How to get a truer roll when putting?

[klaymon]

I have a couple of situations that I don't know how to correct. These are not common, but they happen enough that I want to figure it out.

Sometimes, the ball will "skitter" when I strike it. I can hear it scrubbing on the green (almost like it has backspin) and this knocks all the wind out of the shot so, naturally, I come up short.

Other times, the ball will seem to bounce a lot right at the start. It's rolling, but coming way off the surface (like it has a lot of topspin). This usually leads to not taking the break I had intended.

I tend to play the ball a bit forward in my stance. No particular reason other than to maybe avoid hitting down on it. I've had no coaching on putting so anything I'm doing, I've made up.

Thanks.

[Pinseeker81]

Maybe you're playing it far enough forward to be catching it well on the upstroke, causing the jumping? The only way you'd be getting backspin is hitting down. Inconsistant stroke hitting down on one, and up on the next? Just thinking out loud, so if not just ignore me, lol.
I like to play mine dead center or just slightly forward (half a ball or less) to just barely catch any upstroke.

[Doctorfro]

I've spent countless hours practicing my stroke to accomplish just this. Finding the point at the very bottom of your stroke or just slightly forward of that is the key as well as making a very smooth stroke. Many people I see tend to "pop" at the ball rather than making a smooth stroke through the ball. Another key is making square contact at impact. Try setting the putter down behind the ball and then making your grip, checking that your shoulders are also square. I see many who think they are square but shoulders are slightly open at address. When I find myself not putting well this is usually the culprit.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Well the ball will skid a little when you first hit it, thats natural. If I were to give advice here, I would first begin by carfully examining the way you putt. Do you swing the putter in a arcing motion (close the face back- sqaure - close face fisinh) or do you putt up and down in a pendelgum motion. (grip a pen in your fingertips at the very top of the pen and swing it to get an idea what im talking about) There is really no wrong way to set up over a putt as long as your head is over or a little behind the ball, so i wouldnt worry about that.

Next, examine the way you're addressing the club. Is the shaft leaning forward (towards your target) or backward? (away from target) both of these will add or decrease loft in a putter head. Both are bad. You should try to fully sole the putter to the grass sqaure. If you're leaning the shaft forward, when you strike the ball you're going to push the ball into the ground before it moves forward, thus scrubbing momentum and creating backspin. If you're leaning it backwards, your increasing loft on the putter head and the ball will jump from the face.

Once you have all of these factors figured. You can make the subtle adjustments to your stroke. But dont allow your putter to adjust you, you adjust the putter. Also remember smooth tempo is key for distance control, so dont rush to strike the ball.

[klaymon]

I putt more of an arc motion instead of pendulum. My head is behind the ball and directly over the line, this I know.

I'll say that I try to get the shaft perpendicular to the ground, but I can't promise that I am. One thing that someone in my foursome said was "I notice you never ground your putter." He's right and I'm not sure why I don't. Can this be an issue?

I've been told by the same guys that I have a good touch on the green as far as speed, so I think my stroke is OK as far as not jabbing at the ball.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I putt more of an arc motion instead of pendulum. My head is behind the ball and directly over the line, this I know.

I've never seen a good putter hoover behind the ball per sea, but you do need to align the face to the ball where you're striking it on the meat of the face and not the top or bottom edges of it. But i belive if you're skidding the ball to the hole it the shaft angle is most likely the culprit. If you putt in a pedulem motion, try to get your ball postion to where you are striking the ball right at the bottom of that arc. Dont look up to watch the ball after it leaves. If you've done you're job with the strike, it will drop into the cup.

[iacas]

I'll say that I try to get the shaft perpendicular to the ground, but I can't promise that I am.

Did I read that correctly? Why would you want to do that? It should be at about a 70° angle.

As for your grounding of the putter, I think you should. It's got to be awfully tough to make sure that you're lined up properly if you're hovering the putter. It can move heel to toe and cause you to mis-hit the ball slightly.

[AmenCorner]

Practice, practice, practice.

[klaymon]

Did I read that correctly? Why would you want to do that? It should be at about a 70° angle.

The shaft is not truly perpendicular, but in respect to it being tilted toward the hole or away, it is neither.

[iacas]

The shaft is not truly perpendicular, but in respect to it being tilted toward the hole or away, it is neither.

Oh, I get it. Yeah, most putters like to do that.

[klaymon]

The other reason I said perpendicular is my putter has a bent shaft at the bottom that is straight down into the head instead of a straight shaft at an angle. So, really part of the shaft is truly perpendicular to the ground. Sorry for the confusion.

[Socrates]

Keep your head still, ball forward in your stance (this can vary depending upon the break you are playing, but just work with it forward at first), ground your club and then step into position. Putt with your shoulders and forearms and not your wrists and concentrate on the stroke, not hitting the ball.

[itzzzberny]

did you try the golf glove under your lead putting arm drill?
put a glove under your lead armpit, when you use the correct stroke, the glove should stay under your armpit. if it falls than your letting your lead arm come off your body. the putting swing is like a pendulum.

[golf_junkie27]

This site did a review on various Dave Pelz putting drills, the equipment he offers and a link to his site. Take a look at the putting tape he sells. This allows you to see what type of contact you are making. Additionally, he offers an alignment/posture aid. Both are inexpensive.

FWIW, here is the link.

http://www.pelzgolf.com/pelzgolf.aspx

[iacas]

This site did a review on various Dave Pelz putting drills, the equipment he offers and a link to his site.

I'm not sure I understand you. What's "this site"? The "pelzgolf.com" site??

[SubPar]

If you strike down on the back of the ball you will get some backspin. I too have noticed the skidding effect which very much influences pace.

I try to hit with a slight upstroke which imparts a little overspin and produces a truer roll. However, I often fall back into the bad habit of imparting backspin on my putts which makes distance controll more difficult.

It also helps to have an even pace on the putting stroke. If you sort-off stab at it, you can cause a lot of spin.

Subpar

[golf_junkie27]

I'm not sure I understand you. What's "this site"? The "pelzgolf.com" site??

By "this site," I meant the Sand Trap. In the "Review" tab, there was an article about becoming a better putter. It had some pics detailing a Dave Pelz putting apparatus and took me to his website.

[iacas]

By "this site," I meant the Sand Trap. In the "Review" tab, there was an article about becoming a better putter. It had some pics detailing a Dave Pelz putting apparatus and took me to his website.

OK, that's why you confused me... We've never reviewed anything by Dave Pelz. Three articles link to pelzgolf though:

This review of horrible putting glasses , this article , and this article . I don't really care for Pelz' techniques, though.