Putting is KILLING me (rant and plea for help)

[Dr_Fu_Manchu]

Just got to rant for a second, hopefully, this will make me feel better. My last few rounds go like this:

92 with Forty-F*cking-Two putts, that's right 42! Which includes a 4 putt....wtf!?!

The rest aren't much better:
94 with 39
89 with 38
90 with 41

I have practiced and continue to practice, read putting out of your mind , tried to be positive, but have no clue how to improve it at this point...I haven't one putted in months. Thank God for a few chip-ins here and there. Honestly, I don't have the yips. I feel confident over my putts but I have no feel. Some days its too short, some days to long, then sometimes it's both.

I could get down to a 10 or so if I could just improve my putting. Ideas?

[ArrrrJay]

Are you missing short, long, or everywhere?

All you can do is identify how you miss the most, and work at that.

Also, did you warm up on the putting green before your round? I always putt better when I take the time to do this.

[Dub]

What are your typical misses?


Are you and "arc" putter or a "straight back and straight through" putter?

What type of putter are you using?

How much do you practice your putting vs. ball striking?

How well do you read break around the hole?



Putting is the game within the game. Man....your scores would be unreal if you dropped to a 2 putt ave.

[shades9323]

More practice is the answer. Hit the putting green before you go out to get the speed of the greens.

Do you have an even and smooth stroke? Or is it more choppy? A guy I play with can't putt very well. It doesn't matter how long the putt is, he takes the putter back to the exact same spot every time and then stabs at the ball.

[brotekind269]

I'm definitely subscribing to this thread. I'm in the exact same boat. I have confidence in the 4 footers. Everything outside of that, I just plan on the 2 putt and just try to avoid the three. I know you are not supposed to think that way, but it's hard when you are throwing down 38+ putts a round. I don't want to thread jack, but I'll be listening.

[Chief Broom]

Putting has always been the best part of my game. I don't know why but that always has been the case. There are plenty of drills out there to help you develop better feel. Like putting while only looking at the hole, then putting while not looking up from the ball after your initial sizing the putt up and trying to "feel" how close to the hole you're getting, putting one handed, etc. You can try and take some of the variables out of putting by using the same stroke movement and varying your backswing to determine distance (longer backswing longer putt). Personally I putt by feel. I have a very strict routine. I'll size up the putt, where it breaks, grain, etc. Then I'll line up to the ball about a step back and take 3 practice strokes while never taking my eyes off the hole. This further helps me to see the line I want the ball to take and how I hard I think I'll have to hit the ball to get it there. Then I step up to the ball line everything up (and minimize any adjustments at this point trusting my initial feel), look at the hole then the ball twice and putt. Whatever your routine you've got to learn to trust it. Lack of trust and confusion over the putt are killers. Probably the best advice is to focus a lot more of your practice time on putting. That's the only way to develop any feel.

[Dr_Fu_Manchu]

What are your typical misses?

To answer your questions:

I am an arc putter. My misses are all over, so it's hard to pinpoint where the errors are (ie. pushes/pulls). I don't think reading the greens are my issue. I can usually tell how and where the ball will break, but I could definitely get better at it. But, I think the biggest problem is feel. My practice facility doesn't have greens, so my practice consists of my berber carpet or when I can find a range with a practice area. Thus, I practice ball striking more. Yesterday was my tipping point. I was missing everything, 3 footers for birdie, 5-6 footers for par. It was bad. As for the scores being better...I know. I didn't realize how bad it was until yesterday when I say my putting avg per hole was a whopping 2.3! Imagine if I could one putt here and there and just 2 putt the rest. I think Hogan once proposed that "putts should be counted as half strokes" at this point, I agree.

[Chief Broom]

One other point:

A lot of times you see guys who are struggling with their putting miss all their putts but make the putts they don't bother trying to make. In other words they miss the five footer they carefully line up but in disgust one handedly knock in the follow up 3 footer without even trying. That successful putt was totally done by feel whereas the putts they try to make are screwed up because their routine eliminates all their natural feel for putting. Your routine must enable your natural feel to remain in the forefront of your putting.

[Dub]

Putting has always been the best part of my game. I don't know why but that always has been the case. There are plenty of drills out there to help you develop better feel. Like putting while only looking at the hole, then putting while not looking up from the ball after your initial sizing the putt up and trying to "feel" how close to the hole you're getting, putting one handed, etc. You can try and take some of the variables out of putting by using the same stroke movement and varying your backswing to determine distance (longer backswing longer putt). Personally I putt by feel. I have a very strict routine. I'll size up the putt, where it breaks, grain, etc. Then I'll line up to the ball about a step back and take 3 practice strokes while never taking my eyes off the hole. This further helps me to see the line I want the ball to take and how I hard I think I'll have to hit the ball to get it there. Then I step up to the ball line everything up (and minimize any adjustments at this point trusting my initial feel), look at the hole then the ball twice and putt. Whatever your routine you've got to learn to trust it. Lack of trust and confusion over the putt are killers. Probably the best advice is to focus a lot more of your practice time on putting. That's the only way to develop any feel.

The history of your putter is also something that I'll bet aids your confidence. Confidence is key with putting.

I wish I had a putter handed down like that. I will do something like that for my son and hopefully his kids when the day comes, God willing.

