i need help with short putts

[andre112]

i have a putting mat with ball return at home.
i spend a lot of time on it.
i can make 100 3 ft putts straight without too much problem.
but on the real green i have trouble making short putts even at 3 ft.
i have no confidence at all.
i don't know where to aim nor how big of a stroke to make.
i either missed the hole by an inch or blew the putt 3 ft pass the hole.
so i started doing the mickelson drill
put 4 to 5 balls at 3ft form the hole and see how many i can make continuously
i can't make pass 20. most of the time i missed at 3rd or 4th putt.
this really sucks.

on the other hand, my lagging is quite good (to my expectation).
i can usually lag long putts to 6ft or shorter.
however if i leave myself more than a tap-in, it spells 3 putts.
so i average about 36 putts per round

[Pinseeker81]

Just a couple ideas that have worked for me lately, YMMV.
Look at the hole while putting these short ones on the practice green (I may even try it while playing, but that one is up to you). Think about the speed it would take to just kinda roll the ball to the hole with your hand as if bowling it. Just kinda soak up how it looks and let your brain do the physics for you.

Just something to try anyway.

[x-forged]

you know, i had the same problem and still do sometimes. for me, it has a lot to do with confidence and not being afraid to put the ball in the hole with some authority. You have to give it a good stroke. thats my thought. take it straight back and straight through, no deceleration.

also, with these short, 3 foot strokes, keep the putter stroke compact, less room for error IMO.

i use the phil mickelson drill a LOT, and overtime it develops consistency. i suggest to keep doing it and you'll see improvement.

[JaY_B]

The key to short putts is a brisk routine, problems stem from standing over the ball looking to the hole and back to the ball numerous times or just standing over the ball completely still until you feel ready to pull the trigger. Doing this you means you lose all retention of the feel of your practise putting strokes and where the hole is.

Another problem is looking up early to see if the ball has gone in to the hole, and body movement during the putting stroke, through experimentation I have come up with a way of avoiding this (although admittedly the idea was inspired by Faldo).

My way of avoiding this is to simply focus on your left knee cap during the putting stroke, and until the ball is in the hole, this stops you from looking up too early, provides feedback on how much body movement you have and also puts your head in a good set up position at address.

I would suggest you copy Arron Baddeleys putting routine as closely as you comfortably can, set up to the ball, one look at the hole, focus your eyes on your left knee cap, pull the trigger. Do this without any hesitation, pull the trigger straight away instead of waiting until you feel 'ready' and you will hole more short putts on the course, guaranteed.

JaY_B

[Finn07]

Sounds like this is a total mental thing going on here. Reason I say this is that you have no problem making these putts at home, but no offense, I dont put too much stock in those ball return gadgets at home.

You need to get yourself into a routine and keep that same routine at all times when you putt. My advice to you would be only to work on these short putts especially before you get out on the golf course. I would say start at about 2 feet, and dont just rake ball after ball.

Take one or two balls on the practice green with you and get from two feet away. Read the putt, choose an extremely tiny target, whether it be a blade of grass or a dirt mark inside of the cup. Line yourself up, take one more glance at that target and nothing else, look back at your ball and immediately let the putt go. You'll start making more putts, then back yourself up to three feet and do the same thing. I would also recommend a short compact stroke from that range, dont get too elongated on the backstroke, more room for error like someone else mentioned above. But the most important thing is keep the same routine every single time, do not rake ball after ball regardless of what you see on television, it will get your mind in the right place every time. Hope this helps.

[andre112]

Just a couple ideas that have worked for me lately, YMMV.

I tried looking at the hole. I tend to manipulate my wrists if I do look.

But bowling thing thing is a great idea. I'll give that a try.

you know, i had the same problem and still do sometimes. for me, it has a lot to do with confidence and not being afraid to put the ball in the hole with some authority. You have to give it a good stroke. thats my thought. take it straight back and straight through, no deceleration.

Thanks. I'll keep on doing it.

The key to short putts is a brisk routine, problems stem from standing over the ball looking to the hole and back to the ball numerous times or just standing over the ball completely still until you feel ready to pull the trigger. Doing this you means you lose all retention of the feel of your practise putting strokes and where the hole is.

I never paid attention to Baddeleys routine. It is so fast.

I'll try that next time.

Sounds like this is a total mental thing going on here. Reason I say this is that you have no problem making these putts at home, but no offense, I dont put too much stock in those ball return gadgets at home.

