watch where it finishes.
Pay attention to what the stroke felt like. Notice the length of the motion, the rhythm, and how hard the ball seemed to come off the putter.
Hit a second putt, trying to duplicate the first stroke as precisely as possible. Again, avoid looking at the result.
Hit a third putt with the same intention: same tempo, same size of motion, same energy.
Now look at all three balls and judge how tightly grouped they are. Your goal is to have them finish within about one foot of each other.
Repeat the drill several times from 30 feet. Then move back and do another set from about 45 to 50 feet.
For the advanced version, after each putt make a call before you look up: long, short, or good. Then check whether your prediction matched the result.

What You Should Feel

This drill is really about developing a dependable internal sense of distance. When you do it well, you should start to feel a few important things.

A repeatable tempo

Your stroke should feel like it has the same overall rhythm each time. Even if the stroke length changes on longer putts, the pace of the motion should still feel organized and predictable rather than rushed or jabby.

Awareness of stroke size

You should have a clear sense of how far the putter traveled back and through. Good speed control usually comes from matching stroke size to distance in a consistent way.

Clean, centered contact

When contact is solid, the ball leaves the face with a predictable roll. Off-center strikes can easily change distance, so part of this drill is noticing whether the ball felt heavy, light, soft, or hot off the face.

Trust in feel instead of reaction

Most golfers become too dependent on watching the ball. This drill forces you to improve your internal feedback. You should begin to sense whether a putt was a little too firm or a little too soft before you ever see the outcome.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Watching the ball too early and turning the drill into a normal putting exercise instead of a feel exercise.
Aiming at a hole with make-or-miss pressure rather than focusing on matching distance.
Changing the stroke style from one ball to the next instead of repeating the same motion.
Getting too mechanical and forgetting to pay attention to the overall energy of the stroke.
Using putts that are too short, where speed differences are harder to expose. Longer putts reveal your touch much more clearly.
Ignoring your prediction errors in the advanced version. If you keep misreading your own putts as long or short, that tells you your feel needs work.
Judging success by the line instead of the distance. This drill is about speed first.

How This Fits Your Swing

Even though this is a putting drill, it connects to a much bigger skill in your game: the ability to regulate motion and energy. Good players are not just technically sound; they are highly aware of what the club is doing and how much force they are applying.

On the greens, that shows up as touch and tempo. If your stroke gets quick, inconsistent, or overly hit-driven, your distance control suffers. This drill helps you build a stroke that is more repeatable and more intuitive.

It also supports better scoring in a very practical way. If you can control your speed from 30 feet and from 45 to 50 feet, you will usually reduce three-putts dramatically. Those are the distances where lag putting matters most. You may still face difficult greens with severe slopes or very long putts, but a solid base of speed control from these ranges gives you a reliable foundation.

In the bigger picture, this drill trains you to become more self-aware. You learn not only whether a putt was good, but whether you can feel that it was good. That combination of execution and awareness is what separates random practice from meaningful skill development.

If your goal is better touch, better tempo, and more consistent lag putting, this is one of the most effective drills you can use.