[ks8829]

keep putting simple

distance control
making straight putts

1) putting grip and pressure
2) posture
3) eyes over ball
4) shoulder motion
5) pendulum motion

take a video of your putting stroke and let us see

[kafka01]

Same here - putting this year is just crap. I´m using a pretty standard grip but having huge problems getting the clubface square at impact. I put 3 balls and all ended up in different spots - which is ridicoulous. For me it wasnt so much about the length but more about the direction.

So i went back to crosshand - which i original started out with, and my stroke all of sudden felt super solid and the ball roll was just awesome. And they kept dropping in the hole.

I have no clue why the crosshand grip vs a normal putting grip made such a big difference for me (i put in plenty of careful practice with my standard putting grip that it should work just fine, but somehow it didnt), but for me it worked, maybe it can help you too, despite being a longshot.

[shankapotamus]

A good drill to help with feel is to stand about ten feet or so from the fringe. Putt the ball to the fringe. Without looking up, guess whether it's long, short, or just right. This has really helped me feel. I do on lag putts, short putts, and medium putts.

[TMO]

I am probably the worst person to give advice considering I putting is what kept me from winning tournaments but something that helped me with the yips was practicing putting with my eyes closed. It helps you feel the club more so you don't get tempted to do some crazy kind of acceleration or deceleration. Again, I suck at putting so be warned.

[sean_miller]

I am probably the worst person to give advice considering I putting is what kept me from winning tournaments but something that helped me with the yips was practicing putting with my eyes closed. It helps you feel the club more so you don't get tempted to do some crazy kind of acceleration or deceleration. Again, I suck at putting so be warned.

Hdcp @ +3 !?!? Oh yeah, I'm sure we could all out-putt you on your best day!!

[sean_miller]

@ the OP,

Be wary of putting on carpet. The pace is not the same a natural grass and the breaks may be present without being visible - this could introduce a subtle hook or slice in order to hit what you think is a straight putt. I know from experience on the last one. You also don't get the feel of different slopes. I've demoed a few different putters this summer, but just in the golf shops. Whenever I narrow it down to a couple, I seem to tell myself, I'm probably making putts with this one because there's a trough to the hole, I've just been essentially practicing for 40 minutes, and I bet I'd be draining them with one from my basement right now too (plus I could spend the $200 on the wife and reap the benefits).

What type of putter do you use? Heavy, light, blade, mallet, centre shaft, long, short, etc? Your putter choice is a very personal one, as it has to feel like an extension of your body - if you're aware of it while taking it back, it's probably not the right one.


Another suggestion - if you have a playing partner (friend, spouse, child, whatever) who is interested, spend a few minutes after each round on the practice green - and have a putting competition. Once you're focused on draining the putt to win, you won't need to focus on mechanics.

[Fourputt]

To answer your questions:

Just one more suggestion... have you tried any different putters? Everyone likes to say that it's Indian not the arrow, but putting is a strange part of the game. My putting was headed south until I got offered a putter to try out, and it cured what was wrong. I didn't change anything in my approach except the putter. The different feel I get from this putter was right for me, and it may be that your putter is just wrong for you. I went from an Anser style Odyssey that had worked fine for 8 years to the Enterprise putter that I use now, and it's made a huge difference in my confidence on the greens.

[sonicblue]

I'll propose a drill I mentioned in another thread:

Take ONE ball to the practice green. Pick a 25' flat putt (or the flattest you can find), and go drop your ball on that line 2' from the cup. Roll that putt in. Pull the ball out, and drop on the same line just a bit farther (6", 1', your call). If you miss, do NOT tap it in. Just take one putt from each distance, each time pulling it back and lengthening the putt, taking 8-10 putts in all. Then find a new line (I recommend starting with flat, then uphill, then downhill, then each sidehill). I believe this serves several purposes:

1) By starting so close, it's pretty sure you'll make at least your first two. Even holing out those 2-3' putts will breed confidence.

2) You do not hit the same putt twice, just like in real play. Taking five swipes at the same putt until you finally make it teaches you nothing useful. Each putt is a brand new putt.

3) However, each putt is very SIMILAR to your previous putt. So, you can learn a lot about the speed and break (if you start to see them break) as you go along. With each successive putt, you will have to TRUST what you saw on the last putt but ALSO make slight adjustments to line and speed that you ALSO have to TRUST.

Once on the course, you have to cut the strings, the strings that keep you from confidently putting, the strings that keep you attached to "I don't know if I can do this." Imagine any putt on the course: you could EASILY pick a way to miss it left, and right, and long and short. There is ALWAYS a proper line in between all of those that will put the ball in the hole, with negligibly few exceptions. When you get over a putt, if you're afraid it's going to go right, STOP and adjust your alignment. If you feel you're going to hit it long, STOP and take a practice stroke. When you hit, you HAVE to TRUST that the line you're aligned to, and the feel in your speed is correct. When it is, just stroke the putt, and that will be your best effort, and you WILL make more.

[deafheaven]

I'm pretty good with the putter, particularly on reading speed and break. Here is what has worked for me and may or may not work for you.

Best advice I got when I started playing golf was to imagine the putt in your head, soo the ball roll and break into the hole. Now... the speed that you imagine the ball needs to achieve to make the putt... that should be the speed of your putter from backswing to contact with the ball. Try it.

Being someone who is very good at lag putting I found that I was way to cautious on the shorter putts... reading more break than was actually there for such a short putt. With that in mind, I'm much more aggressive this year on shorter putts, basically hitting hard enough so that there is little or no break.