How to Hit a Lag Putt in 3 Steps
I've got another green in regulation, but I am almost 70 feet away from the hole. This is another stroke in the game where technique is only a little bit helpful, it takes a lot of feel.
How to Hit a 70 Foot Putt
What I would like to encourage you to do on a long lag putt of 60 or 70 feet is to think a little bit about the line, read the green, see which way it breaks, but most importantly how hard do you hit it. You want to hit it solidly, you want to have good rhythm. I picture Bobby Jones' stroke that was really kind of loose and had some wrist action.
How to Practice Hitting Long Putts
I don't think that it is as important to stay still on a longer putt than to have a real feel for distance. On the practice strokes that I take, I am going to take a long, flowing stroke, looking at the hole back and forth. I am going to take a look at the hole from behind the ball, and when I am looking at the hole from back there I am trying to feel how hard to hit it.
That is the dominant thought of a lag putt. Feel how hard to hit it. Step up to the ball, see the line that you are starting it on. You don't want to make a tight, controlled stroke. You want to make it long, flowing and loose, let the ball roll and have feel. Lag putting is fun, feel how hard to hit it.