Putting Help Please

[sbrl9014]

After returning from a trip where i didnt golf for over a week. I picked up my swing back in only a few days, except most of my short game. Now that its been almost two weeks since ive returned, my chipping is back but i cant putt worth a dime. I feel that it is mostly a confidence issue but after playing a few rounds with my golf coach he has pointed out that my feel has not been quite as sharp. If i could get some tips that would be great. Thanks!

[iacas]

After returning from a trip where i didnt golf for over a week. I picked up my swing back in only a few days, except most of my short game. Now that its been almost two weeks since ive returned, my chipping is back but i cant putt worth a dime. I feel that it is mostly a confidence issue but after playing a few rounds with my golf coach he has pointed out that my feel has not been quite as sharp. If i could get some tips that would be great. Thanks!

I'm the golf coach, yeah...

Steve had a round the other day of 86... with 42 putts. The greens at this course weren't particularly severe. Steve had a number of three-putts (to get 42, you have to I guess). Steve said "outside of three feet I have no confidence." I asked why he was outside of three feet often enough to have 42 putts. He said he had a number of five-footers, too, and again, to have 42 putts, many of those five-plus footers have to be your second putt. So anyway, Steve knows how to get his confidence back - by making good strokes and holing some putts, but also by saying "hey, I'm due, let's turn it on!" But as to feel, I know a few drills for that.

1. Putt to a dime. Close your eyes just before your stroke and don't open them until you think the ball has stopped. Before you open your eyes, tell people exactly where the ball ended up in relation to the dime.
2. Putt to a hole. Pull the ball back two feet from the hole and keep putting out. Your goal is to die the ball right at the hole so, at most, you're left with less than three feet for your second putt.
3. Putt with your "feel" hand - your right hand with a standard grip for righties - only.
4. Putt while looking at the hole. When my speed is off, this is the quickest drill I can do on the practice green. I sometimes do this on really long putts, too.
5. "React" to the putt. Get the line very precise, but when you're over the ball, line up precisely, take one last look at the hole, then GO without much of a pause after looking back at your ball.

What other tips do you guys have?

[iacas]

Nobody else had any ideas to help Steve? Really? C'mon now guys...

[BigAl5150]

I've found that putting to the fringe has helped when I'm in a funk (just getting the ball to die right at the edge of the fringe). Takes the hole completely out of the picture. I also will putt to a tee and when I then start putting back at the hole, it looks huge.

[Xt1ncT]

THis may sound silly after I had a nightmare on the greens on Saturday, but I'll say it anyway.

After reading another thread here (the one about the stroke - straight back and through or inside-square-insude) I tried the other way. And it felt so much more natural than trying to keep the putter square throughout the stroke.

I also bought a new putting matt at the weekend which I'm going to set up in one of my rooms and really work on my tempo. I've had a bit of a go already and can feel the benefits.

It may pay for you to do the same, get a practise matt and just keep stroking putts into the hole from 6-9 feet.

[NCGolfer]

1. "React" to the putt. Get the line very precise, but when you're over the ball, line up precisely, take one last look at the hole, then GO without much of a pause after looking back at your ball.

This is a good piece of advice. I often find that I make a better, smoother stroke when I don't pause to think before making my stroke. Work on your stroke on the putting green, but when you are out on the corse, don't think about it and don't practice out there. Just feel the stroke.

One 'tip' I have is to have the back of your left hand always going straight back and through to your target. Focus especially on the follow through. You'll often watch pros practicing this. Amateurs tend to 'give up' with their hands after the ball is struck. Keep the pace good and the back of the left hand going towards the target. Good luck. Putting is more feel than any other part of the game. Don't get caught up on the mechanical side of things.

[JonnyRockets]

Just a few things I do to keep putting well

Tempo
-------

The Tempo thing really helps for me - thinking of a Piano metronome. Like a tick tock tick tock. I do my practice strokes a few times - back and forth - until I feel I have the correct "tick tock" in my head.

I go up to the ball - line up - one last lok at the hole - look down - then . . . tick (back) tock (forward)

this helps me not to decelerate or accelerate through the swing - which I find can screw me pretty good.

Head Movement
----------------

I will try and do 4 - 5 holes without ever looking up after I putt - to teach me to kee me damn head down and from moving all over the place. So I commit to my putt - line up - tick tock - and listen for it to drop (hopefuly.) I may take a peek once in awhile ;)

[prutkows]

Nobody else had any ideas to help Steve? Really? C'mon now guys...

after reading the green and doing all the other pre-putt routine things, when i stand over the ball i like to look at the green and visualize the ball rolling alone my line and into the hole. usually if i cant see it i'll step back and take a second look and generally my second putt is always within 3 feet. im sure its only a mental/routine thing but it seems to work for me.

i learned this technique from Gilda Hawie. she is/was one of the coaches at the david leadbetter golf school.

[cdriver]

When my putting goes bad, it is normally speed, speed, speed. I go to the putting green and start with 30+ footers. My only goal is to leave them inside 2 ft so I can make 95+% of the second putts. Once I get them to stay in that circle, I move in to 25ft, 20ft, 15ft, etc. Once I get my speed back on track, my 3 putt problems are gone.. That's where I would start if I were getting 40 plus putts per round.

[georgep]

Make sure you're not accelerating through the putting stroke (ie. you want to use gravity to control the speed of your putt almost exclusively over "powering" the putt with your arms). When my touch on the greens goes that's what I'm usually doing wrong. Either popping the putt way to hard or babying it (usually as a result of the former on a previous putt). Keep your backswing and followthrough the same lengths -- that should help with touch.

