Three things you can learn from Minjee Lee’s putting transformation
Minjee Lee has long been known for her complete ball-striking, but in 2025 it’s her putting that’s moved her back into the winner’s circle.
Lee has made a huge leap on the greens. Her reliable putting is the main reason she captured her third major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on challenging putting surfaces.
The secret? Is a broomstick-style putter and a change of attitude.
Lee’s transformation began during the offseason, when she and her coach Ritchie Smith decided to overhaul her putting technique. The pair experimented with various models before settling on a 42-inch Odyssey Ai-One Square 2 Square broomstick putter. The switch wasn’t just cosmetic; it fundamentally changed how Lee approached the stroke. By relying more on her shoulders than her hands, she found a rhythm and consistency that had eluded her for years.
The results speak volumes. Lee now ranks among the top five for strokes gained: putting, which is a dramatic improvement from previous seasons when she languished well down the list.
Beyond the technical gains, Lee’s confidence has soared. She’s no longer tentative on the greens due to her newfound trust in getting the ball started on line. With only one more major needed to complete the career Grand Slam, her improved putting could be the final piece in an already elite arsenal.
You might not be in contention for more majors like Minjee, but there are a few lessons we can take from her to drastically improve your putting.
Simplicity: To be free and fearless, you must start here. Putting at its core is relatively simple. If you were to think of the skills needed to be a good putter, at the top of the list is: can you start the ball on line?
Both her putter change and technical touch-ups allowed Lee to trust that she can start the ball on line more consistently. She would have worked extremely hard on this during the offseason, which paid dividends on the back nine of a major.
You can’t fake confidence. Practise on a mirror or a chalk line and see the ball starting on line repeatedly.
Tension-free: One of the biggest issues I see on the putting green is golfers ‘hitting’ at the ball with their hands, which affects line and pace. By going to the long putter, Lee felt she could ‘roll the rock’ with a more pendulum-style stroke. This allows golfers to have better rhythm and roll putts closer to the hole.
Think of a triangle combining both shoulders and the putter grip that doesn’t change angle. You can practise this by placing an alignment stick or golf towel under your armpits. Take note of the pressure you’re gripping the putter with and try to make your shoulders rock.
Experiment: The biggest lesson? Don’t be afraid to experiment. Scottie Scheffler is another great example of someone who’d had enough of mediocre putting and overhauled his approach by going to a mallet putter.
I’m not saying to start putting with a broomstick, but if the sample size of poor putting is big enough, consider having a mini-reset. Get a lesson or a putter fitting with a professional. Test equipment. Gather some data on where you sit relative to your handicap.
You might not look as cool as Tiger Woods holing putts with a textbook blade putter, but you could become just as confident.
Photograph by cliff hawkins/getty images
