Putting Help

I struggle with my putting stroke.
Totally miss lines
ball doesn't go where i think im aiming it
Incredible SPEED Problems
and i also find practising putting very boring

Any help?

I think really the only advice that could be given on that one is to take some lessons and practice, practice, practice.

Two suggestions. One, get Dr. Bob Rotella's book "Putting Out Of Your Mind". Read it (or listen to it if you have the audio version like I do) a couple of times.

Two, learn to love practicing your putting. Your statement "I also find practising putting very boring" is not helping you. Not being mean, but that's some tough love for golf!!!!

I draw the line on my ball with the sharpie,pick my line and set the line on the ball to a point in that that line,align the line on the putter with the line on the ball and align my body and hit.
Speed can easily be found,you just have to gauge your backswing,A foot back can be a certain distance,e.t.c and if you hit it beyond the hole whether its 3 feet to 6 feet keep watchin the ball as this will give you your line back,i see to many people start quiting and settling for a bogey as soon as they knock it 3 to 6 feet past.Positive thinking and and watch the ball go by instead of turning your back and swearing.
That first paragraph sounds like a brain teaser with all the line,align words

You need to come up with some putting drills.

I too find putting incredibly boring unless I have some way to make it rewarding.

I find I really start having fun practicing putting when I am doing well. The way to do well is to gain confidence.

Set up 10 balls around a hole at 3-4 feet and tap them in. Keep going around the circle a couple of times.

Then trail those same 10 balls in a straight line away from a hole from 3 feet all the way back to 15-20 feet, keeping consistent spacing between them, and tap them in one after another, working your way further and further from the hole with each ball in the line. You will find that 10-12 foot putts start feeling really easy when you do this.

Another member had a great drill that is similar, set up a dozen balls in a cross pattern around a hole - 3 uphill, 3 downhill, 3 sidehill L/R, 3 sidehill R/L. Work on it until you can get all 12 into the hole in a row - if you miss one, set them all back up and start over.

A big tip is to bring an iPod and just relax.

I was hurt for a couple of weeks and spent a lot of time putting because I couldn't swing a club due to my bad back. It was great to have an excuse to work on my putting, because normally I would get bored. Not being able to do anything else really made me focus on my putting.

How can you not like putting??!!!?? Putting IS golf. Think about it: you can be in the rough, the sand, the cart path...there's 100 ways to get to the green, but only ONE way to roll the ball in the hole. You can't bounce a putt off a tree, or get a good kick off the hill. Once you get there, you, Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Freddie....you ALL look the same. Swing speed doesn't matter, driving distance, flexibility, whether you play blade musclebacks or game improvement cavity backs. YOU can step up and roll it into the hole, and save yourself strokes.

The act of putting itself is so simple, it can hurt sometimes. No one can read a green perfectly every time. However, most of us can read it 95% virtually every time. Watch your approach roll up, watch others' putts, and I bet your first read will be pretty darn good. Line yourself up, TRUST that read, and then just pretend you're rolling the ball with your hand, like a bowling ball. Speed control comes with trust, trust that your read and line are good.

First, the basics.
1. Eyes directly over ball (helps with alignment)
2. Let dominant hand do most of the work, but don't use it (in a sense).
3. Let shoulders dominant all-around putting stroke.
4. Putting grip is personal, I like a lighter grip.
5. Have your backswing and foreswing the same distance. When trying for more or less distance, don't speed up or low down the putter-head - just bring back the putter a little more. Always have the same, nice, smooth stroke.
6. Never move your head.

As for practicing, I never had a problem with being bored because in my eyes, almost all of the pressure situations and intense moments happen on the green, so I always love to putt. But the drills mentioned are good, one more basic one is to just line up 3 balls on a line and practice reading the green that way. Also, for "boring yourself," bring a friend and have a putting contest - loser buys the hot dog!

Putting practice isn't exactly fun, but you can definitely make it fun. Grab your IPod, drink you a big ole energy drink, and grab you two balls (golf balls buddy )

Get on the green and play stroke play against yourself. I find that the best way to improve is to focus on every putt and putt alot, thus practicing against yourself (your biggest enemy) and hitting lots of shots will help you. Now, when you're playing against yourself, putt from realistic places. Don't hit a ton of 6-7 footers. I don't doubt your abilities, but I am fairly confident that you have a lot more birdie putts from 20-25ft than 6-7ft. So, go to ~20ft and line your putt up and hit ball #1. Then do the same for ball #2. Continue until you have finished 18 holes. You're main goal should be to not 3-putt. Once you've finished, you should have between 36 (if you 1 putted both balls everytime ) - 72 times.

