Anyone have any tips for shorter putts?

[HR Golf]

I golfed everyday last week, playing 9 or 18 holes depending on the time, and I never noticed myself doing this constantly but now it seems like a big problem I have. If I have a putt from 10 feet out I can generally either sink it or get it pretty damn close to the hole for a 'gimme' putt. Yet, when I'm at least 1 foot out, sometimes even less I can't seem to get my aim or speed down. Does anyone know what kind of drills I could do to fix this type of thing? I'm not sure what I'm doing, maybe it's more mental than anything else.

[Fat Slice]

I see a lot of people (myself included) fail to follow through on the shortest putts. They decelerate and that takes the clubhead offline. Make sure your stroke goes through the ball with a smooth follow-through pointing where you want the ball to go.

[HR Golf]

Thanks, I bet that is part of my problem. The hole seems so close I don't want to overdo it so I probably don't follow through as I would with a longer putt.

[PiKapp23]

One thing I've seen so many people do on short putts is change their routine or putter stroke. Just do everything the same (same routine, stance and stroke). Obviously the back and forward stroke are shorter, but they should still be the same. One thing I sometimes do on short putts in try to be sure to take the putter back low. Everything else is always the same (my style is back stroke and follow-through stroke are same length).

Probably the best drill for this is to place 2 tees at the same width as your putter on the green (plus a 1/2 or so) and practice putting between them without hitting either tee with putter. Most short putts missed seem to be because the stroke is offline. This helps groove that stoke (and might help with longer putts as well).

[Fourputt]

Make a shorter backstroke and exaggerate the follow through on short putts. Keep your head still through the entire stroke, concentrate on not looking at the hole until the ball has dropped. If you can't do that, at least focus on seeing the grass underneath the ball after you make your stroke. Peeking too early is the best way I know to throw the putter off line. It tends to turn the neck and shoulders as well, and if that happens even an instant before you make contact, you'll rarely start the ball on your intended line.

[zeg]

My advice (though check my handicap before you take it to heart ):

1) Putt in all your "gimmes" to get practice on really short ones.
2) go to the putting green and just set up 1-2 foot putts over and over from all around the hole on different slopes, etc. Take every putt seriously and set a goal of N in a row before you stop. You "should" be able to make every putt of that distance... hell even at my handicap when I'm in practice I'm pretty close to that. It just takes discipline to repeat the boring putts, the urge to lag 40 footers on the practice green is pretty strong...

[Fourputt]

  zeg said:

My advice (though check my handicap before you take it to heart

I don't really like the idea of practicing short putts on slopes... at least, not to start out. That throws in a variable that I don't feel is needed when you are just trying to work on rolling th ball accurately. Hitting short putts on a level surface will give you better feedback on whether you are rolling the ball where you think you are aimed. If you add in the slope to the equation, then you don't know for sure if you missed because of your stroke, or because you misread the slope, or if you hit the target because you both misread and mishit the putt.

Like this, I find a level spot on the practice green and stick a white tee in the ground. That's my target. I place a dozen balls in a circle around the target, no more than 6 feet away. I then try to hit the tee with every ball. If you miss, you know that it isn't the slope of the green that did it. It has to be something in your setup or stroke. (Unless you are putting on Bermuda... then the grain causes a whole other set of problems. ) When you can comfortably hit that tee with nearly every one of your putts, then you are on the right track. One key mentioned by someone earlier... use your on course putting routine for every putt. Now you can start to mix in the slope and hit putts uphill, downhill and sidehill because you know that you have a stroke that will roll the ball where you are aiming it. For longer putts the idea is exactly the same. I pick out a point on the green about 3 feet in front of my ball that is on my proposed target line, and that is my aim point, not the hole or the target tee. I know from my short putting practice that I can hit that spot 99% of the time, so now all I have to think about is pace. If you practice like this and still can't seem to get those short putts on line, then maybe it's time for a lesson... you must have something fundamentally wrong with your setup or stroke.

[zeg]

  None said:

I don't really like the idea of practicing short putts on slopes... at least, not to start out.

Ok, I won't argue with that. Hopefully you'll fairly quickly get your short'n'straight ones rolling in, at which point I think the practice on slope is important. But, of course, crawl before you walk before you run...

[iacas]

Best tip I ever heard for shorter putts is this, from Daniel Chopra:

Once you've chosen your line and speed, simply focus on making solid contact.

