How to Teach a Child to Putt: A Step-by-Step Guide

A step-by-step putting progression for a young child, from first grip to reading a green - with the drills that actually build feel.

Putting is the easiest part of golf to introduce to a young child, and it is often the best place to start. It needs no power, minimal space, and gives kids the quick satisfying feedback of a ball rolling into a hole. A calm, structured approach - rather than jumping straight to green reading or technical stroke mechanics - keeps early sessions fun and builds a genuinely sound foundation.

It is also the part of the game where a parent with no golf background can help most, because nothing here requires you to be able to play.

Start with the putter itself

A putter that is too long is the most common equipment problem in junior putting. If the child has to hold the club well down the grip, or stands with their hands pushed out away from their body, the putter is fighting them.

• The eyes should sit roughly over or just inside the ball line when they set up
• Arms should hang rather than reach
• Heavier mallet-style heads are generally more forgiving for a beginner than a thin blade

The differences between putter styles, and which suits a young player, are covered in putter types explained.

Grip and posture, kept simple

A light, comfortable grip is the first habit worth building. Many junior coaches encourage a reverse-overlap grip, or simply a two-handed 'palms facing each other' hold, with the hands working together as one unit rather than fighting each other.

Posture should be relaxed: eyes roughly over the ball, feet a comfortable width apart, shoulders level rather than tilted. There is no need to over-correct a young child's natural setup as long as they can repeat it - consistency matters far more than a textbook position at this stage.

Teach a pendulum, not a hit

The core idea to introduce early is that putting is a gentle rocking motion from the shoulders, not a wristy flick or a small full swing. A clock pendulum is the image most children get immediately; a swing set moving smoothly back and through works too.

Quiet wrists and a level shoulder turn keep the putter face square through impact, which matters far more for a good roll than raw speed or a long stroke. Short repeated strokes on flat ground, without even worrying about a hole at first, help this feel become automatic.

A five-session progression

Each of these is a short session. Fifteen to twenty minutes is plenty; putting rewards frequency over duration.

Distance control beats line, every time

For a beginner, how hard to hit it matters more than where to aim. A putt hit on a perfect line at the wrong pace finishes metres away; a putt hit at the right pace on a slightly wrong line finishes close. Children improve their feel for pace through repetition far more than through instruction, so plenty of short, low-pressure putts beats a small number of closely coached ones.

A useful frame for a child: 'try to leave it close enough that the next one is a tap-in.' That is a target they can hit most of the time, which keeps a long putting session from feeling like a run of failures.

Introduce break once the basics are solid

Only after grip, stroke and pace feel comfortable is it worth introducing the idea that greens slope and putts curve. Keep it simple at first: standing behind the ball, does the green look like it leans left, right, or is it roughly flat? That single observation is enough for most young beginners.

When they are ready for more, our guide to reading greens takes it a step further.

Common faults, and what usually causes them

• Decelerating into the ball: almost always a backswing that is too long for the putt, so the child instinctively slows down. Shorten the backswing
• Wristy, flicky strokes: often a putter that is too long or too light, or simply excitement. Slow the whole session down
• Head lifting to watch the ball: try having them listen for the ball dropping rather than watching for it
• Aiming well left or right without noticing: lay a club or an alignment stick on the ground pointing at the hole and let them see it

Practising at home

Carpet putting is genuinely useful for stroke shape and it costs nothing. Be aware that household carpet is usually much slower than a real green, so a child who practises only indoors will tend to hit everything too hard on grass. Mix in real greens whenever you can, and treat indoor work as stroke practice rather than pace practice.

More home-practice ideas that hold a child's interest are in indoor golf practice ideas.

Pace changes with the green, and children need to be told

A child who has learned to putt on one practice green will assume every green rolls the same speed. They do not. The same putt can need half again as much pace on a slow winter green as on a fast, firm summer one, and uphill and downhill putts can differ by more than that on a single green.

• Two or three long putts before a round is the fastest way to calibrate for the day - not to hole them, just to feel the speed
• Uphill putts need more pace than they look like they need; downhill putts need dramatically less
• Wet greens are slower; freshly cut greens are faster; late-afternoon greens are usually slower than morning ones

This is a much easier concept for a child than reading break, and it explains most of the putts they leave short or run past.

Turning it into a game

Putting practice becomes tedious for a child faster than any other part of golf, because the skill is repetitive by nature. The fix is to make almost all of it a game with a score.

• Beat your number: how many out of ten from a set distance, written down and beaten next time
• Around the world: work around six holes on the practice green, one putt each, and count the total
• Parent versus child, with the parent putting one-handed to even things up
• Knockout: everyone putts from the same spot, the furthest away is out

A score gives the session a shape and an ending, which matters more for a young child's engagement than any technical content.

How much is too much

Short and frequent wins. Three fifteen-minute sessions across a week will build more skill than one forty-five minute session, and they are far less likely to end in tears. Stop while the child still wants to keep going - that is the session that makes them ask to come back.

How you respond to a bad session matters more than the drills - see celebrating progress, not just results.