Play Ready Golf · Your drill pack
My 4 favorite office putting drills
A few minutes on a mat most days beats one long session on the weekend. All four fit in about 10 feet of floor, and every one gives you a score to beat.
Run all four once this week at Level 1. That's your baseline. Then beat it.
How the levels work
Get a baseline
Run each drill once at Level 1 and write your score down.
Two in a row
Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.
Turn one dial
Past Level 3, change one thing: Distance, Diameter or Dice.
01 · Office putting
Clutch Putt Simulator
9 putts with something on the line: 3 par saves, 3 birdie putts and 3 do-or-die putts. One try each.
Why this drill
Every round ends with a few putts like these. Shot Scope's make rates put a 15 handicap at about +2 on this test, and a scratch golfer at about +4.
Set it up
- 1Mark 3 spots: 3 feet, 5 feet and 7 feet from the cup.
Play it
- 13 putts from 3 feet. These are par saves.
- 23 putts from 5 feet. These are birdie putts.
- 33 putts from 7 feet. These are do-or-die putts.
- 4One try each. No do-overs.
Score it
Add them up for your net score. The best possible is +9.
Your target
Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.
After Level 3, make it harder
One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.
A 3 footer to save par on 17. A 7 footer for birdie on 18. Now you've practiced them.
02 · Office putting
Gate Drill 4-Footer
Two tees make a gate just wider than the ball, 1 foot in front of it. Start the ball through the gate.
Why this drill
If you can't start the ball on line from 4 feet, nothing else matters. From 3 to 6 feet, a 15 handicap makes 59% and a scratch golfer makes 76% (Shot Scope).
Set it up
- 1Pick 2 straight putts of 4 feet at your cup or a coin.
- 2On each one, push 2 tees into the carpet just wider than the ball, 1 foot in front of it. On a mat, use 2 coins.
Play it
- 1Putt through the gate.
- 2Switch to the other putt after every ball.
- 310 putts, 5 on each line.
Score it
Your score is out of 10. Higher is better.
Your target
Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.
After Level 3, make it harder
One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.
Every putt you read only works if it starts where you aimed it.
03 · Office putting
Shrinking Circle
Start at 3 feet. Make 3 in a row and move back a foot. Miss 3 times in total and you're done.
Why this drill
Your sure range grows from close in. A 15 handicap makes 93% from inside 3 feet and 36% from 6 to 9 feet (Shot Scope). Every foot you push it out is a putt you stop worrying about.
Set it up
- 1Mark 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 feet from the cup.
Play it
- 1Start at 3 feet. Make 3 in a row to move back to 4 feet.
- 2Then 5, 6 and 7.
- 3Miss 3 times in total, at any distance, and you're done.
Score it
Write down the distance you finished at. Farther is better.
Your target
Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.
After Level 3, make it harder
One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.
The putt you're sure of is the putt you stop leaving short.
04 · Office putting
Pace Alternator
One putt, two speeds. Alternate a putt that just reaches the hole with one that rolls 2 feet past.
Why this drill
Downhill putts need die speed. Uphill putts need a firmer roll. A mat won't match the speed of your greens, but it can train the switch between two speeds on purpose.
Set it up
- 1Put a coin down as the hole, 6 to 8 feet away. Use a coin, not your mat's cup, so every ball rolls out.
- 2Push a tee into the carpet 2 feet past the coin.
Play it
- 1Putt 1: die speed. The ball should stop just past the coin.
- 2Putt 2: aggressive speed. The ball should stop at the tee, 2 feet past.
- 3Alternate for 10 putts.
Score it
Your score is out of 10. Higher is better.
Your target
Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.
After Level 3, make it harder
One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.
Read the slope, pick the speed, then commit to it.
Bonus
your office week
One drill a day, 10 to 15 minutes. Score it, write it down, beat it next time.
- 1Monday: Clutch Putt Simulator. This is your baseline.
- 2Tuesday: Gate Drill 4-Footer.
- 3Wednesday: Shrinking Circle.
- 4Thursday: Pace Alternator.
- 5Friday: Clutch Putt Simulator again. Beat Monday.
Short and often wins. Ninety golfers who had never putted hit the same 240 putts, either all in one day or 60 a day for four days. The four day group was better a day, a week and four weeks later.
Dail and Christina, 2004. A mat holds your stroke and your start line. It won't match the speed of your greens, so expect a few rounds in spring to relearn speed.
Want this run for you?
These are 4 of 119
These 4 are from the 119 drills in the Play Ready Golf app. Every one has the score and the levels built in, and the app builds your practice week around your biggest leak, then rebuilds it after every round you log.
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Data: Shot Scope make rates by handicap (via MyGolfSpy, Aug 2025). Dail and Christina, 2004.