That's it. Great tip.

[bruce]

And try and not move your head to watch it go in.

[Pat007]

putt it to the back of the hole, don't try to die it in. That'll take all break out of it, making almost any 1-3ft. putt straight.

[smith5606]

I'm sure there are at least 50 reasons why this shouldn't work but it solved a very similar problem for me - to the point that I very seldom miss a 3 footer or shorter. I come to a very brief halt before I bring my putter forward to strike the ball. It is the relative equivalent of the "no backswing" stroke that people link Miller Barber and others use for other clubs. It seems to let me shorten my swing and concentrate on accelerating through the ball. After all you can't decelerate past full stop. It will feel a little unnatural at first but eventually it will seem like to have been doing it all of your life.

Good luck.

[Stacey_E]

My best tip for those putts inside 5 feet is more mental than anything. I try to imagine a gutter, like on a house, that tracks from the ball to the hole. It's a great visual as it helps you imagine the ball being funneled into the hole. Then as I make my stroke I try to make sure my putter face stays on track with that "gutter" and follows the ball straight into the hole. I have a tendency to pull short putts. For me, pulling the short putts is almost always due to my not concentrating on this imagery. Instead, I flip at the ball with the putter head and let the face turn over.

But mostly, if you continue to miss the short ones (as painful as it may be) always watch closely and note where you miss them at. I'm sure you will see a trend and be able to correct that problem.

Good Luck!

[ks8829]

practice 100 putts from 5 feet and 100 putts from 10 feet and that will cure your miss short putts.

1) shoulders acts as pendulums
2) grip your putter so that it takes your hands from pulling or pushing putts
and your hands becomes an extension of the putter.
3) distance control is based on the back swing equals the same distance forwards with a slight acceleration on your forward putting motion.

If your distance outside 10 feet is good than the short putts should be a piece of cake for you.

[Fourputt]

  ks8829 said:

3) distance control is based on the back swing equals the same distance forwards with a slight acceleration on your forward putting motion.

Tell that to Tom Watson... or Bernhard Langer.... or any other player who has gotten a case of the yips. I know from personal experience just how frustrating that is, and all the logic in the world doesn't make it better. I could practice with near perfection for an hour, but when I took it out on the course, the yips came back. When you truly lose that touch for short putts, technique and practice don't seem to have much effect on the end result. Something has to change, whether its the putter, your grip, your style.... it's different for every player. Just doggedly practicing harder with the same old stroke doesn't seem to help. It can be a long and frustrating search to find a cure that works. When you get the yips, matching the backswing to the follow through no longer works. All it does is encourage deceleration at impact. IMO you almost have to exaggerate the follow through on those short putts. A shorter backswing with an extended follow through will do 2 things. It helps keep the putter square to the line and it keeps the putter from decelerating through impact. I like to feel that the putter head is chasing the ball to the hole. When I get that sort of feedback, I know that I made a good stroke. If your stroke is fundamentally flawed, then it needs professional help. If it's just uncertain, then the advice given in the above post by ks8829 is sound. If your problem is with the yips like mine was, and like the OP's seems to be from his first post (what he describes is a classic case of the yips), then finding a cure may not be that simple. But he still needs to keep searching... there is probably a solution that just needs to be discovered. I can tell you... when you do find that answer it's the greatest feeling in the world.

[SubPar]

make your best read, keep head still and leading wrist flat.

SubPar

[HR Golf]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I walked 9 yesterday at the local muni after reading these and sunk almost every single (save 1 or 2) short putts.
The main key for me that I never noticed I did, was keeping my head in one spot even after I hit the ball. I'd always put my head up too early to follow the ball and mess up my line. It feels odd not watching the ball but it helps, and it's always awesome to hear it drop into the hole without seeing it.

[st0wgolf08]

  PiKapp23 said:

One thing I've seen so many people do on short putts is change their routine or putter stroke. Just do everything the same (same routine, stance and stroke). Obviously the back and forward stroke are shorter, but they should still be the same. One thing I sometimes do on short putts in try to be sure to take the putter back low. Everything else is always the same (my style is back stroke and follow-through stroke are same length).

We measure out distances on greens just like PiK is saying, at practice. It's helps a lot, since your practicing from a consistent distance, so you can find the speed consistently for that same length putt.