Putting routine/question

Usually i warm up before a round, i get a feel for the green speed, get quite technical on how much take away/follow through i want on 10ft, 20ft, 30ft, 40ft etc..  but in the end i still have poor putts.

this past weekend played back to back days, both were a bit rushed (due to road detours, or early tee time).. anyhow no time to warm up.. rolled maybe 5 balls..  On the green, just stared at the hole a bit, and went with feel for the putts.. somehow made consistently 4fts, and lagged 10ft+ consistently to within 3-4ft..

I haven't practiced or suddently gotten better.. how did putting become so much more consistent without the mental mechanical thoughts?

Paralysis by analysis comes to mind.

Bingo!  Putting is a feel skill.  Too much is dependent on just feeling the distance and mentally adjusting for slope.  I've never met a mechanical player who I couldn't out putt.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about a putt.  I make my read from behind the ball, pick the spot on the the line for my aiming point, I take one practice stroke while looking at that spot, then I address the ball.  The last thing I do before I stroke a putt is look at the hole, then follow the line with my eyes from there back to the ball.  That sets the "feel" in my head, and I just go with it.  It takes longer to read that than it does for me to actually do it.

I never practice putting at a hole, and I never will.

I practice putting down a chalk line and/or practice putting at a dime.

On the course the last time I look at the hole is when I'm standing behind the ball picking an intermediate spot within a foot or two of the ball. At that point I am judging the speed and distance in my mind. After that I am not even aware that there is a hole. My only goal is to make the best roll I can make over my intermediate spot.

My favorite practice is to roll 4 balls with lines around them down a chalk line about 8 feet long trying to make each ball stop against the previous ball until all 4 balls are on the chalk line and touching each other, with the lines around all 4 balls on the chalk line.

The line around each ball must roll down the chalk line with no wobble.

When I have been practicing as much as I should I can actually "see" the chalk line (that's not really there) on the course.

Which reminds me. I need to practice putting tonight. I haven't practiced in a while and I didn't roll the ball very well Saturday for the first time in a long time.