Major help with putting

[saevel25]

Confidence is a huge thing, it wasn't till the end of last year were i got into a groove, and i thought i could make anything. When that happens, you really start sinking alot of putts. Because your not thinking of anything else, you know your going to hit your line, and at the speed you want. From there is purely your ability to read the greens, if your confident, and don't 2nd guess you find you are able to read them pretty good.

For me, i just wack the ball around the green before the round. I never really do any drills. I like to hit from one hole to the next on the putting green, varying speeds and just glimpsing the line from the side, getting a feel for the break. I am usually pretty good at that, it helps alot with reading to learn to feel the putt, you get alot of sense from your stance to.

Practicing wise, i like setting up balls at 3,6,9,12,15 feet. I usually do intervals of 3 because my long step is about 1 yard, easy to pace it out. Just drop a ball, then make the short one and go back. If you miss, reset them up. Do it till you can make them all.

Then i will putt long putts, make sure that they end up behind the hole from  a foot to two feet. Then i putt those in from there. Got to make the gimmies, help you with the short ones.

[jshots]

One thing that has helped me with my putting is getting a routine that I stick to. It helps my confidence over the ball as well as my rythym throughout my putts and even the rest of my game. For example I do the same thing every time. In fact the way I think about it, I almost eliminate any chance of not being confident with my routine. You can do whatever you like but for example I will analyze my putt for however long I need, finishing by crouching behind the ball picking a spot to aim at. I step up to the ball and square my putter to my target, take 2 practice putts trying to imagine the right feel and picturing the ball track to the hole, I then step up to the ball make sure i'm aligned, one look down to the hole imagining my putts track to the hole, look back at the ball, adjust one last time, one more at my target, and then putt.

It may sound like a lot but i really helps me get rid of any bad thoughts and actually only takes 15-20 seconds. If i ever feel like something is wrong during the process i step away and start over.

As others say speed and direction are important, obviously, but those just take repetition I think. When i'm working on feel I will putt a ball, try to roll the next ball past that ball by just a few feet, and so on. Sometimes I will reverse the process and try to roll a ball short of my last putt making each put shorter. When i do this drill I finish by just putting a single ball at random lengths to actual targets.

For direction I do a lot of just messing around. Placing a tee in the green and putting at it is great. Sometimes I will putt a ball with break and see If i can make each following putt slide just behind the previous putt with a little more distance creating a straight line which combines the two.

Using these I've gotten fairly good at putting and rarely 3 putt, If only I could hit a straight drive!

good luck to you!

[LeftyTrevor]

Almost only counts with hand grenades and horseshoes. You have to work on all three. Leave any of them out and you miss the cup. Either high, low, left or right its still not in.

[DeanS]

Originally Posted by tazrestling27

Again, Today I shot a 83 with 7, 3 putts. I can not get my putting game down. When I practice it I do great I do not understand. I do not feel comfortable with the way I stand or stroke the ball. Please help with tips and everything. Drills, stance, posture ect. or even if you have a good video. If I fix this I would be in the mid to low 70's.

Thanks

Two rules of thumb I was given were 1) for the stoke, its one part back and two parts forward, (not an exact science) this shortens your back swing and forces you to accelerate thru the ball and 2) figure 1" back for each 1 foot of roll (again not an exact science).

[bunkerputt]

If you want to be a good putter, you need to start with these principles:

1.  Speed and line are important

2.  Rolling the ball relatively purely and consistently is a prerequisite for developing a feel for speed and line

3.  Concentration is a key prerequisite for consistent rolls

Look at it this way.  If you are hitting it all over the face with varying amounts of backspin, your brain can't figure out how hard to hit it.  If you just roll it pure, you develop feel very quickly.  If you start mis-hitting it, your newly developed sense of feel leaves as quickly as you acquired it.

Now speed and line are not independent.  I can make a big slicing 6-footer by rolling it slowly and playing a lot of break or quickly and playing a little break or anything in between.  But you won't develop a style until you can roll the ball purely.  This is why there is so much talk about technique at first.  The idea is to get you striking the ball purely and let feel develop naturally.  Confidence comes from knowing what you are trying to do and seeing yourself be successful at it a number of times.  Crappy putters who never sink anything and can't roll or read it purely have no reason to be confident.

[Shindig]

Originally Posted by DeanS

2) figure 1" back for each 1 foot of roll (again not an exact science).

Well, this sharply depends on the speed of the greens.  Also... what do you do for a 30 foot putt?

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by DeanS

Two rules of thumb I was given were 1) for the stoke, its one part back and two parts forward, (not an exact science) this shortens your back swing and forces you to accelerate thru the ball and 2) figure 1" back for each 1 foot of roll (again not an exact science).

No no.  Please no.  I'd bet no other piece of advice has killed people's distance control faster than telling them to accelerate their putting stroke.  Lengthening the backstroke for longer putts is sound advice on the other hand.

[nevets88]

One thing that helped me awhile back ago was grip pressure. When I started to use just enough grip pressure to hang on to the club, my distance control and consistency got much better. For the longest time I was using too much grip pressure. I really do hang on to the grip like it was a bird.

[DeanS]

Originally Posted by Shindig

Well, this sharply depends on the speed of the greens.  Also... what do you do for a 30 foot putt?

For those 30 footers I forward press the putter and apply a chipping feel, hard to explain. Depending on the situation I might also release my trailing elbow to keep the putter head low and going down the line.

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

No no.  Please no.  I'd bet no other piece of advice has killed people's distance control faster than telling them to accelerate their putting stroke.  Lengthening the backstroke for longer putts is sound advice on the other hand.

I agree having constant velocity back and thru feels better to me. However having said that a shorter back stroke will gives me better line control. So for those shots inside 10 feet a short hard/solid feel is what I'm looking for.

[Fatphil]

Look at it this way.  If you are hitting it all over the face with varying amounts of backspin, your brain can't figure out how hard to hit it.  If you just roll it pure, you develop feel very quickly.  If you start mis-hitting it, your newly developed sense of feel leaves as quickly as you acquired it.

Sorry to say I think you are wasting your breath beating this point.  A millimeter variation of a wrist angle or lie angle will cause a mis hit (or mis direction).  Most weekend players don't make the same stroke twice during a round.  (ha ha myself included)

[dr_faustus]

One thing that helped me - moving my hands to the top of the grip. That keeps the elbows bent which seems to help.

My last look is where I'm aiming - either in the hole or wherever - then rock the shoulders and try to hit the ball on the sweet spot.

Usually if I putt with my hands I'm way off but if I can relax and just putt with my shoulders I'm good.