A good way to practice tempo and touch (and you can take it on the course, too, if you like it) is to putt while looking at the hole. Line up the putt as you normally would, but instead of looking at the ball, look at the hole as you make your stroke. It takes a little getting used to. But it can help with distance control especially. It helps take the "hit" out of a putting stroke. Good luck!

[ABPositive]

This is coming from a handicap 29 golfer

The putting drill I like most, is to putt to the front of the cup, then to the center, then to the back of the cup. Start from 2 feet, then 3 feet, 4 feet, etc. Do this on a flat part of the green. You will realize that there is actually a broad range of speeds (on a flat green that is), that sinks the ball in the cup.

Given a distance, the hardest is usually to putt so that the last turn gets the ball in the hole. This is where you learn "touch".

The purpose of putting to the back of the cup is to give you confidence on those short breaking putts. You can ram them to the back of the cup, almost eliminating the break.

Hope this help...

[gas_can]

After returning from a trip where i didnt golf for over a week. I picked up my swing back in only a few days, except most of my short game. Now that its been almost two weeks since ive returned, my chipping is back but i cant putt worth a dime. I feel that it is mostly a confidence issue but after playing a few rounds with my golf coach he has pointed out that my feel has not been quite as sharp. If i could get some tips that would be great. Thanks!

sbrl9014,

I'm assuming you're a high school golfer? What putting technique do you employ? A lot of time when putters are "streaky" or are fighting regaining their feel, it is because they are using an unnatural putting stroke. Many people overlook putting mechanics as well as the mental approach of putting. Both are crucial to being a good putter. My view on putting is that consistent performance comes from consistent contact (as with the full swing). If you know you're hitting the center of the putter face every time, controlling distance is greatly simplified. I'd suggest taking a look at Stan Utley's book, "The Art Of Putting." Stan's a phenominal teacher, and his methods have completely turned around my short game and putting. Stan addresses all aspects of putting, from stroke to equipment, to mental approaches in this book. As a former Pelz student I used to dread any putt over 30 feet because I felt like I was going to run it 10 feet by or leave it 10 feet short. After adopting Stan's techniques of "on plane" putting, my lag putting improved immediately. I now feel like I can make some of those 40 and 50 footers instead of just easing them in. If you'd like, I'd be happy to loan you my copy of Stan's DVD where he explains his putting stroke for a couple of weeks.

[sbrl9014]

Thanks for everything guys. Since i have made the postive made some good strides on the way back to good putting. I spent some time on the putting green keeping my left eye closed and putting, doing this so i cant see the target line just the ball so i make sure i focus on what my job is to hit the ball square in the center of my putter. This also has helped me hold my finish. One last thing i also tried out that seems to work is using my right hand more throughout the stroke. Thanks again.

[Rafcin]

Make sure you're not accelerating through the putting stroke ...

really? I'd not subscribe to this theory. IMHO - EVERY stroke - from driver to putter should be accelerated in the downswing. Trying to keep it "the same" ends up in deceleration and thighten muscles => pulls and pushes. I agree you should not force it, but smooth accelerated tempo is a must in my book.

[chingali]

Tips to be a good putter.

• Good fundamentals - if you are unsure if you have them then you don't. Find a good PGA teaching pro and do as he/she says
• Recreate pressure when practicing - everyone putts great when there is nothing on the line, hence we usually putt well when we practice. When doing something like the circle drill, DO NOT go home/have a beer/play a round etc until you hole all 32, 64, 128 or whatever you decide is the appropriate number in a row. If you have to stay all night, bad luck, hole them then you can go. If you have the chance to putt against someone better than you for a few $$$$ then do it, if you can do it every day even better. The more times you make putts with something riding on the outcome the better you will become at it.
• Practice - and I mean practice. An hour here or there when things go bad won't help. Ten minutes before you hit off won't help. Make it a point to spend as much time working on your putting as you do on all other aspects of your game combined.

Of course if the above sounds a bit extreme/harsh, go ahead and keep having 32+ putts a round but for gods sake don't whinge about it.

[Rafcin]

Tips to be a good putter.

My favorite drill on a putting green is using 1 ball. Start with 2ft. Made it? move up to 3ft. Made it? Move up to 4ft. Missed it? go back to 3ft. You get the idea. When I have enough time - I try to go 3 times up to 10 feet.

It teaches you to "try to make it" every time, without mindless swining of the putter....

[chingali]

[/LIST]My favorite drill on a putting green is using 1 ball. Start with 2ft. Made it? move up to 3ft. Made it? Move up to 4ft. Missed it? go back to 3ft. You get the idea. When I have enough time - I try to go 3 times up to 10 feet.

Exactly what I meant by trying to recreate pressure when putting with your drill. Hole them all up to 8 feet and you know you MUST make the next two or start again, the 9 and 10 footer actually mean something. Even better than "trying" to go 3 times up to 10 feet, don't go home, have a beer, have sex or something that means something to you until you DO go 3 times up to 10 feet. If 3 times up to 10 feet is too difficult, try 5 times up to 6 feet or something suited to your skill level, when it gets too easy, go up a step. Put some pressure on yourself so that when you do have a 5 footer to win a match, it's just another 5 footer with something riding on it and not the first important 5 footer you have faced for a while.

[SubPar]

DAVE STOCKTON'S PUTT TO WIN: Secrets for Mastering the Other Game of Golf by Dave Stockton is a great book full of technical tips and anecdotal stories.