Putting thoughts

[golfro]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of putter are you? What goes through your mind when you putt?

For me, when I read the greens...I like to see a line from ball to hole. However, when I'm actually at address ready to putt, I'm a spot putter. I like to visualize the line, but at address, I pick a spot to putt at.

what about you?

[Dad-2-3]

I visualize the path of the ball to the hole. I use a straight sharpie line on my ball to start my ball on its initial line. I always line the putt up from 4-6 feet behind the ball. After my ball is lined up I forget about the line and trust I have it lined up correctly. I then concentrate on speed. I always think of putts as short (take my putter back to the instep of my right foot), mid (take the putter back to my pinkie toe on the right foot), long (hands outside of right foot).

Side note: When using the sharpie line it always looks off line at address. DO not readjust at adress...TRUST YOUR LINE!!

[The Recreational Golfer]

Yep. Feel the distance and run the ball over a spot no more than two inches in front of it.

[Kieran123]

I imagine what sort of speed I would use if I were to roll the ball towards the hole by hand...someone on this forum mentioned it a few weeks ago, and it has REALLY helped me hit my putts close/in the hole instead of leaving it 4 feet short or 4 feet past.

I make sure I slow down everything I do when I am on the green.

[saevel25]

I am blessed with the ability to read putts really really well. I can see the line almost immedietly and know the general speed i want on the putt. This year has been a great putting year for me.

What i do on putts is,

Go behind the ball, i can usually get the break right there, if not i will go from a few other angles to get a feel for it
I then practice swing a few time making sure imagine how the ball will travel each time, i do this at least twice to get the feel for the distance i want
I then back away and take a quick glance at the line
I approach from the back and take my stance, i usually have a gut feeling if i am lined up good or not, i can tell if i hit it when i am not lined up if i will miss it right or left.
I get my self confortable, then take one look at the line from over the ball imagining the ball going in the whole, then i stroke it.

It sounds like alot, but it doesn't take that long at all.

[sblack5]

My swing thought when putting after I've read the line and setup is to keep an even rhythm back and through and to release the putter head through the ball, not to jab at it

[B-Con]

I'm not a great putter, but I'm a better putter than a 25 handicap would indicate.

I read the break within about 10 inches of the hole, and determine how the ball needs to enter the cup. From there, I backtrack to my current position and see what putt is necessary to get the ball there. When examining the slope, I crouch down from at least 10 feet away, examine the nuances around the hole, consider the slope of the green in general and the position of the cup in it (most of mine go downhill from back to front), and then I look to see if there's any water near by. I saved two putts last round by reconsidering the break at the last minute and accounting for a little break towards the water. I don't know if this is only supposed to be true for large bodies of water, but seems to have held true for the pond/stream that runs through my local course.

After I have the putt decided on I usually line up the ball with the arrow running up the backside onto the top. I don't use it for alignment, I just use it to give myself a specific target on the very back of the ball to aim at (eg, hit the stripe on the ball with the stripe on the putter) and a specific spot to focus my eyes on. Trying to focus my eyes on a solid white patch, especially in the sun, is very difficult. If I have break to account for I'll aim the ball's arrow in that general direction just so I don't throw myself off, but I don't use it for any form of alignment.

Then I take two practice putts from behind the ball on the line of the putt. I focus primarily on distance control. If by my second practice swing I don't feel comfortable with the line of putt or the speed, I'll do a third.

I stand over the ball, take aim, check the cup, check my alignment, check the cup, and putt it. I focus on keeping a smooth swing and I imagine a triangle between the palm of my right hand, my chest, and my hips; that mental triangle keeps everything smooth and steady.

[bwdial]

I usually have a tough time thinking about anything with the voices in my head screaming at each other.
"Don't hit it too hard!"
"Don't leave it short!"
"Did you lock the car?"
"Is that sweat running down your leg?"
"Uh-oh... it's pee... AGAIN!"

[2bGood]

among several things before the putt, once over it I just imagine the sounds of the putt falling, then hit it and listen for it. For a putts 15' or longer i don't even look at them.