I did realize the ball return thing was no good. After many successes with it but no correlation on the real green. I'll start with 2 ft. and go thru the same routine. Build some confidence. Thanks for the advice.

[JaY_B]

The key is a brisk routine, Baddeley's would most likely be too quick for most golfers, My point is that most amateur golfers waste too much time when putting, if golfers were more decisive and didn't 'diddle daddle' when putting their putting stats would improve.

[Daddy Golfer]

I have a practice drill I picked up from a golf pro that helps my confidence on short putts (3ft or less).
Find the flattest part of the green, stick a tee in the ground. One foot away place your ball and stick tees on both sides of the ball, now move the ball 1 more foot away and practice putting the ball through the 2 tees to hit the single tee. This is a 2 foot practice drill, make 10 straight putts without hitting the two tees. When you done with that, take another foot back and do the same thing, 3 foot practice drill. If you want to make it harder take another foot back for a 4 foot drill and so forth. By that time hitting the single tee isn't the object, it's getting through the two 'Guard' tees.

Do this enough times and you'll have far more confidence to sink those short putts. Plus it will help with your alignment, which was my biggest problem. What I thought was straight turned out to be a bit right. If you keep hitting the guard tees have a friend line you up to see what is straight. For me, I'm right handed but I'm left eye dominant so when I look at the ball from above I line up a bit to the right of my intended line, which LOOKS straight to me. So now I close my left eye and line up properly plus I putt with my left eye close so I don't 'Peek' at the hole during the putt. Found this out all from doing this drill.

Give it a try.

[The Gill]

Ball returns from home helped my groove some bad habits. Some book I read said you should only practice putting from home without a ball (i.e., only work the stroke and setup).

One of the most important part of feel is sound, so you really need to be practicing listening to that ball drop.

Pick up Rotella's putting book. It'll explain it all in detail.

[Three Putt]

Try this.... On short putts have the putter at least 2 inches behind the ball, you will take a short backstroke and a long follow though, the short backstroke will eliminate the weaving effect on the backstroke. It has helped me.

[Finn07]

Try this.... On short putts have the putter at least 2 inches behind the ball, you will take a short backstroke and a long follow though, the short backstroke will eliminate the weaving effect on the backstroke. It has helped me.

I hope you mean just to maybe, at best, practice like that? Reason Im saying is that when he gets to a putt of 10 feet now he has to have a completely different routine. Sticking with the same routine every time is better, instead of manipulating it on shorter putts.

[Daddy Golfer]

Try this.... On short putts have the putter at least 2 inches behind the ball, you will take a short backstroke and a long follow though, the short backstroke will eliminate the weaving effect on the backstroke. It has helped me.

This reminds me of my first golf instructor, he would do this on all putts. This would seem to work best if your the straight back straight through putter. Might be hard to square the putter for the arc putter. But to think of it for short putts straight back and through is the best option.

[Doctorfro]

Three footers, especially breakers, can be knee knockers. I feel people make more of this than there is. Putt length does not matter. It's all line and speed. Pick a line and a speed and, here's the key, TRUST it. You're not going to make them all, short or long ones. Yes we are definitely going to make more short ones (law of sports and physics). But if you mentally psyche yourself out putting you're going to miss alot. I used to play basketball. For my career I was an 80 percent free throw shooter. When I stepped to the line I KNEW i was going to make every one. Well, not really, but, that was my attitude. If you think you can make it you're one step towards actually doing it. Of course spending time practicing is a given.

[Borf]

Just put the ball in the hole, it comes down to that

[andre112]

Just put the ball in the hole, it comes down to that

are you explaining how this "golf" game is played?

if you could, please elaborate.

[Leek]

i have no confidence at all.

The answer is confidence. Once you are confident you wont worry about 3 footers and you'll make them. As far as the clock drill, you just have to break through. Start by making 12 in a row, for a few days, then increase the number to 15, then 18, then 21, etc. Commit to yourself that you don't care how long it takes, you will make your quota for the day, and don't stop until you do. I'm not sure I'd be willing to commit to 100 in a row, but then I'm not on tour. When I do this, I've never tried to get past 40 in a row. Trust me, that's tough enough for me.

[Borf]

just step up to the ball, think about what you want to happen, and then do that
dont worry about the method, the how or why

just look at the hole, tell yourself what you want to happen, and then do exactly that