Pulling Putts Left - How to Fix

[khalespace]

I just bought a 6 feet putting mat for my office. I notice that I am pulling the putts left and the balls enter the hole on the left side. If the mat is over 9 feet I think the balls would lip the hole. I checked the floor with a level and I am sure that it is flat because I turned the mat around and the same thing happens. I never notice this because you can't know for sure on the putting greens.

Do I open up the putter face 1 or 2 degrees to fix this or fix my putting stroke?

[Vinsk]

20 minutes ago, khalespace said:

I just bought a 6 feet putting mat for my office. I notice that I am pulling the putts left and the balls enter the hole on the left side. If the mat is over 9 feet I think the balls would lip the hole. I checked the floor with a level and I am sure that it is flat because I turned the mat around and the same thing happens. I never notice this because you can't know for sure on the putting greens.

Do I open up the putter face 1 or 2 degrees to fix this or fix my putting stroke?

Two drills: First get a metal yardstick and putt the ball down its length. You’ll quickly learn to correct your stroke as the ball goes off the stick..left in your case.

Second ( and can combine this with first) is make a gate with tees or any two objects just barely wider than your putter head. Practice making your stroke without hitting your gate.

[Piz]

I was watching the Golf Channel years ago.  A guy called in and said "I've been pulling my putz a lot lately".  The hosts refrained from laughing but I did not.  I figured the correct answer was "As long as you are discreet about it and don't hold up play...enjoy yourself".  But seriously...I pull putts when I peek.  If my head turns during the stroke the putt goes left of where I intended it to.  My solution is to focus on the line, and the pace, rather than previewing the result.

[IowaGreg]

Try keeping your right elbow against your body through the stroke.  Should keep the putter on a straight path instead of a slight arc.....

 

[dennyjones]

This was such a big problem for me and part of it was what @Piz suggested.   I switched to left hand low to putt.   It's not for everyone but works for me.    I practice what @Vinsk suggests, it pays dividends, highly recommended. 

[Patch]

Might try something easier first. Just move the ball back in your stance.

It possible you are contacting the ball after the putter face has started to close a little.

A good drill is to put a coin down 18" inches in front of the ball and practice putting the ball over the coin. If you can hit the coin consistently, you are hitting a straight putt, with a square putter face. 

[khalespace]

On 11/2/2020 at 8:41 PM, Vinsk said:

Two drills: First get a metal yardstick and putt the ball down its length. You’ll quickly learn to correct your stroke as the ball goes off the stick..left in your case.

Second ( and can combine this with first) is make a gate with tees or any two objects just barely wider than your putter head. Practice making your stroke without hitting your gate.

I am trying this drill and keep hitting part of the gate but I am getting better. Balls still going left slightly but definitely better putter contact. I remember seeing Tiger using this drill. It is amazing that we don't make contact at the center of the putter often.

IowaGreg, I tried to keep my right elbow closer to my body but didn't see a difference. I am trying a more aggressive follow through [rather than decelerating] and keep the putter head going more straight like you suggested and I think it helped a lot.

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by khalespace

[mdl]

I splurged on an Edel putter recently. You might consider that you're just aiming left! Part of their fitting is a laser point on a little stand so it sits flat to the ground raised up to center golf ball height. Then they put a tiny mirror sticker on the putter face. From 6 feet they have you aim at the laser pointer, which is sitting on its little stand in front of a screen. Then they turn the pointer on. The reflection shows whether you aim left/right and high/low. I was aiming consistently right, even from 6 feet! I'm considering creating the same setup for myself at home to keep tabs on my aim!

[Darkfrog]

Just now, mdl said:

I splurged on an Edel putter recently. You might consider that you're just aiming left! Part of their fitting is a laser point on a little stand so it sits flat to the ground raised up to center golf ball height. Then they put a tiny mirror sticker on the putter face. From 6 feet they have you aim at the laser pointer, which is sitting on its little stand in front of a screen. Then they turn the pointer on. The reflection shows whether you aim left/right and high/low. I was aiming consistently right, even from 6 feet! I'm considering creating the same setup for myself at home to keep tabs on my aim!

I second this.

I'm considering an Edel putter too. I take lessons at place that does Edel fitting, and my teacher had me do the aiming thing you describe and turns out I was aiming high and right. Just took a correction to my posture/stance, and ball position and I was hitting much straigther.

[mdl]

7 minutes ago, Darkfrog said:

I second this.

I'm considering an Edel putter too. I take lessons at place that does Edel fitting, and my teacher had me do the aiming thing you describe and turns out I was aiming high and right. Just took a correction to my posture/stance, and ball position and I was hitting much straigther.

What was the shift you made?

[Darkfrog]

1 minute ago, mdl said:

What was the shift you made?

My eye line was too far away from the ball, so I changed my posture so my eyes were about 1/2-ball inside the putting line (basically bent more at waist and moved a little closer to the ball so my eyes were more over the ball). When I address the ball, I consciously deloft the putter face with a bit of forward hand press. Also changed ball position to be a little more forward in my stance.

[easyjay39402]

When I am missing short putts left, I check 3 things, from easiest to hardest to fix.

1. Am I moving my head towards the hole? If yes, my shoulders will follow. Easy, immediate fix. Keep the head steady.

2. Have I moved the ball forward in my stance? This usually affects my entire game. So if I am also pulling my irons, this is the problem. 

3. Is my left (dominant) eye directly over the target line? If it is inside the line, my putter will look like it is pointing to the right, even though it is square to the line, so when I putt I pull it left. Fix requires some practice. I place an alignment stick down pointing to the hole. Then  adjust my eyes over the ball until the face looks like it is square to the alignment stick. It takes me a lot of reps to retrain my eyes. Fortunately I can do this at home.