Chevron Championship: No More 3‑Putts Before League Starts

The Chevron Championship is the first major of the LPGA season, and every year it delivers the same reminder:

When the pressure is highest, putting decides everything.

Fast greens, tricky slopes, and major‑championship pin positions expose any weakness on the greens. You see players hit world‑class approach shots, only to watch a 3‑putt erase all that hard work.

Now bring that closer to home.

Your greens might not be set up like a major, but as league season kicks into gear, you’ll still face:

• First‑tee nerves that carry all the way to your first putt
• Slick downhill putts you’re scared to run past the hole
• Long lag putts where a 3‑putt can flip a hole or a match
  
  

You don’t need tour‑level putting to play your best league golf. You just need to eliminate 3‑putts.

Today we’ll take a page from A Great Putters Blueprint and build you a simple “no 3‑putt” routine you can trust when the round actually counts.

Major Championship Lesson: Distance Control > Perfect Read

Watch the Chevron Championship closely and you’ll notice something:

The best putters don’t make every putt.
They leave themselves very short second putts.

They’re excellent at:

• Controlling how far the ball rolls
• Avoiding the big mistakes (way short or racing it 6 feet by)
• Making their misses easy to clean up
  
  

That’s your first mindset shift for league season:

“My job on long putts is not to make them.
My job is to leave myself a stress‑free second putt.”

That starts with distance control.

Today’s Tip: A Simple “No 3‑Putt” Framework

Use this three‑part approach on the practice green and on the course.

1. Read with your feet, not just your eyes

Most golfers glance at the line, take a stab, and hope.

Steal this habit from the pros:

• Walk the putt. As you walk from ball to hole, feel the slope under your feet.
• Ask: “Is this mostly uphill, downhill, or flat?”
• Imagine how hard you’d have to roll a ball with your hand to get it to the hole.

You’re not trying to be a scientist. You’re just trying to give your brain basic input: up, down, or flat, and roughly how far.

2. Check your stroke length, keep your tempo

On long putts, most golfers change both:

• They make a longer stroke
• And they speed up their tempo
  That’s how you lose touch and leave putts way short or blast them long.

Instead, copy what you’ll see at the Chevron:

• Keep your tempo the same for every putt
• Adjust only the length of your stroke

For a 10‑footer, your stroke might feel from your foot to the middle of your shoe.
For a 30‑footer, maybe from your foot to the tip of your shoe.

The feel doesn’t need to be exact. It just needs to be consistent.

3. Commit to a “circle of safety”

Pick a realistic goal for your long putts:

“I’m trying to stop this ball inside a 3‑foot circle around the hole.”

If it goes in, great. But if it finishes inside that circle, you did your job.

This is exactly how major‑championship putters survive on tough greens: they shrink their expectations and tighten their dispersion.

You can do the same thing on your league course.

Quick Drill: Chevron‑Style Lag Putting Session

Here’s a 15–20 minute practice you can do on any decent practice green.

You’ll need:

• 3 balls
• A putter
• Access to 20–40 foot putts

Step 1: Set your distances

Pick three distances:

• 20 feet
• 30 feet
• 40 feet

Mark them roughly with tees or by pacing them off.

Step 2: Create your “no 3‑putt” circle

Around the hole, imagine or mark a 3‑foot circle.

Every ball that finishes inside that circle is a “win”.
Outside the circle is a “leak”.

Step 3: Chevron ladder

For each distance:

1. Hit 3 putts using this routine:

   • Read with your feet on the way to the hole
   • Pick your line
   • Take 1–2 practice strokes, matching stroke length to distance
   • Keep your tempo calm and identical each time

2. Count how many finish inside the circle.

Record it like:

• 20 ft: 2/3 inside
• 30 ft: 1/3
• 40 ft: 0/3

This is your personal Chevron stat sheet.

Next time, try to improve just one number by one putt. You don’t need perfection. You just need progress.

On‑Course: Turn 3‑Putts Into Easy 2‑Putts

When you step onto the first green of a league round, you’ll be tempted to force things:

• Try to make every long putt
• Jam those downhill 6‑footers
• “Guard against” 3‑putts by playing scared

Avoid that trap.

Use this simple on‑course rule:

From 20 feet and out: my only job is to leave a second putt inside 3 feet.
From inside 6 feet: my only job is to roll it with the same calm tempo as a practice green putt.

If your first putt on a long one:

• Gets to the hole or just past
• Finishes inside that 3‑foot circle
• Leaves you thinking, “I’ve got this”

That’s a major‑level success in league play.

String together 3–6 of those per round, and you’ll see:

• Fewer 3‑putts
• Less frustration on the greens
• Lower scores without changing your full swing at all

Why This Matters Right Now

With the Chevron Championship on TV and league play ramping up:

• Your attention is already on competitive golf
• Your course is rolling out regular leagues and events
• Every stroke on the green is about to start counting

You can’t control the weather, your pairing, or every bounce.
You can control how many times you 3‑putt.

If you can simply turn:

• 2–3 three‑putts per round into routine 2‑putts
• 50‑foot “prayers” into tap‑in clean‑ups

You’ll feel like a different golfer without touching your backswing.

Want A Simple Pre‑League Putting Routine?

If you’d like help building a 10‑minute pre‑league putting routine and a season‑long plan to keep your putter hot, join our Fairway Finder community.

Inside, you’ll get:

• A printable “No 3‑Putt” practice card you can bring to the course
• Simple putting games to keep practice fun and focused
• Feedback and adjustments from me so your routine actually fits your stroke

You’ll also see how putting connects to the rest of your scoring game: approach shots, chipping, and mental routines.

And if your short game around the green has been a pain point too, don’t forget you can take a deeper dive with my course, Chipping: Small Swing. Big Payoff. It pairs perfectly with this putting work.

Tournament season is rolling, your league is kicking off, and this is the perfect moment to decide:

“This is the year I stop giving away strokes on the greens.”

Play More Golf. But Better.

Coach Amanda