Lag Puuting Practice Observation

[DaveLeeNC]

I was practicing my (mediocre at best) lag putting the other day. My practice putting habits are to (typically) use 4 balls. So when doing lag practice I will find a spot and lag my 4 balls - repeat.

What occurred to me was that in 3 out of every 4 practice lag putts my practice technique is findamentally to "tweak what I did last time" to get the proper speed. Of course you never have that luxury on the course.

I still have 4 balls on the practice green, but now I move at least 3-4 paces between practice putts so that speed has to come from my best judgement instead of a change to the last putt.

I've never read anything about this and honestly don't know if it has any validity or not. Has anyone else out there ever heard a discussion on this issue?

Thanks.

dave

[Cole]

Dave,
I have recently started this method. Maybe for about a month now. I find that it is really beneficial right before I hit the first tee.

I always do the same format...
Right around 8 feet, 12 feet, 16 feet, and 20 feet. I start with the shortest put, and work my way out. Seems to build my confidence with the putter before I tee off. I have a pretty good idea of how fast the greens are going to be.

It has seemed to help me alot more than putting 4 balls from the same spot. I dont forsee myself going back to that method. Personally, I am trying to get my putting average below 30.

[microcrayfish]

I've seen it in writing quite a few times said in different ways. Check out Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott's ' Every Shot Must Have a Purpose ' for a lengthy discussion of the theory of practising all your golf in a similar manner. There's a thread in the Reading Room here on the Sand Trap about the book.

Personally, I've taken up their method of never hitting the same shot twice in a row at the range or on the practice green and I think it's helped my scoring so it might pay to have a look and see if it works for you.

[Eeryck]

There is quite a bit of discussion in the golf world about practicing putting from a different location each time you putt for the exact reason you stated.

My favorite pre-round putt routine is do a bit of warm up with 3-balls from 5, 10 and 20 feet maybe 3-6 shots from each distance towards the hole to get an initial feel for disntance.

Then I will stand where I can shoot out towards the fringe to get the feel for some longer putts and distance control without feedback of missing the putt, only getting distance control feedback.

Finally, I will with a single ball work my way in from 10 feet to 3 feet focusing on sinking putts so that going on to the course my last few putts have made it in the cup and that way I go out with a good feeling about making putts on the course.

-E

[David in FL]

I find that it's true for me. If I'm warming up before a round, I'll hit a handful from one spot just to get a quick feel for the speed, but then I'll hit individual lag putts. I don't get much benefit from "zeroing" in on a long putt.........for some reason, the guys I play with won't let me do that on the course.

FWIW, assuming that I have the time, I also like to spend a lot more time on 5-footers than I do with the lags. There aren't too many things that will ruin my day faster than hitting a snake of a 70 foot putt to 4 feet, only to miss the short one.

[MiniMoe]

Lag putting is more about feel than anything. You can get good feel from putting from 15-20 feet. Personally, I take two balls and play to different locations, non of them being longer than 20 feet. I 9 holes of worst ball and 9 holes of best ball... just to get my mind working a little. I mix it up with longer ones and short ones.. up hill and down, then side hills. Every once in a while, I pick a long putt (50 ft) and add it to the game. I have realized this best mimics what I might encounter on the course. When I have played 18 or 36 holes like this, I concentrate on making a bunch of three footers. Then I'm off to win some money.

[Jenks465]

I always liked the way Harvey Penick used to make Ben Crenshaw practice his chipping and his putting, one ball only. Just makes more sense to do things the way you do them on the course, and while you may hit fewer putts overall, the quality of the feedback you recieve regarding different conditions is greater.