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What is more productive for putting? Putting with one ball or putting with more (like 6, for example)?

What would be better for feel and distance, etc?

I personally put with just one ball going from one hole to the next on a practice green.

I normally practice with 2-3 balls just so if I mis-read the green I have another putt from the same spot to help me read how fast the greens will break and uphill/downhill speed. It's a mental thing, or maybe it's so I walk less.

Tom Watson says to use three, so that must be the best :)

I don't think it matters much, as long as you don't always hit a bunch of balls from one spot to the same target ... easier to get feel for different distances if you mix it up.

I normally use 3 balls, and putt around with the 9 holes on the practice green where I practice. My goal is to never 3 putt, even from 40 t090 feet away. I keep track of my putts, and try to break my record for the least number of strokes for 36 holes.

I place several balls in a circle around the hole,all about 4 feet away,do this a few times before going on to lag putting,for this i will hit a long puut,the next one has to be close but not beyond the first and so on.

Interesting thread!

I do both, depending on the mood of the day.

Prior to a round:

If I want to get a feel for the speed of the greens I prefer to putt with one ball, because I see the combination of gauging the correct distance and then getting the right ball speed as a single exercise. And I think it can only help to walk the actual distance immediately aftewards.

If I am not so confident about my putting stroke, I hit a number of balls from a distance short enough that more than a few go in!

Practice:

When practicing the stroke, I hit a number of balls.

When practicing the game, I want the result to matter, so I hit the same ball until it goes in.

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Fortunately anyone can do both, so there is no dilemma here.

I select a flat part of the practice green and put down a tee at 4, 7 and 10 feet. Then I putt with six balls at a time starting at 10 feet to get around 25 putts from each distance. This grooves my putting stroke in the "scoring area" of the course. My chipping and long putts get better also, because I am more relaxed having greater conidence that I can sink the putt which may be left.

Something to remember for putting practice ...

There are really 2 main things to get good at to get the most improvement scoring wise ...

Putts from 2-10 ft and lag putting from 20-50 ft.

The reason for this is that almost all golfers make almost all putts from 2 ft in, and almost all golfers 3 putt a high percentage from over 50 ft.

Also, most golfers don't make many putts from over 10 ft, or 3 putt much from 10-20 ft.

So being able to lag putt well from 20-50 (you don't really need to sink any of these to be a great putter), and leave it very close to the hole is one goal.

The other goal is to improve your percentage between 2-10 ft.

Another thing to realize ... an extra putt made from 2-10 ft is the same as an extra 3-putt saved from 20-50 ft.

So there should be some balance ... don't always work on the short or the long, and also don't worry much about trying to get really good at 2 putting from over 50 ft.

Also, if you are very good at one or the other, more time should be practiced on the other one.

For me, my putting goals might be:

Reduce 3-putts to 10% or less from 20-50 ft.
Make 90% from 3 and 4 ft
Make 50% from 5-7 ft
Make 1/3 from 8-10 ft

Now if I reach my goal on the lag putting, and 2-putt 9/10 times from 20-50, I won't gain much by trying to improve that. If I get twice as good, and get to 19/20, I only save 1 stroke for ever 20 putts from that range. I'll get about the same benefit if I make one more putt out of 20 from 2-10 ft.

I think a lot of golfers spend a little too much time practicing the long putts (and for a good emotional reason ... they are more fun, and it's a great thrill to sink a 30 footer). I know I do. One of my practice goals this year is to spend more time from inside 10 ft than from outside 10 ft. I'm already close to 90% 2 putts from 20-50. I am very far from my goals from 2-10.

Wait??? People practice putting? No wonder I'm no good

haha. good one

It depends on what you're working on. If you're working on just grooving a straight back and through stroke, then there's nothing wrong with finding a flat spot on the green and laying down 10 balls and stroking them. If you're working on speed and feel, however, probably better to keep the number of balls at 3 or less in my opinion. Also, don't hit them all from the same spot. Scatter them at different lengths from the hole so you develop your sense of feel for distance control. Hitting balls from the same spot in an attempt to work on feel does nothing.