Working on your putting is time well spent, and sadly it’s often ignored by most golfers in favor of other parts of the game.

There are a few things that separate better putters from the rest of the pack, and one of these elements is the quality of their putting stroke. You can make the right read, and judge the speed perfectly, but if you don’t make proper contact with the ball it’s going to be hard to sink putts consistently.

I believe that working on your putting inside 10 feet is the greatest “bang for your buck” in terms of time invested versus results on your scorecard. I’ve written before about how the odds are heavily stacked against you outside of this range, and trying to make putts from outside of 10 feet is mostly an effort in futility.

If you can increase your chances of holing putts from inside 10 feet you will eliminate three putts, and be able to convert more of your chips and pitches for par. These are the putts that often determine just how successful your round will be.

When you in this range it’s absolutely crucial to be able to get your ball rolling on your intended line. So how do you know whether or not you have a tendency to push or pull your putts? Well someone invented a very simple, yet effective training aid to help with this issue. It’s called The Pill.

I’ve been testing The Pill for the last few weeks, and the beauty of this product is its simplicity. Every time you strike a putt you are given immediate feedback, and I feel it’s a training aid that can actually help golfers lower their scores.

Bonus Content:Be sure to check out my complete guide to putting.

How Does it Work?

The Pill is as basic as it comes. There’s nothing to set up, or attach to your body. You simply place it on the putting surface, and putt as your normally would.

When you strike the ball with a square face it rolls straight. An imperfect strike will send the pill on a wobbling path, and result in a dramatic loss of distance. Best of all, it will roll to the left or right based on whether or not you or pushing or pulling your putts.

Here’s a video of how it works:

If you check out there website there are a number of different drills you can perform. You actually can use the pill with your wedges as well.

How I Would Use It

The downside to using The Pill is having to set it up on the right line before you putt. You will have to bend over, and manually line it up, which could prove difficult on an actual putting green. If you don’t align it correctly, then you actually will not get the proper feedback that you need.

I believe this product is best used in a home environment on a setup like this. You will be able to see the line perfectly, and get immediate feedback based on the visual aids of the putting green (I highly recommend the SKLZ Putting Mat). Your goal with using a product like this is to hone your putting stroke, and improve your impact.

It will require a little extra effort, but I believe it will be time well spent when doing some practice at home (especially during the winter). You can purchase the pill individually for $12.99, or as a pack of three for about $30. It’s reasonably priced, and can help you with one of the most important parts of becoming a more successful putter.

You can purchase The Pill from Amazon here.