Putting... Ball lifts, skids on long putts

[MSB256]

I'm having trouble with long putts. I made a tough decision when I bought my putter. I considered the itsy bitsy because the grooves are suppose to get the ball rolling sooner. I also tried, and bought the scotty cameron fastback.

I love the fastback but the past couple of days I cannot seem to hit a long putt without the ball skipping, skidding, and then rolling. Sometimes the ball even lifts off the green. I realize putters have loft to get the ball from its resting position... but lifting off the green?

I saw a guy who works at my local pro shop trying an itsy bitsy and I got him to try my fastback - he got the same result. The itsy bitsy rolled the ball much sooner.

Now, the greens were very slow due to the rain weve had lately when I played the other day... but how do you hit a 15, 20, 30 foot putt? I mean you have to hit it with some authority to get it there but how do you do that without lifting the ball or making it skid.

I just bought this putter, have only played 9 holes with it and I'm a little frustrated on long putts.

I've began second guessing my decision. Would a blade do better on long putts?

[Danattherock]

Been trying to learn more about putting lately myself. Got a great dvd set last week from Phil Mickelson, "Secrets of the Short Game" and recommend it highly. Great section on putting.

Off the top of my head, be sure to check (and play with) ball position. Too far forward, or too far back, it will cause the ball to skid/bounce. From what I understand anyway.

To address a similar problem, I recently bought a Rife Antigua putter. I shit you not, I dropped 5-7 putts per round just by buying that putter. If you find a shop with them, try one out. Better yet, borrow one from someone and try it on the putting green or during a round of play. I have had Scotty Cameron, Ping, Odysey 2ball, and this Rife putter is by far the best one I have ever used.

Lastly, try using your current putter under different conditions. Or perhaps even a different course. If they have airated recently, put out sand, etc.. this could effect the roll of your ball. Especially on those longer putts.

[Pat007]

it could be that you're either hitting up on the ball, or hitting down on the ball. Check your ball position and try to keep it constant. Put a coin down on the putting green and put the ball beside it, making sure to place the coin at the same spot in your stance every putt, and see what happens. There may also be too much or too little loft on your putter, you can get that checked with a putter fitting with a PGA pro.

[PiKapp23]

One thing that is often recommended by instructors is to have a 'forward press' with the putter - that is, simply address the ball but before stroke push the hands forward a little ahead of the ball (but towards the target and keeping face square). This delofts the putter a little bit and supposedly gets the ball rolling with a forward roll a little sooner. I started doing this last year on long putts and definitely helps on the those (I also have found it helps on those really short putts because it allows to strike the ball a little softer but gets it rolling smoothly sooner).

Also, make sure your stroke is smooth and not 'choppy' as this will also cause the ball to roll better. Take the hands out of the stroke and just rock the shoulders. Sometimes people get a little too wristy when putting and this can lead to inconsistent contact and roll.

[iacas]

I've began second guessing my decision. Would a blade do better on long putts?

Don't. It's not the putter - it's how you're using it.

Off the top of my head, be sure to check (and play with) ball position. Too far forward, or too far back, it will cause the ball to skid/bounce.

Yup. Check that. And by ball position, he means relative to your hands at impact. Make sure your hands aren't too far behind or too far ahead of the ball at impact.

Obviously they're about the same at setup for most people, but not always. Sounds weird, but get some high speed (60 FPS or higher) video of you hitting long putts.

[MSB256]

Thanks guys. I'll think about the ball position and see if I can get it ironed out. I feel pretty confident on short putts... just frustrated with the long ones. I'm also thinking about letting my putting stroke arch more. Maybe that will help smooth things out.

[imtomtomim]

well, ball position has some to do with it, but also the stroke. You could be still flipping those hands forward a bit at impact causing a sharp acceleration which would make the ball skid. Something that I read which I like a lot is that you should imagine the shaft of your putter is made of glass, and if you hit with it, it would snap. You need to let the weight of the putter carry through your stroke, that consistency in momentum won't break that "glass shaft". Give it a try!