Harder Part Of Putting

[thumper07]

Like it says which do you think is the harder part of putting. Finding and picking the correct line or making a good stroke.

I think for me right now making a good stroke is harder.

-matt

[Smallville]

I've always been able to get the ball toward the hole. My biggest problem is leaving it short. When it doesn't near the hole it's usually because I mis-hit it; I rarely mis-read it badly, though that will happen on occasion. Unfortunately I don't usually read it good enough to one putt. Occasionally they will drop, but I most of the time leave it close enough to make the second putt.

Unfortunately for me, I take more shots than I would like getting to the green!

[titaniummd]

Trying to determine the slope of the ground before the hole on a shorter putt from 4 to 8 feet.

I am a mechanical putter so distance is not usually the issue.

[Bogie Hokie]

I chose making good stroke as my problem. I have made several big benders that drop into the side of the cup. Alignment is rarely my issue, I actually enjoy attempting putts that break.
As for putting a good stroke on the ball, I'm working on that. I either hit it too soft or too right. I have SBST stroke and I am now looking for a putter that is more suited for my stroke. The reason I hit longer putts to the right is because of the toe weighting on the White Hot XG #1. As I begin to move the putter back through, the toe opens the face up and I push the shot right. To counter this, I sometimes take too soft of a backstroke or forwardstroke to keep the face from opening up and I leave the putt short.

[zeg]

What I can't figure out is why, regardless of length, I can consistently either leave it about 5 feet short or 10 feet long. Nowhere in between it seems...

[golfdad]

in general, distance control seems to be the most challenging. we rarely miss the line/break that bad, meaning at most 1-2 feet sideways if we screw up. however, we miss the correct distance more often than not, way longer than 1-2 feet.

if we have great distance control but poor line read, the worst is perhaps 2 putts because 1-2 feet should be ok for most folks.

we end up doing 3 putts mostly because we miss the distance, and then have to 2 putt a 6 footer.

distance control is particularly challenging for my juniors because they often play a new course each week for competition, with no prior knowledge of the course.

and the more courses you play with different green speeds, the better a golfer you will be because you will have built up the database of feel.

yet, if we aim to shoot in the 60s. then we really have to devote a significant amt of time and energy simply learning to read the putt for one putt, which, for practical reasons, does not really apply here.

[geezer]

For me, right now, the stroke is the bit that is letting me down. And mystroke is in a really bad place at the minuite.

[allin]

I have a very simple putting style, and good distance control, but I burn an awful lot of edges. I tend to leave it on the low side more than I like on medium length putts 10-20 feet, and read to much break and leave it on the high side on short putts, <10ft.

[Fourputt]

Reading the green.... some days it's just automatic, and other days I can't see the line for love or money. Stroke isn't a problem.... I usually start the putt on the line I choose, so if I've read it right, I usually come pretty close.

[mirv]

i'm going to vote with the majority here and say a good stroke is the more difficult part. honestly, i barely even examine the line very much when i putt. i'll look at it for a second or two, establish a kind of "general" line to the hole, and then try to putt down it. i usually keep a tally of how many putts (as well as greens in regulation and fairways) i hit during a round, and typically i've got 2 putts across the board. when i miss a putt, 90% of the time it's from my poor distance control and not failure to establish the correct line. the ball will either stop short or will have just enough speed on it to hit the hole and hop over it.