The DIY Training Aid that Turned Lauren Coughlin's Putting Around Before Her Record Year

Titleist recently dropped a documentary featuring several top pro golfers on the squad to show how each has been preparing for the 2025 season. From Will Zalatoris’ process returning to full speed after back surgery (and how phone booths have helped his game), to Cam Young’s “Eye of the Tiger” gym moment that propelled him to his 59 at the Travelers, the 45-minute doc is full of can’t-miss tidbits showing the dedication, grit and inescapable humanity that pro golfers balance.

If you don’t know Lauren Coughlin’s story (or even if you do), this flick is an excellent time to get caught up and jump on the Coughlin bandwagon as the LPGA season heats up. The Minneapolis native had a relatively quiet few years after joining the LPGA Tour in 2018 before having an absolute breakout year in 2024, earning her first two wins before going undefeated at the Solheim Cup (as a first-time member of Team USA, we might add).

The 32-year-old credits two putting tips as the impetus for her success—and both are virtually free and can be done anywhere. The first was a wearable D.I.Y. her husband created to prevent her from pulling putts.

“A lot of my issues were that I’m so anxious to see the ball go in that I would look up and I would pull putts all the time,” Coughlin said. “My husband went to the hardware store and made me these safety goggles over the left side of the left eye so it takes away the result aspect of it, because I can’t see the hole anyway. So all I’m focusing on is the ball right there on the ground and trying to basically not move my head until I can’t see the ball anymore.”

Coughlin started wearing the goggles ahead of the Ford Championship in Phoenix last March, earning her first of eight top-10 finishes for 2024. In the documentary, Coughlin shows the glasses she wears that still have the original duct tape her husband put on them last year.

“They look kind of funny but they work, so I don’t really care,” Coughlin said.

Her second putting fix came from finally taking her coach’s advice and putting into practice the drill he’d been recommending her to do for years. Using an alignment stick on the green, she places tees and four increments to train how far she needs to take the putter back for putts at 10-, 20, and 30-feet. She’s worked it into her putting routine and has been doing it once or twice a day for over a year now.

“I don’t think I’d play well at all this year if I didn’t start with the safety goggles and the speed drill,” Coughline said. “The goal now is to get to World No. 1 and win a major. That’s where my mind is at now.”

Titled “Excellence in Process,”the film was produced to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Prov1. Produced by Pro Shop Studios (part of the Skratch/Pro Shop Fam)—the doc made its debut on YouTube last week and will hit the “big screens” on Golf Channel today.