Favorite putting practice drill?

[BogeyFinder]

In an effort to put more purpose into my practice sessions, I have been thinking about various drills. Putting is one area where I have done the same stuff over and over for years. I start at about 5 feet and then back up to 7 and then 10. I putt a few balls from each to try to get a feel for how the greens are rolling. That's about it. Sometimes I will hit some lags from about 20-30 feet if the green is not jam packed.  My practice sessions are similar to my warm up for a round. 

What are somethings the rest of you do before rounds and when you are practicing? Could be indoor at home, could be at the course before the round, could be for specific practice sessions.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

At the course I hardly ever practice putting toward a cup. I will place a tee in the practice green away from all the typical foot traffic locations. This gives me a much smaller target to hit. If I can consistently hit the tee or be within 2" from 5' away it considered in the cup. Then I'll back up to 10' and stroke a few more. Then I pick up the tee and put in in a hard location on the green. I'll find a slope or something and practice again from different directions. The goal is to hit the tee. The ball won't stop due to the slope but hitting the tee or be within an inch on either side would be in a cup.  My goal is to practice based on actual conditions that I might find out on the course.

If I want to just make sure I am stroking well, I'll do that at home on a mat. I have a 10' Odyssey putting mat.  

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, BogeyFinder said:

What are somethings the rest of you do before rounds and when you are practicing? Could be indoor at home, could be at the course before the round, could be for specific practice sessions.

Before around it is roll some longer putts to dial in speed and then hole a few 3-5 footers.   Technically pre round isn’t practice time.  
 

for practice, on a real green, I set up gates for the ball and putter to ensure center contact and good startline,   Work on 3-6 footers, distance drills like the ladder drill, or the drill that Scott Fawcett describes in DECADE.  I’ll walk around greens and find the zero break line to help with reading greens.   At home, I have an ExPutt so I can practice both face and distance control.   I’ll roll the ball down a yardstick or over a dime for startline.   

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, BogeyFinder said:

What are somethings the rest of you do before rounds and when you are practicing? Could be indoor at home, could be at the course before the round, could be for specific practice sessions.

I do the same as you before my tee time.  However, I always start with one handed putts with my right hand.  I use a traditional grip with right/trail hand low.  Saw Tiger do that during his warmups years ago, so I adopted it.  YouTube has videos of it.  Grip putter with both hands, then take lead hand off. Putt.  If I can make 4-5 footers from 4 directions, then I know I'm making a good stroke.  Then I work on speed control from various distances.  My course's putting green does not have any slopes, so it's difficult to practice breaking putts.  

I also have a 12x6 foot Big Moss putting green indoors where I can roll up to 10 footers.  It's perfectly level, but I can introduce subtle slopes using shims.  The speed of this green is actually very close to my normal course's greens.  

[vandyland]

Like @cnosil said above, I use a metal yardstick as well to make sure my start line is good. I also like those srixon divide balls on a flat surface as I can see if my putts are rolling straight. 

[NM01]

Two different clock drills.

one from 4&5’ with 4 balls at 4’ and 4 more directly bending those at 5’. Must make at least 6

second is 5 balls from 10’ going back 3-5’ from 4 spots around a hole with a 3’ putting circle around the hole. Must have 1/2 the balls stay on the circle 

[MacTourney]

Nothing too formal before play, drop a few balls near a central area and roll, in multiple directions, toward fringe hoping to stop ball in the fringe- like lagging for break in billiards. 

[MGrand]

Agree with @cnosil and @vandyland regarding putting on a ruler - super easy drill to do at home for start line checks and you can do it anywhere.  My other go-to putting drills I enjoy for technical work are (1) Mirror drills to look at eye & face alignment, (2) gate drills for both start line and putter head, and (3) putting with smart insoles in to see if weight is staying relatively stable or if I am moving all over the place.  I would also recommend taking a video of your stroke every now and again.  Last week I noticed my putts were getting a bit sporadic when I was practicing so I quickly filmed the stroke with my camera and realized I was looping the putter and toe-striking my putts (see setup and impact below).  A few adjustments to my set up later and started making everything.  Good luck!