[RC]

I always try to see the line as a curve of various shapes and pick a near spot on that curve to begin the roll (unless it is straight then the spot is in line with the hole.) Putters have loft, and I try always to strike the ball before the putter bottoms out so that the angle comes close to the putter loft angle (I want the ball rolling as soon as possible, with as little backspin as possible) and because I want the ball to be struck before there is any transition from a decending path to an upward or level path. This latter little wrinkle is because I do not want to feel any change in how gravity is affecting the putter mass. The gravitational acceleration is decreasing and nears zero, and that is what I want to feel because I think if helps me keep my stroke "quieter." If I make contact with the shaft exactly vertical, my personal experiences are that I tend to not be quite as consistent as a slightly descending stroke and a slight forward lean to reduce loft.

Practice sometime on a green with dew and you can see what you ball does just after impact -- you can see a lot about how your stroke is working and the curved path your putts take. It will also help you identify how to pick spots for starting lines. No matter how you putt, there are no absolutes about the best technique because over the years there have been great putters with wildly different ways of putting. However, in my case I try to eliminate anything that takes perfece timing or manulipulation.

[Stretch]

Quick read, take grip, into stance, pick precise target (as small as possible -- say single blade of grass on lip or mark in back of cup), practice stroke while looking at target, set up to ball, look at target to fix image in mind, look down at ball, immediately let the stroke go. No mechanical thoughts, no distance/weight thoughts. Let the subconscious handle those.

If I go through the routine properly and don't allow any distractions to enter my mind then I am happy with that putt, whether or not it drops.

[JWL1957]

Outside of 3-4 feet, I pay more attention to speed because I am usually pretty good with my line.

Inside 4 feet........ My playing partners are usually standing together getting ready to chuckle at me for blowing another short one.

I am the worst short putter on this forum.

[Taggsy]

Putting thoughts:
"Don't three putt, don't three putt, don't three putt, don't three putt...."

Then I leave it ten foot short. And three putt.

[mcgriff]

My initial routine is to read the line, visualize the path, pick a spot nearest the ball as the target. When I start my swing all I think about is making a good stroke with consistent tempo and follow through. When I miss it is usually from me decelerating trying to guide the ball with my hands.

[sean_miller]

Outside of 3-4 feet, I pay more attention to speed because I am usually pretty good with my line.

Post a video or I don't believe you're worse than me. Actually, I changed 3 things and now it's somewhat better. A one handed pre-shot routine and setup, then just adding the left lightly for stability, was one. The second was making a more conscious effort to get my right eye over the ball to see the line properly. The third was treating every putt as a putt for a triple bogey - no pressure, just commit to the line and speed and hit it.

[Fourputt]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of putter are you? What goes through your mind when you putt?

Yep... I've been a spot putter (and every other shot too) for some 25 years. I determine a line, pick a spot 2-3 feet in front of the ball (It doesn't have to be an actual discoloration, just a point that I look at until I set the putter square to the line), take a practice stroke while looking at the spot, set the putter behind the ball set my feet, take one look at the hole to lock in the distance, then I hit the putt, keeping my head still until I can consciously see the grass under the place where the ball was sitting.

I don't use a line on the ball. I actually tried it for a while and found that I was missing more putts than usual, because it was so hard to get that line pointed correctly. I would set up to the line, but a 1.5" line just isn't a long enough reference to give an accurate alignment for a 20 foot putt. I need the 2-3 feet that the spot system gives me.

[RC]

Besides picking a spot, having a routine is really a good thing. A friend of mine won the Masters the year Harvey Pennick passed away. He played 72 holes on Augusta without a three putt. I am told every putt he struck was between 20 and 21 seconds from the start of his routine until he hit the ball. I don't know if that is true or not, but if it is, that is amazing and strongly supports having a routine.

[chrisronline]

I imagine what sort of speed I would use if I were to roll the ball towards the hole by hand...someone on this forum mentioned it a few weeks ago, and it has REALLY helped me hit my putts close/in the hole instead of leaving it 4 feet short or 4 feet past.

I like that. I'm going to try that during my next round.