Downhill, left to right 4 footers

[mn723]

I really have a problem making a good stroke at these putts. As a right handed golfer these are generally accepted as the toughest putts to make from short range, but that shouldn't keep us from making them. I always seem to make a very poor stroke, usually outside to inside stroke, thus cutting the putt and missing it right. Does anyone have tips on these? If I try to make a very short backswing it seems to help, but I still tend to cut and then miss these putts.

[Franco!]

Play a bit more break and trust your line.
You're probably not releasing the putterhead.

[ROZE5150]

be sure to align your feet with the break of the putt, i had a tendancy of aligning my feet towards the hole and trying to cut the ball and would miss a lot on the low side.

pick your line, align the putter face, and your feet hips shoulders etc on that same path and trust your stoke youll find yourself gain a lot of confidence

[srjorion]

I have learned to love these putts! They are the toughest for me, so when I get one I just think how awesome it is going to be when I hole it. It has actually worked for me to the point where I have been making more of those and less of the easier putts lately. If you walk up to one of these putts dreading it you will just increase your chances of missing.


Nothing beats finding a good putt like this on the practice green or creating one with a tee if there isn't a hole available.

[JackieTreehorn]

If it is severely downhill or if the green is really fast, sometimes it helps to hit the ball off the toe of the putter (not hitting the ball at sweet spot). It takes "hitting through the break" out of your mind a bit and allows you to finish your stroke.

[chingali]

I don't mind the old downhill left to right putt but I am basically a lag style putter anyway and I have found that guys who die the ball in to the hole handle this type of putt better than those who hit them with a bit of speed.

Years ago when I used to play in a lot of state level tournaments etc where you'd be putting on VERY fast greens most of the time I was given a tip by a former tour player I used to play a fair bit with (yes he played on your PGA tour). His tip was on very fast downhill putts you actually hit the ball out off the toe of the putter so that the ball comes off the putter dead, you need to make a slightly firmer stroke than normal because of the less than solid impact and this helps allow you to maintain good acceleration throughout your stroke. I still putt like this when the need arises and have found it a great help, maybe you could give it a go.

He also gave me another tip along the same lines for hitting little flop shots around greens out of the rough, hit the flop shot out towards the toe of your wedge so the ball comes off dead. Again it lets you maintain greater clubhead speed which is a bonus for getting through the rough without having the clubhead grab and turn over, it's a good idea to practice the shot a fair bit though to get a feel for how much harder you need to swing at the ball before trying it in a round.

[chingali]

If it is severely downhill or if the green is really fast, sometimes it helps to hit the ball off the toe of the putter (not hitting the ball at sweet spot). It takes "hitting through the break" out of your mind a bit and allows you to finish your stroke.

If I hadn't ducked in to the kitchen to make myself a coffee while in the middle of writing my post then my post above wouldn't have been a carbon copy of yours!

[Ian]

If it is severely downhill or if the green is really fast, sometimes it helps to hit the ball off the toe of the putter (not hitting the ball at sweet spot). It takes "hitting through the break" out of your mind a bit and allows you to finish your stroke.

wow i've never heard of this before does it really work?

[Backspin]

Yes, hitting off the toe does help. Either way you pick a line and a pace and just give it a try. People make way too much of this game...

[iacas]

wow i've never heard of this before does it really work?

Technically, for a left-to-righter, the instructors usually want you to hit the ball towards the heel, not the toe. It starts the ball higher and with a bit less speed.

For a right-to-lefter, off the toe is the way to go. Personally, I'd rather hit everything on the sweet spot. I can still die the ball at the cup that way.