You have read the all the latest books by Stan Utley, Dave Pelz, Fred Shoemaker, etc on different putting theories in an attempt to improve your putting stroke. You have been working and working on your putting motion or stroke and you think you have improved. How do you know for sure? You are just looking for a way to challenge yourself in your practice sessions to lower your scores. Here are some ideas:

Take Notes - Keep track of your practice sessions by using The Ultimate Golf Journal or your own notebook. It is also important to keep track of your putting statistics to find out where you need the most practice. To improve your putting you must keep track of the results from your rounds of golf and to improve even faster, keep the statistics from your putting practice sessions as well.

Take the hole away - Stroke multiple putts to the fringe. With the goal being, to stop the ball where the putting green means the green's collar. Again, it is very important that you hold your finish for three seconds. When a player has trouble with their lag putting, it is typically due to the putter re-coiling at the end of the putting motion. Stroke putts from different distances to improve your lag putts. This putting drill works on the speed of your putts.

Keep track of your misses. If you are missing the putting cup more to one side or another, the face of your putter is either opened or closed at impact. You can fix this by putting balls from just two feet from the hole on the practice putting green. In addition, hold your finish for three seconds. The good news is you really have to hit a poor putt to miss from this distance and more importantly you will bee able to see the line of the putt you hit. If your putting line does not improve, look into purchasing a laser pointer that will easily attach to your putter. Most are inexpensive and will give you instant positive feedback.

Compete and play game against a friend. There is no end to what could happen with this idea. My friends and I like playing the putting game named pullback. Here is how you play - Pick the amount of holes you are going to play prior to starting. In this version, we will play nine holes. Decide who will go first. This person will pick a hole and stroke a putt at the determined target. If made, it is one stroke. If it is not made, you must pull it further away from the hole and putt again until the ball is holed. You can bet a coke for overall score or a dollar a stroke, whatever makes it fun and competitive.

Use this article along with the techniques that you have gained from your reading of Stan Utley, Dave Pelz, Fred Shoemaker, etc. to improve your putting motion and stroke. Then get ready to watch your scores get better and better.