This is a great game for measuring and improving your putting performance close to the hole. This game is very similar to the 3-Foot Star game, except that putts are played from 6 feet instead of 3. The extra few feet will significantly increase the break on each putt, and so you will need to be much more careful to roll them at the correct speed.
Using this game, you will quickly build your confidence from short range; improve your ability to read the break and slope on short putts; and learn to determine the best putt speed vs. break trade-off to maximise your own personal scoring potential.
How to Play
To play the 6-Foot Star game, do the following:
- Choose a hole on the practice green that is on a gentle slope, such that a putt played from a side hill lie would break about 6-10 inches from 8 feet.
- Mark five points on the green with tees, evenly spaced around the hole, and each point 6’ from the hole, as if they were on the points of a 5-pointed star – see Figure 1.
- For the first hole, make the first putt directly uphill.
- Repeat on a different hole, playing another five 6’ putts, this time making the first putt directly downhill.
- Repeat on a third hole, this time the first putt should be directly to one side of the hole (left- or right-breaking, neither uphill nor downhill).
Figure 1. Setup for the 6-Foot Star game.
Figure 2. Use a putter to measure 6 feet from hole.
You can easily use a standard putter to measure 6’ from the hole – see Figure 2.
It is important that you perform your full pre- and post-shot routine for every putt. Go through your green reading process, take your time to visualise the stroke, practise your quiet eye technique, try the right amount and react to the target. Use your post-shot routine to actively build your self-image and learn from your mistakes.
We use a 5-point star configuration for this game, as opposed to the traditional putting circle, because this makes it more difficult to learn from previous putts, and so you need to consider the line and speed more carefully – and the more you think, the quicker you learn.
Scoring
Always record your score in your practice session log, and try to beat your best score each time you play this game. The competitive edge is crucial.
On three holes you will play 15 putts in total. Don’t play missed putts a second time, they are given.
Keep two scores, the first is the number of consecutive putts that you make without missing, starting from the first putt on the first hole. So, if you miss the second putt on the first hole, your score is 1. If you are really good from this range, see if you can make 15 putts in a row, then go for 20, 30, 50… If you can make 50 in a row, your name is probably Tiger.
The second score is based on the number of putts that you miss out of 15. Each missed putt counts 1 point. The lower this score, the better your putting. The minimum possible score is 0, if you make all 15 putts. The maximum possible score is 15, if you miss them all.
A second score of more than 7 is poor, and you will benefit greatly from working on your basic putting technique. An average second score of less than 4 is world-class putting.
When playing this game, you should be paying full attention and trying your best to shoot a low score.
How to Compete
This is a great game to play against a partner in match play format, and it should only take about ten minutes.
Toss a coin to determine who plays first, then each player plays five putts on the first hole. Repeat for 3 holes, the lowest score on each hole gets the honour on the next. The winner is the person who makes the lowest score over 3 holes. Ties go to sudden death, the first person to miss a putt loses.
This game forms part of the Golf Loopy Putt like a Champion series, the sensational new putting game improvement system that will help you to improve every aspect of your performance on the greens. The improvements will be dramatic, and they will be permanent.
