Gate Putting Drill
A simple drill for practising your putting start line.
Set up two tees just wider than your golf ball and practise rolling putts through the gap. The gate gives you immediate feedback: if the ball clips a tee, it didn't pass cleanly through your chosen starting window. Start with a comfortable gap and gradually make it narrower as your control improves.
Build a gate.
Roll it through.
Choose a straight putt
Find a reasonably flat section of putting green and choose a short target line. Start from around one to two metres away so you can focus on the ball's starting direction rather than the difficulty of a long putt.
Set up two tees
Place two tees in the ground a short distance in front of your ball, aligned to form a gate across your intended start line. Make the gap comfortably wider than the ball at first. Ensure the tees are secure and permitted on your practice green.
Roll putts through the gate
Set your putter face towards your chosen starting line, settle into your normal putting posture and make your usual stroke. Watch whether the ball passes cleanly between the tees. Avoid steering the putter at the last moment to force the ball through.
Make the gate narrower
Once you can regularly roll the ball through the wider gate, move the tees closer together in small increments. If you keep clipping a tee, widen the gap again and rebuild your consistency before making the challenge harder.
Notice the start,
not just the result.
Did the ball pass through cleanly?
The gate gives you a clear result on each putt. A ball that clips a tee has missed the available starting window. Pay attention to the pattern over several putts rather than judging your putting from one attempt.
Keep your routine consistent
Use the same basic routine for each attempt. Aim the putter face, settle into your stance and make your normal stroke. Try not to add a last-second adjustment just because the gate looks narrow.
Separate start line from pace
The gate tests whether the ball starts through a narrow window; it doesn't tell you everything about distance control or whether a putt would finish in the hole. Once your start line is reliable, practise pace separately and then combine the two.
Build a repeatable starting line without steering the putter or turning every putt into a mechanical exercise.
Useful when your
start line feels uncertain.
You miss putts on both sides
If your putts sometimes start left and sometimes right of your intended line, the gate gives you a simple way to practise starting the ball through a consistent window.
You want clearer feedback
Instead of guessing whether a putt started where you intended, you can see whether it passed cleanly through the gate. Begin with a forgiving gap and use the result to guide your next attempt.
You're working on putter-face control
The direction the putter face points at impact has a major influence on the ball's starting direction. The drill gives you a practical way to explore start-line consistency without trying to make conscious adjustments during every stroke.
You want a short putting practice routine
Spend a few minutes rolling putts through the gate before moving to longer putts or a putting game. Keep track of how often you pass cleanly through, then finish by putting to a real hole and judging distance as well as direction.
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