Ready, set, putt
This is where it all happens: The putting green. The old adage, "You drive for show and putt for dough" is very true. We all fall victim to the three-putt sometimes, and, heaven forbid, even the four-bagger every once in a while. There is nothing that will add to your score faster, and turn that 87 into a 90, than the three-putt. It happens; even touring pros do it every now and then, but here's a way to prevent it.

There are many factors involved when putting the ball: speed, line, estimating the break, putter head acceleration, deceleration, and even the direction in which the grass is growing. Since three-putting occurs mostly on putts of a distance greater than 30 feet, we'll start with three common things that can lead to a three-putt: misjudging the speed, the distance or the line of a putt.

These are just three things that can open the door for a three-putt opportunity. Inevitably, we either run the ball right by the hole, leave it way short or just plain misread the putt. Most putts are not perfectly flat, and are either uphill, downhill or at a side angle.

Three-foot circle
One thing that most teaching pros agree on is that while practicing these long putts, it's a great idea to visualize a three-foot circle around the cup and try only to stay within that perimeter.
The idea here is that keeping the ball within this three-foot circle of the cup will give the player an easier second putt, and greatly reduce the chances of three-putting the hole. Spend time putting the ball to this imaginary circle from 30-foot, 40-foot, even 60-foot distances to familiarize yourself with the stroke and distance control needed to get the ball close.

Visualize
Practicing this visualization method is easy. Most golf courses and driving ranges have practice greens set aside exclusively for putting and chipping, so use them when you can. Once you are proficient in the art of putting the ball within three feet each time, you'll find that your scores will drop significantly, and three putts will occur much less frequently