On in 2.....3 putt.

[Jacob French]

I consider myself an average golfer.  2 years ago I had about 4 months of lesson from Golf-Tec, changed my game for the better considerably.  As far as my overall game goes I'm fairly pleased right now.  My iron and hybrid play are pretty good, a little iffy with the drive depending on the day but with my distance I can usually get away with it because I'm good with everything else off the tee.  My biggest problem lately is putting.  The last few times i've played I had mearly joked about how bad of a putter I am.  The last game I played i think is what pushed me over the edge.  I shot my best score of the summer (86) which included two 3 putt par 5s for par on the back nine.  Granted they weren't my only 3 putts of the round but def. the ones that stung the most.  I really don't know if it's a mental thing or what.  The past few rounds i've experimented with different stances but still come up with all the same results.  I feel like i have a good stroke but who knows.  Just looking for any suggestions...ANY!

[Kieran123]

I am guessing speed was the big issue?

It may not work for you, but for me, I picture rolling the ball with my hand to the hole to get a gauge on the speed.

For some reason it helps....and I have no idea why.

[Jacob French]

Speed is a major issue!  May also be the speed of my play and sometimes not taking my time.  I'll keep the tip in mind, thanks a lot!

[RJ32S]

Jacob, do you find yourself missing long or short on most putts?

If you are missing short, which is the case more often than not, there is often times a very quick deceleration before impact....    I struggled with this for a while.  I'd leave a 25 foot putt 8 feet short, REGULARLY.   ( Again, just my experience with myself and some regular golf buddies)

If you are short, make sure you are making a concious effort to putt through the ball with constant speed.

[RyderJ]

Just my two cents...

If speed is your issue then go to a hardware store and buy yourself two yardsticks...about 75 cents per. When you get home take some electrical tape and apply a ten inch strip to the first yardstick. I read that a proportionate putting stroke is a 40/60% ratio...as to say 40% of your stroke is in the take back, 60% is striking and following through the ball. I use this to practice my touch on short putts and to ensure I am maintaining the correct stroke I marked a line at four inches from one end.

With the second yardstick, I did the same thing only altering the length of tape but keeping the 40/60 ratio in mind. It's up to you to decide what distance you need to practice your touch from.

Anyways, hope this isn't too confusing and helps you out some....I know it sure helped my touch on the greens.

[goblue107501]

step 1: practice putting...a lot. I don't mean for 10 minutes before the round. Take 3 balls and head to the course with only your putter and stay on the practice green for an hour or two. Spend the majority of the time with shorter putts (6 feet and in). There should never be a doubt that you can't make a 4 footer for par. It should be automatic. Will you miss them? Yes, everyone does, but you should never be scared of them. You can even practice if it is in the house on the carpet. Don't worry about the speed at home, just try and maintain a consistent stroke. Putting is 100 times easier when you know you will hit the ball where you aim it. Over time, with the practice, you will develop the feel to be able to adjust to the speed of the greens. All I need is about 6-8 putts on the practice green to get the speed down. step 2 (and the #1 way to eliminate 3 putts): hit the ball closer to the hole on the first one.

[RJ32S]

Originally Posted by goblue107501

step 2 (and the #1 way to eliminate 3 putts): hit the ball closer to the hole on the first one.

HAHA, that is fantastic!

[RyderJ]

Yahtzee...lol

Originally Posted by goblue107501

step 2 (and the #1 way to eliminate 3 putts): hit the ball closer to the hole on the first one.

[mdl]

One thing that's really helped me control distance is changing my aim point instead of changing my "feel" of how hard to hit the ball.  When lining up a putt I'll choose a spot to aim at left or right depending on the break and how hard I want to hit the ball, but I'll also move that aim point towards or away from me depending on the slope, uphill or downhill.

For example, if it's a slight uphill putt that's going to break a cup left, I'll aim for a spot a cup to the right of the hole but also maybe 6 inches behind the hole.  If it's a severe downhill putt with some left to right break, I might aim for a spot to the left of the line to the hole but only a foot or two in front of me.

The idea is to always take my stroke trying to hit the distance to my aim point as if my putt were on a totally flat green.  That way I can go through my same routine every time: take a practice stroke or two, step up the ball, look once at my aim point without thinking at all about whether I have to hit it harder or softer than usual to get the ball to that point, then look down and take a confident stroke.

[saevel25]

Go to the putting green, put a tee down in 5 foot intervals, i like to go to 25 feet. Then just putt them over and over again. You can do three putts at each, or put down 5 balls and try to make all of them, if you miss start over. Just keep doing that so you gain feel. If your not getting the ball inside 25 feet consistantly then i would work on your iron game.

[colin007]

you and me both bro...i suck at putting.  i had a good ballstriking day the other day, and ended up hitting 11/18 GIRs...and 39 putts!!!!  i had four 3 putts...atrocious.

[LankyLefty]

Few weeks ago I hit a 500 meter par five in 2.... and then proceded to 4 putt :(

[B-Con]

One thing that really helped me hit proper distances on lag putts was learning how much backswing to take. First I chose a swing tempo I liked. Then I chose three convenient positions to bring the club back to and learned how far each of those hit the ball. Now I pace off my putt distances and I use the checkpoints for how far to take the backswing. Then it's just a matter of holding to my same swing tempo. So when assessing a putt of known distance, I always hold to my stock "X back = Y distance" and then adjust the necessary backswing from there to account for other variables, like greens with slightly different speed, phill, downhill, wet grass, sand particles, etc. A lot of that is just practice. I make the mental decision to take it "X" far back, then let feel guide the actual swing. If you can learn, say, 3 checkpoints for putts within 20 feet and you practice always using the same tempo, it may become actually difficult to mis-hit the distance by more than 3 feet.

[Lofty Lefty]

When you are taking a practice putt, looking at the hole while swinging the putter can help get a better feel for distance.

If you're having trouble with hitting the shorter putts straight, try ignoring the ball and watch the putter blade with your eyes during the stroke. Way easy to keep it on a straight line then.

[NuclearMike]

My best round ever was a 78 at PGA West Palmer course.  I hit 15 greens and shot 78 with FIVE 3 putts.  Needless to say putting practice became a priority after that.