When I was younger, I couldn't afford to play much. My friends and I would go to chipping and putting greens for hours at a time and make up Games. I probably spent 15 hours practicing putting and chipping for every hour I spent playing on the course.

Other things that I think helped me were watching and reading good instruction, a sports psychology class in high school, developing a routine during play (pre-shot, stretches before the round, course management, etc.), eating and drinking enough while I'm playing, not taking the game too seriously (bad shots inevitably happen).

Hope this helps!