i'm simply a horrible putter

[Nyper]

I've never considered myself a good putter.. but I've come to the conclusion it's the absolute weakest part of my game. I've been trying very hard to take my time putting.. pick a spot.. hit that spot.. try to control the distance. I'm putting forward the best effort I can.

Today I had 40 putts. Five 3 putts. None from a distance more than about 35 ft. I didn't 1-putt a single green! I had several birdie putts in the 15ft range and couldn't even come close to making one.

I only had 3 holes where I had a pitch/chip shot, so it's not like my chipping is bad and I'm leaving myself with long putts. I'm hitting several greens in regulation.. having 20ft putts, and can't even get them close. I mean.. I can't even make a good lag!

On another note for today's round.. I absolutely fell apart for three holes on the back 9. Combination of missing fairways with my drives, donking one off in the water, and a couple 3 putts. GRRRR

#1 Bogey
#2 Bogey
#3 Bogey
#4 Bogey
#5 Par
#6 Par
#7 Par
#8 Par
#9 Par

#10 Par
#11 Par
#12 Par
#13 Double Bogey
#14 Double Bogey
#15 Triple Bogey
#16 Par
#17 Par
#18 Par

11 over, with 40 stinking putts.

[ks8829]

You can definitely learn to become a great putter by watching the videos on putting below:












after watching the above putting tips and with practice you will become a better and even a great putter, and putting under 30 putts per round sooner than you think.

[David in FL]

11 over with 40 putts.....and playing to a 10?!

Holy crap! The good news is, once you get that monkey off your back, you're gonna be an animal !

[jorruss]

I have a buddy that spends all his time trying to squeeze every last yard out of his drives and irons, only to spend 0.0% of his practice time putting. To prove to him just how important putting is, I made him a bet the other day.

We were playing a casual round, and I placed a second ball on every green in regulation about 30 feet away from the hole and bet him $20 he wouldn't break 78 with it. That means all he would have to do is 2 putt 13 of the 18 greens. He shot 79 with the second ball, 83 with his own. Now he gets it.

[goblue107501]

It sounds pretty obvious that you have no confidence in your putting. For me, putting is all about confidence and comfort. I don't know how you go about putting now, but my advice would be to blow everything up and start over.

What I mean by that is to try a different stance, grip, and/or approach. Just try something that is completly different. Many players change their grip and find something new that is more comfortable for them. Take your putter and a few balls in the house and try and find something that is different. Use left hand low, separate your hands, put one at the top of the grip and one on the shaft, just try something. Maybe you are just lining you body up wrong so if you adjust that, you find it more comfortable.

The way it sounds, you're not going to mess anything up. It can't hurt to try something different. Plus, it is easy to practice putting until you get it right.

[jorruss]

You could always try tennis
Just kidding. Putting is half your score, so if you can't get the ball in the hole you are pretty much never going to reach your potential.

When I putt best is when all the technical thoughts are gone, and I just read the line, get over it and roll the ball. It's important to think of rolling the ball, rather than hitting it. The stroke doesn't end at the ball. I see many amateurs hitting at the ball with a jabbing motion.

Here's a few drills to help get better feel for a flowing stroke, and I few I use to practice and groove a good stroke:

Set up for a short putt, say 3 feet. Place the putter behind the ball, but instead of drawing it back and making a full stroke, push the ball in the hole with the putter moving towards the hole and no backswing. This is a good drill to help you get the ball rolling to the hole and take away the thoughts of "hitting" the putt.

Another good drill to feel a full, smooth stroke is simply to stroke some putts while looking at the hole, not the ball. Line up the putt, set the putter down and look at the hole and roll the ball. Some people actually putt better this way!

My next drill is simple but effective. Find a straight 5 foot putt on the green and mark it with a tee. Now simply roll putts until you make 10 in a row. Putting the same putt over and over again is great practice. If it's too hard at first, start with a 3 footer. For more challenge, move back to 10 feet. For even more challenge, find a breaking putt and mark the aim point with another tee, and roll putts until you make 3 out of 4. I usually pick a 10 foot putt with 3 or 4 inches of break and roll 100 putts.

The last drill is the ever popular circle drill. Putt a bunch of tees around the hole at about 3 feet and roll 3 footers until you can go around the circle and make them all. Then start moving back to 4 feet, and 5, and so on. Make sure you go through your entire routine before each putt to simulate on-course conditions!

If those 4 drills don't improve your putting, it's time to seek out a PGA Pro and overhaul your stroke.

[Hoovedawg]

This is pretty much me also. The other day I had an 86 (par 68) with 48 putts (1 5 putt 2 4 putts and 8 3 putts). I was really pissed when I drove a par 4 but 4 putted for bogey. I am seriously the worst putter ever. I regularly 3 and 4 putt, miss 2 footers and leave things ridiculously short/long. On the days where I do better with my putting I do pretty well. My best round ever was a 76 (par 69) with 36 putts.

[wannabe]

Are you wanting sympathy or advice?

If it's sympathy, you've got all mine & then some. Great putting is one tricky beast. It's the part of golf that I've begun to become more amazed at, especially watching better players. It really is a different game than the rest of it.

