Vijay's new putting style

[Smarf]

I couldn't find any other threads on the subject but I thought it was an interesting change. I only caught a few snippets on Sunday, but from what I could gather he was basically staring at the hole while he putted. It seemed to work out pretty good for him, considering how he's been putting lately.

[enduro]

That man is just lost on the greens right now. I think he knows what he needs to work on.

Although, maybe its just him getting old. They say putting is the first thing that leaves you. I can't believe how many 5'-8' he was missing.

[TN94z]

He should go back to the long putter.

[Elvisliveson]

That man is just lost on the greens right now. I think he knows what he needs to work on.

At this point, I think he truly believes that the best way for him to have the most confidence is to constantly mix things up. For him, keeping things fresh might be the easiest thing on his nerves.

[BigRedMachine]

I think he needs to go back to the long putter. Either way, he's a heck of a player tee to green......its a shame for him to struggle so badly on the greens. He'll sort it out in the off season.

[kris]

Well he needs to do something after that horrible putting he was displaying. He's not a very good putter, but this weekend was just horrendous.

[out_in_30]

I thought the looking-at-the-hole thing was great haha. I mean when you are playing catch you arent stariing at your arm throw the ball, your staring at your target. I thought it was the same concept and I'm going to try this on the practice green to see if it helps with distance control. but yes vijay had one of the worst putting days ive seen during the PGA, he needed to do something..

[deronsizemore]

It's not all that uncommon, just uncommon to see players practicing it during an actual round.

I do it all the time when practicing and it really is amazing how much better I putt when looking at the hole instead of the ball. Your distance control when looking at the hole is usually very good and you don't worry about making a perfect stroke (since you can't see the putter blade in the corner of your eye). You just have trust it.

[Smarf]

You're supposed to do the same thing in pool, the other sport I play, by staring at the object ball instead of the cue ball. It has to do with trusting your stroke there, and I assume the same in golf. I'm a lot better at pool than I am at golf and I still can't do it.

[MSchumacher]

I forget who and what was said. But one of the announcers said it was either a bad putt or had a heart attack mid putt. And if you saw his putt, it definately looked like he just stopped mid-putt.

[Dewdman42]

I have been looking at the hole when I putt for years and most of the time it works very well for me. People always comment how great my putting is. You think less and you just roll the ball towards the hole as if you were bowling it there. Your mind figures it out. On the other hand, when you aren't looking down at the putter, its inconsistent in terms of making sure the putter face is square, the putter path appropriate, etc. You usually get the distance perfect if the putter manages to hit square. I have been using a Nubbins putter, which has the tendency to kind of stick to the ball longer, so you can can of push your ball towards the hole, regardless of the face angle. Using that kind of putter while looking at the hole works well. But if you change to a more conventional putter, than I believe looking down is better idea in general. But some practice rounds while you stare at the hole can help you get a feel for how hard to swing the putter.

[kevink2]

Works great for me as well. I try to imagine feeling the sweet spot on the putterface and ball are one before I gaze at the hole, soften my focus, making my eyes real wide and try to see everything (which helps me relax), and pull the trigger. Helped me get rid of the yips, and made putting fun again. Check out "Instinct Putting" by Eric Apenfels.