If you are not paying attention long putts will cost you strokes. If you are not attacking those long putts you are going to end up with a bogey, double bogey or worse.
This is why it is so important to get your first putt close to the hole. Many low handicap golfers are good putters and have developed techniques to help them avoid those nasty three putts.
On the other hand most high handicap golfers struggle with the long putts and this leads to lost opportunities. This is usually caused by fear of hitting the ball too hard and running it well past the hole or hitting the ball to soft coming up well short.
Let's take a look at five keys to improving your long putts.
Know the distance - It is important to have a pre-shot routine in every aspect of your game and this is just as important with long putts. Take time to walk off the distance of your putt. Get a feel for the length of the putt.
Prepare from behind the ball - Take your practice strokes from the behind the ball. See your line and your distance with your practice strokes.
Stand More Upright - You want to stand taller with the long putts to encourage a longer and smoother stroke.
Picture the hole as a Bushel Basket - Enlarge the size of the target in your mind. Instead of trying to fit your shot inside the hole, look to have your hole end up within about 3 feet of the hole.
Smooth Strokes - Some players have a tendency to hit the ball when they are facing a long putt. This will lead to the ball bouncing off the face of the putter. Your putting stroke should remain smooth. You will just need to take the putter back further than usual. Make sure that your follow through is equal to your backstroke.
Try this practice drill to get a feel for lag putts.
Take some tees and place them at intervals of about 3 feet starting from the hole and working your way out from the hole to about 9 feet. I tend to set up about four different lengths. Pull out a couple of sleeves of new golf balls and try to roll them so that each grouping stops in-between the tees.
It is a good idea to start from a comfortable distance, about 20 feet away and then move back until you get about 50 feet from the hole. Remember you want to work your way into consistently stopping within the space between tees.
The more you practice this routine, the better you will become at getting the ball inside that desired 3 foot distance. Consider that even the best players on tour are not trying to sink those long putts. They are just trying to get it close enough to avoid those three putts.