Putting Advice

[CJ41]

new to the Forum, looking for some advice on putting, lately i have been adding 3-4 strokes to each hole just from my putting.

Just want some input about:

Feet width

Ball position

Weight

Eyes before and after shot

How to line up correct with hole

Grip

Thanks for the help.

[mdl]

There are lots of articles and youtube videos available that will do a much better job informing you of basic putting mechanics than a forum like this.  Plenty of books too.

One not so mechanical thing I'll say that's helped me.  Don't think too long over the ball.  Make your read, take your practice stroke or two, but then once you actually step up to the ball, look at your target just one more time, keep that target in your "awareness", sort of in the peripheral vision, then make your stroke looking at the ball and DON'T follow the ball off the club face with your eyes.

One good drill I heard about on the forum that I've started using was from a smoker who'd hold an unlit cigarette in his mouth and make sure it never stopped pointing at the ball all the way through the follow through.  I use a little ceramic one-hitter shaped like a cigarette, but you could use a pencil or whatever.  With a good pendulum swing to build from that worked wonders for me.

[Mr. Desmond]

All you need -- inexpensive and simple.

How to get to a neutral setup and stroke.

http://patobriengolf.com/Instruction.aspx

He is Zach Johnson's instructor. I use this method and grip for three years -- great improvement when you're not compensating for anything because you have a neutral setup.

[Stonecold]

I just got, and I am enjoying reading

Zen Putting by Joseph Parent

It's more about the mental aspect of golf though

Personally I found the following drills a big help

1) 6 balls around the hole about 3 feet away in a big circle

knock um in (nice and easy)

2) 6 balls in a line away from the hole about 3 feet apart

start at the one closest to the hole (learn to read the green and aim in stages)

3) Start 30 feet away and try and get all the balls in a 3 feet radius of the hole (get the feel of a 2 put)

Try doing those with different grips, foot positions, keeping your eyes down after you hit the ball and don't look up to see if it goes in the hole, put with closed eyes or even looking at the hole (never at the ball) and see what feels right for you.

I found that a wider stand with locked knees and the new overhand grip with my eyes down even after I hit the ball worked best for me.

I also found that I was over-compinsating for a break in the green so I aim more strait at the hole now.

[Clambake]

Originally Posted by CJ41

..... i have been adding 3-4 strokes to each hole just from my putting.

Wow, 3 to 4 strokes on each hole from putting?!?   That's an extra 50-80 strokes per round!   If that's true I don't think there is any amount of instruction material that is going to help - you need a therapist!

[Merlin76]

Suggest you make sure you lock your wrists,

I have seen so many players hit bad putts because

they have a tendency to slightly break the wrists

which results in a pulled or pushed putt.

[GaijinGolfer]

Definetly hit up Youtube for some putting videos.  Then pick up, "Zen Putting" and read it.  Just like the rest of golf, putting is just as much mental as it is physical (possibly even moreso).

[garrettdennert]

There are many, many places to seek putting advice.  The simplest thing I can tell is that when you're home, just be gripping your putter-- hit balls into a coffee cup on the far side of the living room.  For me, putting is 99% about feel.  If you don't feel good with your putter, you're not gonna make a good stroke, etc.  A lot of cause and effect.  Putt like Happy Gilmore if it makes you a better putter.  In my book, Laying a Foundation: A Beginner's Guide to Golf, I go into more depth about putting, if you're interested.  Last I knew you could see the putting chapter through a "Look Inside" feature on Amazon.

Garrett

[JasonFL]

+1 for that!!!  For us that play on public courses thats more often the case than not.

Originally Posted by Stonecold

I also found that I was over-compinsating for a break in the green so I aim more strait at the hole now.

[lumpuckeroo]

Putting is so individualized and there is really no right or wrong way to putt.  About the only thing all the putting experts argree on it you should stand with your eyes over the ball or just inside the ball and have a consistent pre-shot routine, after that is a matter of personal preferences.  I would say take a look at what some of the better short game/putter guru's have published and try a few things, but try them one at a time.  If you like the changes incorporate them in your putting, once you find what you like, practice it and stick with it.

[saevel25]

Quote:

feet width

Ball position

Weight

Eyes before and after shot

How to line up correct with hole

Grip

Thanks for the help.

Feet Width: I like just inside the shoulders, to wide for me messes up my swing, to narrow and you are not stable

Ball position, i like it just front of middle fo rme

Weight, 50/50

Eyes: i like them just inside the golf ball

How to line up, i imagine the putt to get the feel for the break and how i want it to start out, then i find i focus on a point just a few inches infront of the ball to line myself up to.

[oO J4M3S Oo]

It might be a bit obvious but if it is a straight put, line up the writing on the ball with the hole and line up the club with the ball.

[inthecup]

I would get a ball marking tool and a sharpie.  Put a straight line on the ball.  Pick the line of the putt and line up the line with your intended path.  It eliminates having to figure out alignment over the ball.  Tiger did and does it and when he was winning he was the best putter out there.

Two other things that work for me.

1.) I can't putt straight back and straight through, my body does not make the motion naturally.  My putter opens slightly on the way back and closes slightly coming through.  Sound counter intuitive but it works.

2.) DO NOT MOVE YOUR HEAD only look when the ball is halfway to the hole.  Do this for a while then you can look sooner but the ball has to be away before you do. When you look a righty will usually pull it right.

Other then that get out there and practice.  Also before the round make sure you put to get a feel for the greens speed that day.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Get a lesson. Get two lessons. Have a pro show you to read greens, how to set up, how to align yourself, how to make the stroke, how to control speed.

Putting is more of an individual expression than the other golf shots are, but that does not mean anything goes. There are some things you have to do the right way. It doesn't seem that you're doing them the right way, or maybe you do occasionally, but you don't realize it and rarely putt the same way twice.

Let a pro help you find a way that works, then practice it like the dickens.