And btw, here's one fellow golfer who's completely jealous of where you are in your game right now. Me? I'm horrible at everything! :)

If you want advice, congratulations! You've narrowed down what you need to work on, which is well over half the battle, right? Also, this is a fixable thing for sure. Everyone, everyone, can putt. Not everyone can bomb it off the tee, but everyone can putt. Yes, you can too!!

goblue mentioned it in his post, and to restate a little differently, your attitude can also help you improve.

Instead of going in with the attitude "I'm a terrible putter", try something more positive. "I'm improving as a putter", "I know I'm a great putter, just gotta let it come out". Seems like you need a big dose of positivity in this area. Remember the little engine that could.

It's also commonly known that we spend most of our golf practice time on the full swing and less on short game & putting, when the reverse should be our focus.

I also wonder if changing the type of putter - belly, short, long - might be something to consider.

[jorruss]

Last year, Vijay Singh told the media and himself, over and over, that he was the best putter in the world. All of a sudden his putts started to drop and he won the FedEx Cup.

You think it was a coincidence? Ask any sports psychologist and they will tell you that will beats skill every time.


"I'm the best putter in the world... I'm the best putter in the world... I'm the best......"

[jojoampt]

AMEN BROTHER!! seriously. ive only been playing since last June, and a couple of months ago i fell into a slump and seriously would miss 3 out of 5 putts that were in the 3 to 4 foot range. i switched my stance up from having my feet close together and my grip the same as how i hit my irons, to spreading my feet shoulder width apart and separating my hands about 3 inches with my right hand lower and the grip in my right palm. it has DRASTICALLY improved my putting. Like he said, its all about confidence. Now that ive been draining every 3 foot putt i stand over, they seem so much easier due to my new found confidence level.

It sounds pretty obvious that you have no confidence in your putting. For me, putting is all about confidence and comfort. I don't know how you go about putting now, but my advice would be to blow everything up and start over.

[bogeyhitter25]

Just try to hit your approaches in all the time, or put them inches away. Perfect.

[cdriver]

I have always thought of myself as a good putter...even when I first started playing a few years ago, I couldn't hit a green if you held a gun on me, but I could get it in the hole once I got on the green.

I still make a lot of putts, enough that my companions will comment on it. How do I do this you might ask? I don't have a clue other than I get behind the ball, imagine the line it will take to carry it through the hole, step into my stance, make one stroke to check my speed, and then believe in my heart that it is going in if I make the stroke I just practiced. Lo and behold, it does. I average around 28 putts per round most of the time.

I know that sounds simplistic, but I believe putting is 75% confidence and 25% technique. I still practice putting at least a couple of times a week for 30 minutes just to keep my stroke consistent, but the rest is just a mindset.

Now if I could just hit more greens in regulation!!!

[clubhousehero]

Just try to hit your approaches in all the time, or put them inches away. Perfect.

LOL.

You just reminded me of Happy Gilmore when he hits a hole in one on a par 4 and says..."that was way easier, i'm just gonna try doing that from now on."

[bruce]

You should post a video of yourself putting and people may be able to point out your errors,i treat my putting stroke something similar to pitch shots,on the the back swing i take it back so far for 10 feet and for 20 feet i take it back a little further.This erases you from slowing the putter down as it comes to the ball,my tempo is usually the same and don't flick at it with wrist break,just focus on swinging the handle of the putter and this will help eliminate wrist break.

[Golfgal]

Last year, Vijay Singh told the media and himself, over and over, that he was the best putter in the world. All of a sudden his putts started to drop and he won the FedEx Cup.

I read all the posts on this thread and I came back to this one.

I am absolutely convinced that above all other shots in golf, putting is about confidence. I was playing at Steele Canyon a week ago and I had been putting horribly. I took out my putter on one of my last holes and said to myself, "This putt is going in!". I even said it out loud. Then I looked at the hole, backtracked the line to my ball position, hit the putt and it went in. It was a 25 foot putt! I am convinced that it was my supreme confidence in that putt that made it go in. I willed it in! Everyone probably thinks I am crazy, but visualizing the ball fall in the hole, feeling the line backwards from the pin, and really believing it was going to go in...those 3 things that made it happen. I just wish I could see/feel/believe on every hole. I am sure that is what Tiger does. It's not in the technique - putting is 99% a mind game! Just believe.... Golfgal

[Nyper]

I've spent a good bit of time the past couple weeks trying to work on my putting. I've really gained a lot of confidence back.

I played yesterday and had 32 putts. Unfortunately, I still had 3 three-putts.. but that's because all 3 of those were a case of my ball being on one tier and the hole being on another and having a 40 footer where it was just really tough to get it close. Obviously I didn't hit the ideal approach shots in to those greens.. but oh well. I made several putts that I haven't normally been making, and just had the confidence that I could sink almost anything inside 15ft.

Even with 3 three-putts I still shot 3 over...

In my practices, I've been working on setting the putter down straight.. lined up properly.. and making a simple, repeatable stroke. I'm hitting my lines much better and my distance control is coming along nicely. The single biggest thing in putting is confidence, and it feels great to be getting some of that back.

[Dub]

11 over with 40 putts.....and playing to a 10?!

Yup.....gonna be dangerous!!!!!!

I suspect that you will get it sorted out.

[chipper2]

I went from a normal length putter to a long putter. My putting improved somewhat. Now I have gone back to my original putter and spent time practicing and expect my handicap to drop by 4 to 6 points this year. Practice and confidence are the keys for me.