Why can't I putt?

[Zeph]

You can try putting with the eyes closed. Read the line, position yourself accordingly, look at the target, close your eyes and pull the trigger. Before opening them, try to feel if the ball was short, perfect or long. If you miss the line, don't think too much about it, but consider it on the distance how the ball would've rolled if the line was good. On a fast putt, the line can be different if the ball is to drop just into the hole or have the speed to roll a foot or two past.

[bunkerputt]

"Don't accelerate the putter"...that's probably not good advice.

It might not be, but, no disrespect intended, it depends on how someone interprets it. I dislike this 'tip' because I think it leads to artificial acceleration in the same way I would imagine the tip 'keep the putter low' leads to manipulation. I've never heard that particular tip, but I can imagine it was intended for someone who lifts the putter when they get to the ball. It may have been a misguided attempt to remove manipulation. The same may be true of the advice 'accelerate the putter'.

Now, I think 'accelerate the putter' is poor advice, mainly because I think it is more likely that someone will misinterpret it and inadvertently introduce jerk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerk_(physics) into his stroke. It seems less likely that someone will respond to the counter-advice with not moving the putter at all. This is unless, of course, he was throwing a nerd tantrum: "You said 'dont accelerate the putter' so that's what I'm doing. I'm not accelerating the putter. You said don't do it so I'm not doing it", etc. I think this is mainly because most people don't interpret things like engineers as you and I do. That is, the concept of 'constant acceleration' makes perfect sense to you and me, but a lot of people will read this advice and think it's OK to stab at putts. Maybe better wording would be 'accelerate smoothly'. But your point is taken nonetheless.

[denver_nuggs_15]

Coming from the inside could possibly be a balance issue, which I believe is discussed in the below video.

I watched that video yesterday. It makes total sense what he's saying about balance and I never really thought too much about it. I've been practicing for a while trying to really feel the balance and I'm making much better contact with the ball than before. My stroke feels more natural now too. But, I haven't played a round yet so I'll wait and see if it actually is better.

[bunkerputt]

My stroke feels more natural now too. But, I haven't played a round yet so I'll wait and see if it actually is better.

Just out of curiosity (apologies if this has already been covered), have you been fit for a putter? I know I struggled with my original putter because it was too long. I just blindly looked at my height (6'3") and figured since most players over 6' on tour are using 35", I should use that too. It placed me too far from the ball and made contact inconsistent. I switched to a 33" and found that I can setup to the line much better and have much better control for the putter.

I also recently switched to a milled face, because I found the insert was making distance control difficult, particularly on putts outside 20'.

[denver_nuggs_15]

Just out of curiosity (apologies if this has already been covered), have you been fit for a putter? I know I struggled with my original putter because it was too long. I just blindly looked at my height (6'3") and figured since most players over 6' on tour are using 35", I should use that too. It placed me too far from the ball and made contact inconsistent. I switched to a 33" and found that I can setup to the line much better and have much better control for the putter.

I haven't been fitted. I know the lie angle on my putter is too flat. I saw this on a video of my stroke a while ago. I also think 35" is too short for me. I'm 6'4" in shoes (maybe 6'5" now) and my 35" putter seems too short for me. I'll look into it, but most putters don't come in 36" lengths. Thanks.

[ncfreemason]

I just started back golfing 4 months ago. Played alot growing up. Just a warning if my handicap doesn't scare you off from my advice! But I had a similar problem and purchased a 50inch Broom Putter 2 Ball Oydessy (sp). I am putting much better - actually putting is all I have been able to do over the last 5 weeks due to a injured intercostal muscle or rib fracture from to much golf. Have you every used a broom putter or tried one?

[imtomtomim]

I'm a feel player and feel putter in all of the sense. When I practice putting, I work on my stroke only, and then speed control and training my eyes to read greens. I leave most of the putts to sink for warmups (ludicris, I know, still work on making a few). I know, if I make a good stroke, the ball is gonna take off on line and then the rest is up to the speed. Speed determines break as well as distance so the most important thing for me on the practice greens is to learn how fast the ball comes off my putter, and what speed putt breaks how much.

[dag2000]

It's the speed that's been killing me on anything outside of 20 feet. I've been either blowing them 6 feet past the hole or leave them 6 feet short...

I saw something on the Golf Channel recently that helped me with lag putts.

Tom Lehman was playing a round with his son who looked around 12 yo or so. And Tom was reminding his son that the best way to get the speed right on a putt is to have a very light grip on the putter. That's a pretty simple swing thought and it improved my putting by at least 2-3 putts per round.

[bunkerputt]

I just thought of what may or may not be a good way to learn how to feel slopes, which incidentally may or may not get you kicked off the course. Lay down on your belly on the edge of the putting surface and just roll a few balls away from you. Just watch the ball go. It seems like it would train your eyes to get a feel for the slope and how much it affects the break of the ball.

[Stillhacken]

Look your lines over from front to back but really look it over from the side and you will get a better idea of how far the ball is from the hole. I read an article a long time ago called "The Quiet Eye" thats pretty good. It might help .

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_112104116/

[bunkerputt]

Look your lines over from front to back but really look it over from the side and you will get a better idea of how far the ball is from the hole. I read an article a long time ago called "The Quiet Eye" thats pretty good. It might help .

What an interesting article. When I'm putting poorly, I'm looking and thinking about just about anything other than putting. The best I've ever putt in my life (~1.5 putts/hole), it felt like my eyes were carving a trench into the green that dumped into the hole. I drilled 4, 10+ footers in a row that day. My misses were centimeters. My arms also felt really heavy and everything seemed really quiet and warm. That's an elusive and magical feeling.

[bunkerputt]

Look your lines over from front to back but really look it over from the side and you will get a better idea of how far the ball is from the hole. I read an article a long time ago called "The Quiet Eye" thats pretty good. It might help .

I tried what the article recommends today and noticed the following things:

1. You have to keep your focal point deeper in the ground (~20 yards or so), but through the back of the ball. One thing the article doesn't comment on is how deeply to focus. That is, the eye tracker checks where you are looking, but it doesn't tell you if you are looking through the object or at it. 2. You have to look back and forth between the target and ball and then switch to a fuzzy focus before you pull the trigger. This helps your mind to think about speed. I need to do some more testing, but it was pretty interesting. Overall, I think it kept my head still at impact. I drilled a couple of 20 footers and lipped out some 40's during a round. One thing I noticed is that when I hit a full swing shot I like, I look up at the ball and down at the ground trying to see how close it is to the pin at about the same frequency I look back and forth between target and ball on a putt. I think I'm pretty much doing what the article suggests anyway, which may explain my success in putting.