new golfer putting issues

[wildcorndog]

I have a load of problems..... but i would have to say putting is the worse. i have been playing for a few years now and it usually goes i cant hit anything in jan-march but by the time the end of summer gets here im hitting my irons and driver well.... but my putting never improves. i went from shooting 120 to currently a 95. I 3 putt on just about every hole, true i have other problems but if i could go a round with just putting twice a hole by the end of the summer i feel i could be in the high 80's.... I have just about come to the conclusion that putting is just a feel thing that some people have and some dont! tell me i wrong please

[MiniMoe]

putting is very much a feel thing, but I think most people have feel. If you don't think you do, take a golf ball and toss it toward a friend 10-30 feet away. Does it get close? if it does, you have feel. If you are tossing and hit a car across the road, you have bigger issues than putting to fix. So, I'm going to assume you have at least a little bit of feel ( you did not hit a car across the road), then what you have to do is teach your eyes what it "feels" like to hit a putt a certain distance. A good drill for this is to start on the putting green and putt to the collar. You don't have to start very far away, but focus on getting the ball as close to the edge of the collar without actually rolling the ball onto the collar of the putting green. Pay close attention to down hill, side hill and uphill putts. Once you get pretty good at this, put a tee in the ground and putt to it from different lengths and different angles. Try to get it to stop right on the tee (perfect distance).

Now, how to translate that to when you are playing. When you have a putt on a green, you have to assess the speed of the putt before you assess how much it breaks. The break on a putt depends on the speed of the putt. So, it is very important to recognize the speed before you determine the break. Think about it. if you misread the line of a putt, it is very unlikely you are going to miss it by more than three feet left or right. But if you get the speed wrong, it is not hard to miss it by more than 4 feet short or long. Get the speed right, and you putting will improve.

[The Road Dog]

I will say that there are some people that can see a break and gauge a swing naturally to lag a put to within inches and sink a few even from 50'. I can't but I worked on it enough to be able to do a pretty good job. I sank a couple 15' yesterday. To do it regularly requires practice and a feel for the putter and while you're doing that you'll also learn about grass. It is possible if you decide to do it. I personally think putting is the best part of the game and if you have carpet at home is the one stroke you can practice anytime.

[wildcorndog]

I can't seem to hit the three or four footers strait. I almost always miss left or right it's not even consistant which side I miss to. No one I play with will give me a gimme putt "really short putt" because they know I'll miss.. LOL it's not funny but it kinda is

[abraxas]

haha this thread is awesome!
i dont feel so alone anymore...
i have to laugh at myself when my 2nd putt is farther away then my 1st putt

i think its def the hardest part to improve since you cant practice unless youre on the course
as opposed to working on your swing at the range

[dblbgy17]

in my opinion, if you're relatively new to the game and you're having putting troubles, it might be b/c you're rushing the putt. whenever i play with guys that have putting issues it's b/c they rush the putt. it's important to take your time, read the green, check the speed, check the break, pick your line, take a few practice swings and then let it go.

if you do this and start to get your routine down you should be fine. you won't make every putt but you won't 3 putt every hole either.

and i always loved DLIII quote on putting: "you'll miss 100% of the putts that don't get to the hole".

[ks8829]

Putting is all set up and knowing what parts of the putting motion moves and what does not and suppose to stay one piece. If you are missing 2-3 footers, its clear that your fundamental are not sound to make a straight putts from 3 feet.

Without seeing you putting, I would venture to guess that you are putting with your wrist and not your shoulders and you have too much movement and losing consistency in your putting stroke. The one simple thing that you need to focus on is to not break your wrist when you putt. Go watch the video of the best putter on tour and watch their wrist and they all hold the wrist in one piece without creating any movement with their wrist.

another thing that you can do to help make your putting stroke consistent is at your set up to the putter move your body up until you feel that the triangle formed by your shoulder and arms feel connected and one piece. When you think you found this position try stroking some putts and focus on keeping the wrist, shoulder triangle without breaking down.