Are You a Good Putter? & Why/Why Not?

[Leftygolfer]

I consider myself to be a reasonable putter. I have a nice stroke and can role the ball on line most of the time. I am a really good putter inside of 5 feet, but I don't have great touch for 20 or 30 foot putts. I don't play enough to be a great long putter or maybe that is an excuse. I 3 putt too much and I average around 33 putts a round.

I couldn't agree more about it needing attention. I work at my short putting alot with the 3 foot drill so that is probably why I am good at short distances. Another reason is I take short putts very seriously. I see too many rush and miss a easy putt.

Once I join the club next to my house and I am playing/practicing I know I will be pretty good on the greens. It is hard to get the time to practice when it is a 15 minute drive each way and I have a 3 year old.

[mirv]

i really don't know which i am. i'm pretty certain i'm not a bad putter in that i average 32 putts per round, but i rarely sink anything outside of ten feet with one putt, so i can't say i consider myself a good putter, either. whenever i tally my numbers at the end of the round, it usually comes out to me having two putts clear across the board, except for a couple of holes where i'll have missed the green but would get up and down.

[chilly]

I've been in a pretty bad funk with the putter lately, definitely a bad putter. I started capturing my stats at the end of last year and I believe I'm sitting at 37 putts/round. Pathetic. Even through that, my hcp has continued to drop, so I'm hopeful that some work with the putter will really bring my scores down. My issue is really twofold. First I have terrible issues with longer putts, I'm likely to leave it 8ft short or blow it 8ft past on a 30 footer. Don't know where this came from, in the beginning of the year I was lagging OK.

Having to make 8footers for par has had the effect of tightening up my grip/stance/mentality so now I'm missing 8 footers badly...three putt city.

After the last 5 3putt round, I took a step back and now am putting 3-8footers in the house every night. Loosened up my grip and started swinging the putter again, not stabbing at the ball. Also working on finding a putter that fits, I have a tendency to close the toe quite a bit. I'd kill for a 34 putt round at this point.

[iacas]

I'm the best putter I know. My speed is almost always spot on and I read greens well. I try to make every putt.

[kpaulhus]

Well the week before Christmas I played 4 rounds, averaged 1.6 putts per hole and had a few rounds under 30 putts. Sunday I played and had 42 putts. 4 putted twice. I guess its just one of those things where you have to always stay on it. Plus, its been pretty cold lately and I have decided not to play unless the weather is over 50*

[Fourputt]

Putting is the only part of my game that I can depend on every time I walk on to the course. I have a good stroke, good setup. I have days when my reading is off, but I rarely make a poor stroke. I average around

Maybe you need to practice to get that down to single digits of putts

Oops... that was a brain fart. Supposed to be putts per

18 holes .

[chuangyee]

I think my putting has really improved after last weekend.... I discovered the nike method putter. Somehow everything just clicked. My grip is not too tight now. I rediscovered the "click" sound at impact and consciously listen for it. I am more conscious of producing the roll that makes the ball track straight. Somehow I can make anything inside 8 ft now. About 30 putts last round.

[msd3075]

I would consider myself a good putter but definitely not a great putter. That being said I know I'm not putting anywhere near my potential. My one major strength though is that I'm very good at lagging long putts close to the hole. I grew up learning to putt on some of the biggest greens out there where a 100'+ putt is a common occurance. You learn quickly to lag them close.

My main problem has always been that I get preoccupied with trying to make the putt instead of making a good stroke/contact and understanding that you are going to miss many more putts than you are going to make. I think this is the main problem with most golfers. If the average 18 hcp golfer hits 7/14 fairways, they are overjoyed; if they only make 7/14 putts from 10 feet, they think their putting is horrible.

I think my putting has really improved after last weekend.... I discovered the nike method putter. Somehow everything just clicked. My grip is not too tight now. I rediscovered the "click" sound at impact and consciously listen for it. I am more conscious of producing the roll that makes the ball track straight. Somehow I can make anything inside 8 ft now. About 30 putts last round.

A new putter will do that if you are uncomfortable with your current putter. At least that's my excuse to my wife as to why I have so many putters.....

[goblue107501]

I feel I am an overall good putter. My stroke is pretty consistent and I almost always get the ball going on the line I want. I read greens well which helps out. One of my big things is confidence. I rarely stand over anything inside of 10' that I don't think I will make. I just don't think of it as a hard aspect of the game.

I don't do anything special. Just comes from years and years of playing. I will hit some on the carpet over the winter to keep the stroke sharp and spend 5-10 minutes on the practice green before a round to get the speed and that is about it. I could probably do a little more and get better, but I don't want to take the time to do it.

