Putting revamp worked!

[Ben]

So I've never considered myself the greatest putter of all time. And last week my putting stroke just felt awful, so I thought to myself, "why don't I try something new?" I picked up my Hogan's Power Golf book and read his theory on putting. I switched my grip from a baseball grip, to the reverse overlap that Hogan suggests, and what a difference that made. My stroke feels so much more solid. But I wasn't completely satisfied. I wanted to start making the 15+ footers. Which, let's face it, if one is going to shoot low, one has to make a few long putts per round.

For that I went to a tip I heard John Cook make one time. He says on his long putts he picks out a spot a few feet on from of his ball to aim at, and to roll the ball on that line, instead of trying to aim at the hole. Well I took it a step further to make it even easier. Now I aim at something no more than 6 inches from my ball.

On number one I had an uphill 30 footer that was dead on line, just a few feet short. Number two I made a 17 footer that was uphill that I played about two feet of left to right break on. Number four I made a nice 6 footer for birdie without any self doubt, just went right in the heart. Number 5, the same as one, where I had the line perfect from over 20 feet, just a tad short. Six I had a testy 4 foot downhill slider, that I made for par. On seven made a double breaking downhill 20 footer for birdie. And those were the good putts I made. Finished 1 over for the nine.

The ninth was my only unacceptable bogey. Missed the green from 115, then failied to make a tricky 5 footer for par, which, in my mind, I really thought I was going to make.

If anyone has putting problems, I'd suggest giving your stroke a makeover!

[iacas]

I've always putted fairly well, and the weird thing is I use the same grip as I do with my driver. Simple overlap grip (not reverse). I've tried switching, and it feels funny. If it ain't broke, after all...

[MJonGolf]

A stroke makeover is exactly what I'm working on this winter. I am practicing on the carpet everyday - 70 to 100 putts. I use a 10 finger grip (hands separated and grip in the palms underneath the pad of the thumbs). My stroke is a piston type with the dominant hand (left hand is only for stability). Practice distance is 3 feet. This is based on the same technique of turning every putt into a 3 foot putt by picking a spot along the target line. The objective of the practice is to be able to hit the spot 3 feet out every time. So far I have turned a my 50% previous result into 90% or better. My misses are usually due to letting my right hand release and pull the ball.

[pahonix]

I never knew where that came from - picking a spot 6" or so from the ball and putting to that, not at the hole - but I've been doing it for quite some and have had success with it. Chipping is more my problem.