Improving your putting in disc golf is one of the best ways to lower your average scores. The great thing about disc golf and putting is that it’s easy to do putting practice alone or with some friends.
There are tons of disc golf putting games that make practice much more fun and engaging.
And, all of these practice games will help you,
- Improve your putting percentages
- Find the perfect putting grip
- Improve your putting release point
- Perfect your putting form
If you want to improve at putting but don’t know where to start, read below and find a putting game to try out!
Solo Disc Golf Putting Games
1. Ladder
This is my favorite game when I want to focus down and get better at putting. The feel of this game is very similar to the feel and distances that you’ll face out on the course, which is why I recommend it.
Setup:
To begin playing this putting game you just need one putter. Next, you need to pick a comfortable distance from the basket that you can make roughly 90% of the time(I usually start at ten feet).
After picking out the starting spot I like to set a goal distance that I want to be able to putt from. Once you’ve decided on your two distances and measured them out, you can start playing!
Scoring:
The goal of this putting game is to reach the distance that you set as your goal.
To do that, you need to make putts in a row to get to that distance.
Here’s how the game plays out:
- Start at a comfortable distance from the basket
- Attempt to make the putt
- If you make the putt you move back one foot
- If you miss the putt you move back up to your previous spot
There you go, a simple but fun way to practice making putts at all different distances!
2. 3 Shots
This next game is very similar to the ladder game above but with some tougher modifications. The great thing about 3 shots is that it can be easily altered to fit however many putters you have.
Setup:
For this game, you need three putters to play(but if you only have two putters you can make it work). Choose one spot where you believe you can make three putts in a row. That will be your starting position.
Scoring:
The goal of this game is to see how far you can move away from the basket and still make 3/3 putts.
- Attempt three putts from your spot
- If you miss any of the putts, take a step forward
- If you make all three putts, take a step back
As you can see this game is much harder than the original ladder game we talked about.
If you struggle to make it very far with the three putter rule, try the following rule changes.
- If you miss 2/3 putts take a step forward
- If you make 2/3 putts step back.
That’s all there is to it!
This game will increase your disc golf putting percentages quickly since you have to make multiple in a row at the same distance.
3. Tens
The game Tens is more of an advanced game since it requires ten putters. You can still manage to play will less if you want, it just means you’ll be going back and forth from the basket during the round.
Setup:
The first step to tens is to mark off three locations that are around 10 feet from the disc golf basket. The second step is to grab your stack of 10 putters and head to the first marker.
Scoring
Making ten putts at three different locations is your goal for this game.
- Start at position one which is ten feet from the basket
- Attempt ten putts from this location
- Once you make ten putts in a row at one location, move on to the next step
- After you’ve made ten putts in a row at all markers, the game is over
A tough game for sure, but one to really work on your putting consistency.
Because, who doesn’t want to be able to sink ten putts in a row?
And if you begin to dominate this game, no worries, just move your starting position back to 15 or 20 feet away!
4. Around The World
If you’re looking for a game that adds some variety to putting, around the world will fit your style. All that you need to do to win is make your putts from around the world(or basket in this case!).
Setup:
You’ll need about 7 to 15 disc golf markers to use for this game. It should be easy enough to use other discs from your bag or random items that you have around the house.
After gathering up your makers you need to place them around the basket at various distances.
Scoring:
The way to win this game is to make a putt from every location that you set up.
- Attempt a putt from your first marker
- If you make the putt, move on to the next spot
- If you miss the first putt, you get a second chance
- Make the second putt and move on
- Miss the second putt and return to your previously made location
This putting game is a fun little way to practice all different types of putts.
You get some experience from all distances and get the added pressure of needing to make that second putt to move on.
5. The Upshot Challenge
Besides putting, upshots are the next most important throw for lowering your average score. Most disc golfers don’t practice their upshots close to enough. The upshot challenge is a great game, but it requires a large area to practice such as an open field or an actual course.
Setup:
Empty out your bag and gather up all of your discs that you can throw for upshots. Depending on your level this could be your putters, midranges, and fairways.
Find a distance that is around 100 feet from the basket, or whichever distance you have the most trouble with on upshots.
Scoring:
If you can’t make a long putt then the next best thing is to get closer, which this game is designed to help with.
- Starting from the location you picked out, throw your discs as close to the basket as you can
- Track down all of the shots
- Attempt a putt from that location
I really like this game because it works on two parts of disc golf; upshots, and putting. You can make putting really easy on yourself with a great upshot, or you can improve on making putts after a bad upshot.
Obviously it isn’t possible for every throw, but this game will increase your accuracy and distance shots as well as putting form.
Multiplayer Disc Golf Putting Games
Practice doesn’t have to be boring either. Having a couple of friends over and playing disc golf together has been a favorite activity of mine.
These next few games are designed to be played by at least two people. And if you’re wondering whether any of these are disc golf drinking games, well, they all could be with a little imagination!
6. Horse
Most people here have probably played a game of HORSE or at least heard of it before. It’s usually played with a basketball but it’s super easy to translate over to disc golf.
Setup:
The game beings with one player choosing a spot to putt from. After that, the game goes on until there is one player left standing.
If you want to play a shorter or longer game, you could decide on a different word to spell out while playing.
Scoring:
The rules for this aren’t too difficult, the thing to remember is that you don’t want letters.
- One player picks a spot and attempts a putt
- If the player makes the putt, all other players must attempt from that spot
- Anyone who misses the shot gets a letter(starting with H and ending with E)
- Whoever made the first shot gets to choose the spot again
- Once you have all the letters to spell HORSE, you are out
- The last person standing is the winner
Pretty simple idea but it can get super competitive among friends. It’s also great to work on some wacky putts that you might not normally try out.
7. Make The Most
The only goal of this game is to score more points than the competition. It’s similar to HORSE in that you take turns choosing a spot to throw from.
Setup:
One player will be the first to start and pick where to throw from. You also need five putters for this game, since each round has five attempts.
Scoring:
- The first player attempts five putts, keeping track of how many you miss
- Each other player attempts putts from that spot
- After everyone goes the next in line chooses where to putt
- Once you reach 15 misses, you’re out
- The last person standing is the most accurate putter! And the winner!
One great thing about this game is that it’s the same as HORSE except you have to take and make five shots for a perfect round.
So pick your spots wisely because you don’t want to give yourself negative points!
8. Sweet 16
Setup:
Each player must have two putters for this game. The game is players in rounds where the highest scoring player from the previous round chooses where to putt from. You also might need some scratch paper or a way to keep track of scores depending on how many people are playing.
Scoring:
The goal of this game is to reach 16 points and to win by 2 points.
Here’s how the scoring breaks down:
- +3 for making the putt
- +2 for hitting the chains
- +1 for hitting metal
- -1 for hitting the base pole under the basket
- -2 for hitting the ground(not making contact with any part of the basket)
Not too much to it, but it gets difficult when one player gets close to winning. You don’t want to put yourself in the position where you need to hit the pole in order to get -1 and win!
Final Thoughts
There you go, 8 fun disc golf putting games to try out to improve your putting. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing for 2 months or playing for 10 years.
Everybody could improve on putting.
So get out there and try out some of these games. I hope you learned something new and will give at least one of these putting games a shot!