Dear Golf Nut, I just recently got a belly putter and now I am having problems with distance control. Do you have any good golf tips or golf drills for addressing this problem?

First let me define a belly putter for some of you golfers who may not be as familiar with it. A belly putter is a longer putter (not as long as the real long putters) than a normal putter that is anchored against the stomach during the putting stroke.

I have never used a belly putter, but I think that distance control is a universal problem for all golfers so here is a basic golf tip that may help. Now this is based on putting pretty consistently on the same surface so that the type of golf green you are putting on isn’t coming into play.

You will want to spend some time on the putting green practicing for this to be effective. But get 8-10 golf balls and pick 3 holes at varying distances on the green. Putt all of the balls towards the closest hole paying attention to your backstroke and follow through. Try to get a consistent length of backstroke and length of follow through for that distance. Keep putting at that hole until you have a feel for it.

Then move to hole 2. Do the same thing. Putt all the golf balls at this hole over and over until a backstroke of a certain length and a follow through of a certain length get you consistent distance control for this length of putt.

Then move to hole 3 and continue. What you are trying to do is establish the putting stroke that will translate to distance. This may be more important than feel with a belly putter because you may not get as much feel for the stroke with the putter anchored against your belly.

Try this golf tip and let me know if it works for you!