This game is guaranteed to make you a better putter

Golf lessons are constantly evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new Timeless Tips series, we highlight some of the best advice teachers and players have shared in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we have a putting tip from legendary short game coach Dave Pelz from our October 1999 issue.

The game of golf has evolved in many ways throughout history, but one thing has remained constant: putting is a crucial skill. From Old Tom Morris and Harry Vardon to Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau, putting has always been a premium skill.

If you’ve come across this article, chances are you want to improve your own putting. If that rings true, you’re in luck.

In the 1999 edition of GOLF MagazineHall of Fame instructor Dave Pelz explained a simple game to improve putting. And it’s so easy to implement that you don’t have to be a professional to benefit from it. Check it out below.

Dave Pelz’s brilliant putting game

Last month I explained that the optimal path for hollowing out a breaking putt is usually higher than you think. Based on my research into putting speed and direction, I’ve learned that this optimal line for starting your putts is about three-quarters of the way between the lowest and highest possible lines that will help you find the hole. I call this optimal line the ‘main road’.

Taking the high road – playing more breaks instead of less – makes sense for many reasons: a ball is more likely to fall into the hole from the high side than from the low side; it also encourages the ball to roll at a slower speed, meaning it’s less likely to overrun if it misses the hole.

However, knowing what to do and actually doing it are often two different things, especially in golf. So to help you visualize this optimal break and speed on the greens you play, try a game called ‘Too-High’.

On the practice green, look for a putt of 10 to 20 feet with a break of 4 to 6 inches. Stretch a string from behind the hole and point it toward your ball, right over the center of the cup. The string should be at least 6 feet long on either side of the hole. (Keep the string at least two inches above the green by attaching it to two pencils and using them as stakes.)

Bring a friend and choose who will putt first. (Although you can practice on your own, you will learn much faster by competing, although your friend’s putting will also improve.) Putter A chooses a spot to putt somewhere along the line indicated by the string, between 6 and 20 feet away, and from this spot attempts to putt his ball as close to the hole as possible, but stops it above (on the high side) of the string. If any part of the ball touches or rolls under the string, or if the ball goes into the hole, that player cannot win.

If player A finishes below the line in any way, player B, putting from the same spot, only needs to leave the ball above the line to win. While that may seem simple, players trying to hit “good” putts often let their ball drift below the line. Then there is no winner. If both balls end up above the string, the one closest to the hole wins.

If a player wins, they get the credit, pick another spot twenty to six yards down the line, and they go at it again. If neither player wins, the second-place finisher last time gets the honors. So there is only one simple rule: whoever leaves the ball closest to the hole and above the line wins. (That’s why a ball that falls into the hole is a loser: it actually hits the line.)

When you first play ‘Too-High’, the winner is the first player to have a six-hole lead. As you get better, play until one player has nine. Remember, the goal of playing is not to make putts, but to learn what a high putt looks and feels like.

When you step onto the course, you will feel, sense and see where the “Too-High” lines are, which are almost the same as the highest possible lines for making your breaking putts. If you play three-quarters of that break (from the lowest possible line), you will play the optimal break for all your putts.