Before we get into the drill, we're excited to announce Blaine Ward is back in Durango! Born and raised in Durango, Blaine was a junior passholder at Hillcrest for most of his childhood and played on the DHS golf team. After spending five years in the Navy, Blaine moved to Oak Harbor, Washington, where he started the PGA PGM Associate Program at Whidbey Golf Club.
Blaine loves playing golf and coaching, and he's especially passionate about coaching juniors. "Coaching juniors about the game of golf is what really made me want to join the golf industry," he says.
The Gate Drill
This gate drill helps develop your putting stroke swing path. It will help you learn to consistently return the putter to the same position from address to impact. This is a great drill to be successful in making short putts.
- Find a straight putt about 3-4 feet from the hole.
- Line up the putter and place a tee on both sides of the putter head forming a “gate”. You can space the tees a bit farther if needed.
- Make short consistent strokes through the gate. Your aim should be to pass the putter through the gate without touching the tees.
- The putter head should go straight back and straight through. The drill helps you keep your putter’s head square at impact.
For a little more of a challenge, place two more tees about one putter length down the target line from the putter gate. These tees should be just wider than the ball. The goal here is to still make a stroke through the first gate without touching either of the tees. The second gate is the gate the ball will roll through. If the ball hits either of the tees on the second gate, that says the putter face was not square at impact.
