Putting: Art vs Science

I have to say that putting is probably my favorite part of the game, possibly because the putter is the club I'm least likely to duff a stroke with.

Kidding aside (I wasn't kidding), as I practice putting I'm facing a fork in the path of my putting mental game.

My question to you all is: Do you line up your putt out of instinct or with calculated precision? In other words, how much of it is art, and how much of it is science?

The only sport that I've ever been good at is basketball. With basketball, a lot of shooting the ball is instinct. Knowing how much arc to put on a shot depending on the circumstances of your momentum, distance, height in the air or whatnot, and how you lead the basket based on your body's movement at the release of the ball, is hard to precisely calculate for every shot. And you don't have much time to plan each shot, you frequently have make the decision to shoot and actually execute the shot within one or two seconds. Most of it is just guesstimate, good shooters are generally good estimators. This is why basketball magazines don't have articles every month examining different strategies for shooting each type of basket, whereas...

In golf you have a lot of time to prepare for a shot, plus time you may have while waiting for others to first hit. Because of this, you could, with the necessary training, make a very detailed analysis of the putting green and account for every bit of it.

When I first started golfing, I took a very instinctive approach to putting (as well as the rest of the game) because I had basically no experience or data to pull from, so I just did what looked about right -- the natural thing for a beginner to do, most likely. However, I have become more detailed in my putting strokes over time. I have yet to become a truly good putter, but I think I've done decently and made putting the strongest point of my game, which is admittedly not saying much. But I think I've reached a point where I'm starting to over-think my putts and have caused myself harm by doing so. The past few games I played last year I was constantly over-accounting for breaks or rubs in the green. Long putts I once two-putted I started three putting. Once-guaranteed 5-footers became sweaty 50/50 toss-ups. Rather than just simply try to make a good putt, I was trying to add up every break and rub and determine the exact angle I should hit the ball at.

So my specific question is: How much of putting should I leave to instinct, and how much should I focus on precisely calculating? Obviously I'm still not very experienced as far as reading greens go, and my lack of success in reading them is to be expected, but at what level of detail is it reasonable to say that I will be consistently over-thinking a putt?

I know that the right answer differs for each player, but I would like specific opinions or testimonies as to how you guys approach each putt, so I feel less like I'm groping in the dark.

Bottom line: I don't want to hurt my putting game by religiously over-thinking putts, but I don't want to disadvantage myself by not taking advantage of data available to me. Any advice?

To me putting is an art, but while I am looking over a putt, I do some calculation on what line to start the putt and what distance I need to roll the ball otherwise I only focus on two things when I putt.

distance control and hitting a solid straight putt with my last thought is distance.

I likely miss 1/3 of my putts each way.

I typically plan for the best leave (i.e. where do I want to be positioned for my 4th putt).

i think b-con summarized very well the issues facing golfers when putting. i like the comparison with b ball where with golf, the availability of time may work both ways and often against the golfer.

first of, we have to define art,,,is it about creativity, superior skills or even something metaphysical, like the effects left upon us from say, some paintings or music? are there some elements of inborn potentials when it comes to reading the green correctly or feeling for the correct speed and distance?

even though we tend to argue over technical issues, there are some basic principles of putting that are universally accepted. for instance, to keep our body still during putting has scientific reasoning behind it. stroking through is preferred to jabbing at the ball. etc, etc,etc. imo, to be a reasonably good putter, a solid foundation should be in place based on science.

however, to go beyond that, to be an incredible putter, things are not that clear. for some, working extremely hard and smart will bring them somewhere. for others, working hard and smart may not be enough. i think inborn talents help make that distinction, nature in the right dose combining with nurture in the right dose. and then, at the right place and the right time

further, one key element of putting is confidence or trust. the closest branch of science dealing with that is perhaps psychology and psychology among disciplines in science is usually considered soft core. how do you feel about that?

