worst putter EVER

[denver_nuggs_15]

I think I may be the worst putter every. In the past 31 holes I have played (only played 13 today), I have three putted 9 times. Thats almost 5 shots per round. I practice putting more than anything, but never seem to get any better at it. I am hitting more greens, chipping closer, driving better, but my putting never improves...so my scores don't get better...because of 3 putting.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[pshizz]

that was happening to me, i ended up switching my putting grip to left hand low. My advice to you is mess around with your grip, and do what works best for you, it will beel awkward at first, but you'll get used to the new grip.

[cmay119]

I've been in the same boat as you this whole season, and have only recently started grooving my stroke into something respectable. Here's some stuff that has worked for me.

First and foremost you want to be putting the ball with your arms not your body or your wrists.

The make sure you're not rotating your body through the stroke (or moving your legs) through the putting stroke: Go grab a full toilet paper roll, and place it between your legs so that your knees are holding onto it. This will cause your knee's to go Knock-kneed, and virtually eliminates all lower body movement when putting.

The next thing that's very important for distance (and I'd argue accuracy), is Short back-swing, long forward swing (with a very slight acceleration through the ball). Long back-swings in putting will cause you to slow down the putter head on the forward swing, causing you to be very inconsistent when putting certain distances.

The short Back-swing to long follow through is a great putting stroke, because your objective is not to hit the ball, but to swing through the ball which will promote a natural roll in the ball off the putter face.

Also, if you're willing to try a different grip style, check out this thread (This grip really helped me keep my wrists locked): http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17852

I hope you get your putting figured out. I've been having a helluva time with it all this season, but feel like it's finally starting to come around for me after cementing these practices in my mind. :)

EDIT: When I mean changing your grip, I mean changing how you hold the club, not the actual putter grip. (If that was confusing at first).

[Q.Q.Quillume]

  denver_nuggs_15 said:

I think I may be the worst putter every (sic). . .

Hyperbole does not become you!

[deronsizemore]

  denver_nuggs_15 said:

I think I may be the worst putter every. In the past 31 holes I have played (only played 13 today), I have three putted 9 times. Thats almost 5 shots per round. I practice putting more than anything, but never seem to get any better at it. I am hitting more greens, chipping closer, driving better, but my putting never improves...so my scores don't get better...because of 3 putting.

When you say you practice putting, what do you mean? Are you actually practicing putting or are you just out there on the practice green hitting some putts? Big difference between the two. I've seen the most improvement in my putting when I actually started practicing like I was playing. When you are playing you only have one ball, not many, so when you're practicing, use one ball and play little games with yourself trying to two putt from various distances. The other thing that has helped on lag putting for me is putting to my head cover instead of the cup. When you putt to the cut and miss you're subconsciously training your mind to miss. You'll be surprised how much better you putt when you're putting to a larger object. last suggestion is to actually practice putting some while looking at the whole. Instead of looking at the ball when you putt, just look at the hole (or your headcover) the whole time. You'll be surprised as to how well you putt like this.

[ks8829]

Try this putting style, I had 2 rounds of 26 putts.

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17852

[brandon_mcg]

i tried out the putting style listed above today at the course and noticed an improvement on the speed of my putts.

[zeg]

I played with a guy on Friday who swings righty but putts lefty. He said he used to putt righty also, but was not able to find a comfortable stroke. He tried the left-hand-down approach and it was better but still not workable, so he picked up a left-handed putter and played that way since. Interesting approach.

I can't say whether he putted well since I was too busy not putting well to pay much attention...

[Scott_Tee]

Get to the Golf Course early, maybe an hour before you tee off,and practice Putt. Work on pace (long putts), and to build confidence, practice allot of 3 footers. Also, take 3-4 balls to the practice putting green.

[JimmyDoesGolf]

Remember, practice doesn't necessarily make perfect. All it does is cement things. If you have something inherently wrong with your putting stroke or technique, no amount of practice will fix that, and you'll find consistent inconsistency. Get a lesson or two from a pro and get yourself on the right lines.

