When do you lag putt?

[pjsnyc]

Just a general question for the forum:
Aside from ridiculously undulating greens, at approximately what distance do you begin to only try to lag your putt up to the hole and not try to make it?

For me, I generally lag putt when the ball is about 25 ft. or more away from the cup. Do you think this is overkill or not enough?

[GDWindowpane]

I try to make every put...

[Eeryck]

Just a general question for the forum:

I try to make every put...

Exactly!

-E

[dpmille]

+1 on that, you should try and make every put, good lag putters miss by a small margin on long putts, thats really all it means

[mdvaldosta]

To answer the OP's question, pretty much anytime you're afraid to 3 putt - regardless of the distance. I might "lag" putt a 7 foot downhill putt for example.

PS - of course everyone tries to make every putt :)

[DavidFehertysBike]

I generally try to make every putt, but 30 ft and out im thinking more about speed than line.

[lumpuckeroo]

I'm with DFB, most of the courses I play don't have that big of a greens, so I try to make every putt, but outside 30 feet I'm thinking about the speed more so then the line.

[iacas]

As others have said, regardless of the length, I try to make the putt.

If I happen to miss I usually have a tap-in because making putts involves good line and speed.

[PiKapp23]

I am a 'line' putter first, and a 'speed' putter second. I am always trying to make the putt from almost any distance unless speed is an issue (such as fast, downhill putts. At that point I still try to get putt online, but just want to make sure it's inside 2-3 feet.

I know I am kind of backwards. Most instructors (and tour players as well) will tell you that speed is more important than line, but if I start worrying about speed first then I tend to miss offline and often the speed will be way off anyway (I tend to be way short when I'm more concerned about speed). The way I putt I let speed be the 'feel' part and think about the line instead.

[golfaddiction]

You can't have line without speed. A perfectly good line for a putt hit softly will be wrong for a putt hit firmly. Unless your greens are perfectly flat.

I, also, never intentionally come up short. But on downhill putts I do try to sneak in, whereas on uphill putts I try to hit it well past the hole.

[pjsnyc]

Hmmmm, figured some on here would say they try to make every one. To be realistic though, there are times when I DONT try to make the putt - I just try to get it inside a 3-5 foot circle. If it goes in, then great.

Perhaps a better way to ask the question would be - when are you aggressive with your putts? (uphill or downhill).

[JimmyDoesGolf]

To borrow the words of Mr Rotella "Every putt is a green light putt." It doesn't matter what distance, you should always be aiming to hole it. The smaller your target, the smaller your error is likely to be. If you aim for a spot, your more likely to end up within 3 foot of that spot than if you aimed to end up inside a 3 foot circle. That's my thinking at least.

[sonicblue]

Yes, there is speed and there is line; however, putting clearly separates the two. By that, I mean, speed is a feel issue, while line is a very concrete issue. After you grip your putter, take your stance and address the ball, line has been determined. All that's left for you to think about, is stroking the ball with the proper speed. You don't hook, push, cut, fade, draw putts. You simply stroke them along your aligned direction. Why wouldn't you hit the ball with the proper speed which, when combined with the line you already inherently chose in your setup, would put the ball in the hole?

Said another way, if you can visualize hitting the ball so that - for example - it rolls two feet by the hole to the right (but in your 3-foot circle), then why not envision making the proper adjustment so that it actually goes in? The best way to end up with the easiest second putt if you should miss, is to make your absolute best attempt to hole the first one! If you're putting down some ridiculously steep grade that you're afraid will run away from you, then that implies your first putt - your best attempt to make - will account for that fact. It doesn't manifest as 'oh, I hope I miss this properly.'

[pjsnyc]

The reason I ask this is because I realized that when I don't agonize over the really long putts, I tend to lag much better. Whereas if I DO agonize and analyze (the way I do with the shorter putts that I try to hole), I overdo it and end up putting a poor stroke on the ball.

Perfect example was yesterday - first hole, about a 35 ft birdie putt. I was trying to decide if I wanted to be conservative and go for the par OR be aggressive and try to make birdie. Of course I decided to go for it, but ended up something like 15 ft coming back which I missed.

[Leftygolfer]

Do you people really think about making a 70 foot putt? Of course I like making the long ones but there is a different sort of feeling over a 15 foot and 60 foot putt. If I get a little agressive with the 15 footer I will have 3 feet coming back but if I am 60 feet away that turns into 10.

For me it also depends on what kind of putt. A straight up the hill 40 footer. I want to give it a chance. a 20 foot slider with 4 feet of break, I just want to get the right speed and not have more than 5 feet coming back.

Another factor could be your confidence that day. Some days, my speed is great and I feel comfortable trying to make a 30 footers and others I am thinking of the 2 foot circle.

[pjsnyc]

...Another factor could be your confidence that day. Some days, my speed is great and I feel comfortable trying to make a 30 footers and others I am thinking of the 2 foot circle.

Tell me about it, lol. I'll never understand how that damn hole can look like a basketball hoop some days and look like a shot glass on others.

[Leftygolfer]

[QUOTE=sonicblue;297766]Yes, there is speed and there is line; however, putting clearly separates the two. By that, I mean, speed is a feel issue, while line is a very concrete issue. After you grip your putter, take your stance and address the ball, line has been determined. All that's left for you to think about, is stroking the ball with the proper speed.

I disagree. The two are very interrelated. If you hit 3 putts different speeds/different lines and they all go in if the line is correct for the speed. I know I try to role my makable putts a foot and half past and determine the line based on what speed I want to hit it. You have to figure out how hard or aggressive you will be before you decide on the line.

[sonicblue]

I disagree. The two are very interrelated. If you hit 3 putts different speeds/different lines and they all go in if the line is correct for the speed. I know I try to role my makable putts a foot and half past and determine the line based on what speed I want to hit it. You have to figure out how hard or aggressive you will be before you decide on the line.

Yes, but my point was, you do NOT think about both of these things while making your stroke. Imagine your putter was just a pendulum on a string hanging from an A-frame. You would initially visualize the entire putt, speed and line, yes, but when the time actually comes, you would:

1) First, aim the apparatus in the proper direction. 2) Pull the pendulum back the appropriate distance and let go. You don't actually DO #1 and #2 together. Back to topic, so I visualize the putt, speed and line. Why wouldn't I actually visualize a putt that goes in, no matter how far? Even if it's 70 feet, my mind could certainly imagine - don't underestimate the brain - a ball rolling along such that it goes in, right? Why would you imagine it coming up short, or rolling past the hole to the right, etc...? Once you imagine that happening, align yourself to that projected line, and then hit the ball as hard as that imagined speed.