Putting Practice - is it helping?

[becksfan2185]

So lately I have been trying to take advantage of a local driving range during my lunch hour, and I have been spending most of my time on their practice green.

My problem is that their green is left really, really long (longer than any course I've ever played on). So, I've been sticking to the short putts during my practice sessions. I'd like to mix it up and work on long putts, but my fear is that I'll spend loads of time working on long lags and get acustomed to much slower greens than the courses I play.

Anyone else have this problem, or any advise? Should I stick to the short putts, or is it not that big of a deal?

[ks8829]

Practicing on any green will be helpful

focus on straight putts from 1,2,3,4,5,-10 feet
distance control
lag putting

you will build tempo
learn to hit a straight putt
distance control

before you play another course with faster greens if possible practice the day before on the fast green and arrive a couple of hours early to practice putting the day you are going to play so you can get adjusted to the faster greens.

[enduro]

One thing I've found that really helps with putting is pay attention the next few times you're out golfing. Keep note of typical first putts. Many of us without immaculate short games really don't leave ourselves with many 10' putts. We're often putting from 25' out. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Then keep notes of your typical misses and where they end up. Probably around 5' short or long. Practice these a lot too.

I used to practice 10' putts a lot until I realized I don't have many of them. My short game has improved a lot recently but my mid-iron game which I use a lot on approaches isn't reliable enough to get a lot of 10' putts.

So take notes of where you're putting from and practice those. Any kind of putting surface will suffice. After doing this I have taken 3 putts almost out of my game and have begun sinking more 25' putts. That adds up to quite a few strokes really.

[alomar123]

Its cool cause the putting green by me is 4 free, but the ball seems to roll alot more farther on it. I practice just getting close to the pin when far away

[becksfan2185]

So take notes of where you're putting from and practice those. Any kind of putting surface will suffice. After doing this I have taken 3 putts almost out of my game and have begun sinking more 25' putts. That adds up to quite a few strokes really.

That's good advice... I've started doing the same. Focusing on those 4-6 footers a lot, since that's what I'm left with a lot to save par.

On those long putts that you practice... you don't feel like I would mess myself up by getting used to slow greens? The short ones are easy to work on my slow practice green, because the pace doesn't effect them... but I feel like if I practice the 25+ footers I'll start slamming them by the hole when I play for real on faster greens. Either way, thanks everyone for the input.

[soloredd]

I know all putting greens are different and I've never really understood how before a round people will go to the practice green and putt a few then tell me "The greens are quick today." BS. The practice green is different from the course in that there's much more foot traffic, it's not tended to as carefully as the course greens, nor are they out in the same conditions. The practice green at one course I play a lot is in the shade 2/3 of the day...makes a lot of difference.

That said, what I practice my putts for on the practice green or the driving range is feel. My putter definitely has a different feel when I don't hit the ball in the middle of the putter face. So, I practice to get that soft feeling of the ball bouncing off the middle of the face. Also, stroke technique. I just want to see how straight I can get the ball and how much I can lag a putt. I have a horrible tendency to contact the ball and not follow through, so that has become my primary focus.

[JKilgore44]

In my experience, practicing on slower greens won't be detremental to your game. Really focus on making good strokes and hitting the ball solidly. Personally I find faster greens much easier because you simply stroke the ball whereas slower greens you almost have to "pop" the ball.

Regardless of the green speed, remember that you're practicing your stroke. Stick to the fundamentals of a good stroke and continue to build on that.