[telrod11]

  denver_nuggs_15 said:

I think I may be the worst putter every. In the past 31 holes I have played (only played 13 today), I have three putted 9 times. Thats almost 5 shots per round. I practice putting more than anything, but never seem to get any better at it. I am hitting more greens, chipping closer, driving better, but my putting never improves...so my scores don't get better...because of 3 putting.

This may sound stupid, but quit trying to make putts....

What I mean is this; If you are 20 ft away, try to putt to a hole that is three ft wide. Ssometimes you try so hard to hit the putt, you leave yourself an impossible putt back. Also, sometimes when I practice, I'll look at the hole instead of teh ball; This helps me with pace. Don't know exactly where you're missing, but short or long, thia may help.

[iacas]

  telrod11 said:

This may sound stupid, but quit trying to make putts....

Without seeing anything, I think that's horrible advice. The best pace to make any putt is the speed that sends the ball 1-2 feet past the hole (Pelz says 17"). That's my ideal pace on any putt, and I'm

always trying to make it. I don't care if the putt is 60 feet and breaks three times - I'm trying to make the putt. Aim small, miss small. It's not just for snipers. Almost Everything I Know About Making Putts

[brandon_mcg]

wish i would have read that article about a year ago. great advice! thanks for posting it

[golfdad]

really not enough info from denver as to the details on the 3 putts, but i would approach it from couple angles.

1. how good are the lag putts? that is, how close to the hole can you putt the ball if the distance is greater than 15 feet or so? this putt depends more on speed and distance control. study the contour of the green around the pin and ask: what happens if the ball slows down in front of the pin,,,what if i go long?

2. how good are the 6 foot putts? for most folks, it is 50/50, not easy at all under pressure, or down hill or side hill, etc. i think most people should spend most of the time on the green doing this 6 footer. need proper set-up, may be grip, good stroking motion, alignment, etc

3. how good are 3 footers? must make. confidence putt. take all the time in the world to study it and line it up. go through a routine. putt toward the back of the cup with as square a line as you can manage. the only way to accelerate through the stroking motion is to take it easy on the backswing.

try look at the above 3 and see which one area is the weakest and focus on it during practice. keep some simple stat for reference. good luck.

[mirv]

i used to 3 putt several holes per round, myself, and every last bit of it was a distance control problem for me. the ball would almost always roll straight at or very close to the cup, but it'd either stop well short of the hole or it'd zoom past it far enough that it took another 2 putts to get the ball home.

someone here already mentioned a shorter backswing and a longer forward swing. this was something i read somewhere, as well, and it really did wonders for me. sometimes i still hit it short or long, but instead of being 10 feet short or 10 feet long, it's more like 3-4 feet either way.

another thing i did was employ imagery. when i first started golfing, i was still living at home with my mother, and she worked the night shift, so during the day when i'd be practicing my putting around the house, i'd have to be careful to not make much noise. i'd usually set up a target in front of the wall and putt the ball at it, but if i hit the ball too hard, it'd hit the wall and make a loud *THUMP!* noise and bounce back towards me, which i really wanted to avoid. now when i go to the course, i almost involuntarily imagine that there's a wall right behind the cup, and my goal is to roll the ball up to that wall without making it go *THUMP!* and bounce back. i want it to, at most, gently roll up and touch the wall, that way i'm hopefully only a foot or so behind the cup (unless it dropped, of course).

[Robiola the Monster]

i don't three putt often, its just i cant hole the first one & it always just misses & then i have like a 2 inch putt & i feel that its such a waste

i employ the short slow backswing with moderatley paced long follow through... it works really well for pace

[wrx_junki]

Not sure what kind of putter your using but you might want to try a new putter!

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[bm303]

All I can say is LOOSE GRIP. And by loose I mean fall out of your hands loose. I remember this season the first time I tried a super loose grip I 1 putted the first 5 holes. And no you are not the worst putter ever, since I had a round in which I shot 90 with nine 3 putts. Hit every green on the front nine and still shot 42.