I voted for the first one. I am not sure if you can seperate the science and art in putting. To me I read greens based on experiences I've had and what I see. I know based on my practice with the putting tutor just how much you have to aim for break and I try to error on the high side if any. I play the same greens alot so I really don't have to read them much. The only thing I do is squat behind, use the line on the ball, and focus on speed.

It's both an art and a science. The science part is looking at all the variables: slope, greenspeed, high and low points, fall line, etc. The art is visuazlizing the putt going in and feeling the proper stroke to get it started on your intended line at the intended speed. Then its a matter of letting gravity take over and seeing where the putt ends up.

Instinct. I take a look at the break and the speed of the green for a few seconds and then I hit my putt.

Im going to go with an art. Just like in Basketball, when you shoot a 3 pointer you dont think of all the science behind the shot. You look at the rim and your brain tells your arms to throw the ball just hard enough to get it in the hoop and swish. When i go to hit a long putt i approach it the same way. I dont think of all the science behind it. I look at the slope of the green, look at the cup and hit the ball. Somehow i am an amazing putter and that is the best part of my game. I look at my line and take a practice stroke for my line, take another for my speed and the third hits the ball. It works for me.

The second option (green's biggest feature and instinct) defines my approach well. I look for the most obvious break then try to feel out any nuances or secondary breaks. Then I line myself up, try to mentally picture the shot, then I pull the trigger.

When I'm lining up a putt, I first look for spots around the green where I know the ball more than likely should NOT break (bunkers, elevated tiers, etc.) and see if there are any tricky places where it'll break that way (drainage that goes toward and then around the bunker, sloped toward the tier, etc). Once I get a feel for the general direction of the break, I'll stand behind the ball and trace a line from the hole back to the ball that I think the ball will travel on. I start this by determining angle the ball will drop in the cup from (think clock face time things) and start the line out in a direction from that angle.

The determination of the break based on calculations; the line I draw is based on instincts

To me putting is definitely an art, not science. I base my putting an assessment of the green's biggest feature, and use instinct for the rest. That usually entails focusing on the last part of putt as the first third has very little to do with break since the ball is moving so fast.

Learning a good stroke is mostly science and practice. After you've learned to make a proper stroke, actually hitting a good putt is mostly art. If you make a good stroke with no feel and no sense of speed vs. break then you'll never make a good putt. So for me I say that good putting is more of an art form.

I don't see what art has to do with this.

I'd say "Touch vs science". To putt, we need both. We need the science/technology in the putters to get the ball rolling true, have a club that is weighted properly and feels good. To get the correct speed and direction you need touch and a visualization of the line of the putt.

That was actually part of what was throwing me when I transitioned to detailed analysis. On putts that started on a noticeable break, I was over-compensating consistently. I think I need to just forget about the initial break, adjust only a little to accommodate it, and put my focus on the last half of the distance.

I think that may be helpful for me. Dedicate one swing to alignment and one to distance. I try to do both on my practice swing(s), but I'm not a good distance reader. Even when I do judge power correctly in my head, my yips are generally distance related, so I may judge how much distance I need and then flat out not hit the ball as hard as I'd wanted to. So doing just a distance practice stroke may be helpful. Thanks for sharing that.

Definitely helpful. But could you elaborate on what you mean by "variety of putts"? I assume you mean a variety of strategies, because your actual putting stroke only varies for power, right?

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I'd honestly expected option C to get a higher percentage of the votes, but looking at all the (reportedly ) low handicaps answering A and B has convinced me that my transition in putting strategy definitely led to over-thinking.

For this subject, "touch" and art art pretty much the same thing. Both are left brain functions. Both involve seeing and feeling what you want to do, then executing the vision. It doesn't necessarily require any high tech equipment either. There have always been players who putt very successfully with simple flat blade or Bullseye type putters, and that's about as low tech as you can get. The equipment is more about something that feels good in your hands, and that is right back to the arty side of putting.

For me, putting and chipping are 95% art and 5% science (i.e. technique). I've known guys who put a lot more into the science side of it, but they rarely played any better than the guys like me who learned to just feel those shots.