[sean_miller]

After years of practice I've realized I'm really not a very good putter. Most putters are just too short and too upright - my Cleveland Classic 2 cheapo seems to be working (indoor golf not included - putting on a simulator is so @%&*^ annoying!).

The less I try, the more putts drop. Dwelling too long over a putt, leads to my poor vision taking over - then my feeble brain ignores the line picked out while behind the ball. I'm more likely to paint the ball into the hole from just off the green, using a long iron, than from 10 feet away. A quick glance, a smooth stroke, cross my fingers, and watch the line beyond the hole if it misses.

Taking an old 2-iron and getting a putter head put on it, would improve my putting 10-fold. Maybe.

[walk18]

I'm getting there. After a quick lesson I'm finally getting my eyes over the ball and lining up correctly. Stroke is also much better, I've loosened up my grip. Really looking forward to spring so I can continue that work, and I fully expect my handicap to drop this year.

[allin]

I am a very good putter for my handicap level. My GIR on par fours is only one or two a round. Of course I am rarely hitting less than a five iron on approaches. My golf partners won't let me play the whites because if we do I win more of the money. During the season I practice regularly, but for fairly short periods of time. I believe the fundamental of putting are that there shoudl be no concious manipulation of the club or your follow through. I disagree with those who say accelerate through, staight back, etc. If you set up as square as you can or at least the same way consistently, with a grip which keeps the palms facing each other and make a stroke with even tempo you will be gain feel and distance control. Reading greens is the rest, but until you make a consitent stroke good reads won't help. I have noticed, as my eyesight deteriorates, reading greens on short breaking putts is tougher than it used to be.

[doof_dizzler]

I have worked on my putting, even though it's always been a strong part of my game. I spent much more than half of my lessons and practice time on short game stuff last year, mostly putting and pitching the ball. I feel that developing a solid and consistent routine was very important. I wanted to overcome my tendency to choke on the greens during the last few holes of a tournament round. When I'm rolling the ball well, I don't 3 putt very often at all, and I'm confident on the short ones. I would like to make a few more 8-20 footers, I think I could easily make 1 or 2 more a round, as I seem to have several very near misses a round.

[BonoVox]

That is one of my strengths. I have the same SC Newport oil can putter for about 12 years. I just seem to be able to line it up properly and make a nice solid stroke with it.

People love me in scrambles because that is where really add value to the team. Played in one last Friday and bombed about 4 great putts (after reading other's putts before I made my stroke). In other words most the time I miss it because I miss read it or occasionally I decelerate on my stroke. But if I get the line right I have a good chance of bringing it home.

[GaijinGolfer]

Im a very good putter. I almost always 2-putt and often my 2nd putt is a tap-in. I think what makes me a good putter is my patience (not getting frustrated when putts arent dropping). I think that a lot of people who are actually pretty decent putters become frustrated when putts arent dropping and it totally takes them out of their game. Then, they start to get negative thoughts such as, "Im not a good putter" get them down.
Putting takes a certain mental toughness and the ability to shrug off putts that dont drop. I go with the mindset that my first putt is intended to set me up for a tap-in. Im just trying to get close with the first putt and if it happens to drop, thats even better.
I also think that a lot of people simply overlook putting because they dont realize all the strokes they are losing due to poor putting and also because putting practice simply isnt as much fun as practicing with the driver.

[Wiley]

Putting=the worst part of my game. I'm a good lag putter and I rarely three putt, but I'm very inconsistent on makable birdie putts. I've been making the same stroke mistake (a slight push) for a couple of years now.

[Fastrack]

As my hadicap is getting lower, putting is getting more important to be able to lower my score. You can be perfect on practice green with multiple puts on the same spot, but that's not the case on course.

[mn723]

Let me start out with a little background..... When I first started playing and especially in high school golf, when a long drive was 220 yards, it seemed like I could make every putt I looked at. I tried to copy Bobby Jones' putting style back then and had a very narrow (heels touching at times) open stance and wristy stroke. As I got into college golf and began to hit the ball much longer my putting level dropped significantly. My coach got me to use a much more traditional putting stance and SBST stroke for the better/faster greens we would play on. Today I am a very streaky putter, which causes me to often swtich between my Bobby Jones style and my more conventional parallel SBST style. I sometimes switch back and forth on a bi-weekly basis. Saturday morning I'll have that feeling where the hole looks like a basketball hoop and then Sunday morning it will look like a shot glass.

I'd classify myself as a below average putter for my handicap who occasionally gets hot for a short period.

Anyways, my goal this year is to stick with a more conventional SBST stroke and parallel stance. I'm going to really focus on having my eyes directly above the ball from stance to follow through. This will be tough as when my eyes are directly over the ball I feel as if I'm standing way too close to it. I'm also going to try to reduce my forward press a bit, though my first move in my stroke is my hands moving forward.