To practice 3 footers, try my 100x drill. Place your mark at 3 ft, and make 100 3-footers in a row. If you miss, start over. Once you have made, rather IF you make, 100 in a row, move back to 6 ft and do the same drill. This will help you develop a true stroke, getting the ball rolling end-over-end. If you can't get your putt rolling true at 3 feet then you will never have it rolling true at 30 feet.

DON'T CHEAT THE DRILLS. YOU'RE ONLY CHEATING YOURSELF IF YOU DO. Be honest and work hard and you will see results. I promise you. I used to be the worst putter in the world. Seriously, in High School tournaments I would have 40+ putts a round. It was really bad, 4 putts everywhere, no 1 putts, etc etc. Now, I am down to around 30-33 putts a round. It's not great, but it's a hell of a lot better.

Good luck, and let us now how it works out.

PS, next use the search feature, we've talked about this many times before.

As Lee Trevino once said "keep you putts low"

I started taking my putter back very low and it help keep my line on the follow through, try it, it might work for you.

I would suggest practicing with someone so that can help correct your putting stroke. The advantage you have is you can only get better.

How many putt do you take in a round? practice your distance control and eliminate three putts.

Have fun.

You might benefit from acquiring a cheap putting mirror. With a putting mirror you can verify your eyeline, shoulder line, and putter face angle at setup. That should help you improve your putting without the need to spend a long amount of time practicing.

Ive always found putting practice to be fun. Other than a hole-in-one, theres no better feeling in golf than sinking a long putt. I dont know what it is, but the sound of the ball rattling around inside the cup is very satisfying.
The way I always looked at it too is that the best way to lower your scores is to get better at putting.
Drive for show, putt for dough...

Putting practice can be made into a game for (whatever) especially if you can find a buddy to go to the practice green with.
I used to go with my Mom to the putting green at a local course and play 21. Basically you putt to holes - each hole is par 2. Winner picks the next hole. You need 21 stokes to win. If you go over, you start again at 1.

To get better at putting you need practice and good form. You can get one from lessons, the other is up to you.

I also believe in a lesser version of distance practice. Take 3 to 5 balls at specific intervals 18" and 36". Putt the 18" balls if you make all of those move to the next distance away. And continue until you miss, then go back to the beginning and so on. Remember to enjoy your practice time

I played today and shot an 81.

10 greens in regulation with only 2 3-putts.
a total of 37 putts.

not bad for a bit of practise. i was alot worse. the ipod helps with my boredom as well as practising close range putts.

Im just saying is that it seems that you don't like to putt.You have to love it or else everytime you are going to putt you will let shit get in to your mind and **** up!

Alignment and distance control are the two most important aspect of putting.

1) Alignment

I stand behind the ball about 5 feet and visualize a line between the ball and the hole and draw an imaginary line with my putter and then drop my putter down on that line. I then reposition the putter head so that it is perpendicular to the line. Then I position my feet parallel to the putter head so that I am square to the putting line. Now my putter is square to the hole.

I test the direction by practicing long 40-50 foot putts, if my line is off the ball direction will let me know.

2) Putting distance

For putting distance which is more important than alignment for long putts, what I do is judge my back swing distance in relation for the distance the ball needs to travel. I have two different follow through strokes. one is the have the same distance for my backswing as my follow through. Second follow through strokes is to judge the backswing and have a full follow through stroke on every putt, except maybe a 2 footer.

Hope these tips might help your putting. if you two putted every hole you will score 36 just on putts alone. so putting is half the game by itself.

once you practice these drills you will gain confidence and feel like you can make every putt you look at.

Lastly as your pre shot routine you have for your irons and driver set up you need to develop a pre putt routine for your putting, infact the pre putt routine is more important for consistent putting under pressure.

Most of the time I go to practice my putting I spend a majority of the time with one ball. I play a game that the goal is to not 3 putt. Putts range from 40ft to 10ft. If I two putt ... its a push... if I 1 putt I get a point... if I 3 putt its minus a point. Most times I will play to 10 or 15... takes me about an hour or so and no first putts are gimmes. This seems to help me with my speed and reading of putts more than anything.

This drill has helped me immensely improve my game. I cant get it from tee to green for **** but I can get it in the whole in minimal strokes once I get there. I average around 29-30 putts a round which i think is pretty decent so once I can actually get a correct consistant swing maybe I will start scoring.