putting books

[motteler621]

I want to get some instruction on putting. Im a fairly decent putter currently, only have 1 or 2 three puts a round but I want more 1 putts. My questions are; will asking my golf pro to help me with putting as one of my lessons be a waste of a lesson and are there any great books on putting that you recommend?

[dave1269]

Dave Pelz Putting Bible is a great place to start.

[motteler621]

  dave1269 said:

Dave Pelz Putting Bible is a great place to start.

yea i saw that one at the book store, il have to start reading it.

[ks8829]

when you say one putt more holes a short game and putting go hand in hand, in other words if you chip it close it's easy to one putt more holes. consider putting and also chipping and pitching practices to get more one putts. a goal to have is to less than 30 putts for 18 holes.

[iacas]

  dave1269 said:

Dave Pelz Putting Bible is a great place to start.

... if you want to learn the absolute worst way to putt, yes.

Dave Pelz is wrong about square to square. He's wrong about 17" past the hole. Makes a nice doorstop, though.

[motteler621]

  iacas said:

... if you want to learn the absolute worst way to putt, yes.

lol, guess i wont read that one then. Not sure if thats the one I opened but if it was then it was way too big of a book with too much information. Have any recommendations?

[Jay-Bird]

Putting Out of Your Mind - Dr. Bob Rotella.

[iacas]

  motteler621 said:

Have any recommendations?

Utley's book is good. Read anything from Geoff Mangum too.

[Gerald]

  iacas said:

... if you want to learn the absolute worst way to putt, yes.

Can you please explain, I found his book quite interesting, allthough it is lots of info .... "in the right ear - out the left ear" (actually the other way around, as I am deaf on the right).

What is wrong about 17" past ...... in my thoughts past the hole is the only way you have a chance of making the putt, if it is to short ... it is never going to reach the hole ....

[Stretch]

  iacas said:

Read anything from Geoff Mangum too.

I just can't get past the cover.

On the other hand, I've never seen anyone putt better than Jin Jeong did in the British Amateur and he's a Mangum prodigy.

[iacas]

  Gerald said:

What is wrong about 17" past ...... in my thoughts past the hole is the only way you have a chance of making the putt, if it is to short ... it is never going to reach the hole ....

Who said anything about short? I'm just pointing out that 17" past the hole is a different speed on every green. The better measurement is - Geoff Mangum would tell you - how far into the hole the ball gets. Does it hit the back lip? Does it ever hit the back of the hole?

Worst, Dave Pelz KNOWS some of his earlier research is wrong, but he won't correct himself. That makes him not only a poor scientist but a bad teacher. Even Phil doesn't use Dave Pelz - never has - for putting. He's an arc putter, always has been, and had to go to Dave Stockton to work on his putting. Dave Pelz is a lap puppy who makes Phil hit "statistically probable" shots. Zzzzzzzz.

[The Recreational Golfer]

I have a bunch of putting books that I read because I like to read golf books. It's not always easy to know if what you're doing is a correct expression of the instructions the author has tried to communicate using a language that isn't up to the job. Only lessons have made me a better putter.

[spmurph]

+1 on Geoff Mangum. He has some youtube videos too. I tried with utley, read the book like five times, bought the putting arc. Never really noticed a difference until I was turned on to Mangum. Whereas I found Utley to be too vague, Mangum may come across as the opposite at times. As he puts it, he takes simple concepts and makes them complex (or something like that).

[Leftygolfer]

  iacas said:

... if you want to learn the absolute worst way to putt, yes.

I don't care about the Square to square thing, not going there. What is the optimal distance for making putts to go past the hole if you don't make and it doesn't power lip? For short one's I want to be firm, longer putt I want to fall in drunk. I base my reads off the way I want to make it. Some putts, you can't be agressive, others it is almost impossible to be too firm.

[spmurph]

  Leftygolfer said:

I don't care about the Square to square thing, not going there. What is the optimal distance for making putts to go past the hole if you don't make and it doesn't power lip? For short one's I want to be firm, longer putt I want to fall in drunk. I base my reads off the way I want to make it. Some putts, you can't be agressive, others it is almost impossible to be too firm.

Mangum says that you never want to miss past the hole (or low for that matter). Also, he wants you to have one constant speed and base your reads off that speed. Makes sense, since if you know the speed you will be able to better read the break.

[VMAN]

Just read rotella's putting book, finished it last night. Honestly, it could have been a lot shorter as it just repeats itself ad nauseum. However, I do like the premise and I find it to be true: mechanics vary, putt to make it and free your mind from the consequences and the mechanical.

I stopped worrying about my putting mechanics this year. I have had putting lessons and there are a few things I retain from those, but mainly I want to feel comfortable and loose over the ball in order to make a fluid natural stroke. This has been one of my best putting seasons ever.