Grabbing the green with putter. Help please!

Was playing a solid 9 holes today, its been a very long time since I have been on the sand trap so my profile might be a little outdated. Parred the first hole and second hole now its time for the par 5. Driver and 4 iron put me on the green and I  have a long put to the hole and there I do it. I grab the ground putting the ball about 8ft out of a 30ft putt. Then on the 9th hole I need to par it for a 39 when par is 36. Decently long putt and I grab the ground again. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong I just dont know why im doing this and it ruined a great round into a 42 which is pretty good but it could be much better without these stupid mistakes.

Used to have the same problem.. Just make sure you stay down on the putt and don't look up too soon causing your right shoulder to dip.. That worked for me..

Make sure your putting grip is not the same as your regular grip, I've seen so many good golfers (single digit) that had their putting grip almost the same as their regular grip. The putting grip should be IMO less in the gingers and more into the palms, so the putter grip sits under the thumb pad with the shaft almost paralel with your arms. I know it sounds strange but since I adopted this more upright grip for putting I have almost eliminated three putts completely.

Just saw this on GC.com the Golf Fix, this is what I'm trying to explain, image is of Michelle Wie.

That is a hell of a tip, thanks. My game on the green is horrid....

A few points you may want to consider:

1. Make sure to take several practice swings prior to putting.

2. Keep your head/eyes over the ball and not too angled.

3. Your grip should be solid and not "light".  I always grip my putter lower than normal, it works well for me.

4. When putting use less wrist (actually almost none) and more arm and shoulder in the swing.

Address and then move the putter head up, just a little bit, before you start the backswing.

Marcel White

You are chunking putts?  I find that it's best to keep the putter head above the grass.  Taking divots with a putter is a no-no

The lie could be wrong, and your bringing in the toe or the heel into play. It could be the stroke, you might be moving your head on your longer putts, causing you to bottom out behind the ball.

Well I guess not everyone is a genius like you. I honestly thought you were suppose to take divots when you putt..?

But on a more serious note I found out from a golf pro that the reason I am grabbing the ground was because I moved my head foward on the back stroke.