Please share your PUTTING ROUTINE in 100 words or less

[geauxforbroke]

The best advice I can give you is to practice your putting more. I don't mean your stroke, I mean reading a putt and hitting the line you choose. When I was younger, I would literally spend hours on the practice green putting in circles, making a game out of it, playing against friends. That's the only way you are going to learn how to read a putt and hit your line.

[lumpuckeroo]

I have no routine, I walk up to the ball, line up and hit it.  Sometimes putting is just instinctive, it is for me anyway, I spend no time grinding over a putt.

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by lumpuckeroo

I have no routine, I walk up to the ball, line up and hit it.  Sometimes putting is just instinctive, it is for me anyway, I spend no time grinding over a putt.

Sounds like your routine is:

1.) Walk up to the ball

2.) Line up (probably a couple steps here)

3.) Hit it.

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

The best advice I can give you is to practice your putting more. I don't mean your stroke, I mean reading a putt and hitting the line you choose. When I was younger, I would literally spend hours on the practice green putting in circles, making a game out of it, playing against friends. That's the only way you are going to learn how to read a putt and hit your line.

I spent my winters as a kid (when not in school) skiiing all day or playing pick up hockey with my brothers. Now kids have computers and organized sports. Anything that takes more than 5 minutes is boring.

[bigwave916]

Originally Posted by lumpuckeroo

I have no routine, I walk up to the ball, line up and hit it.  Sometimes putting is just instinctive, it is for me anyway, I spend no time grinding over a putt.

Same for me, no thought process, no aim card or whatever the hell that is.  I guess that after 40 years of playing you just get the feel for it. I'll probably putt like crap for a month or so after reading this.  Too much to think about.

Now that I am thinking about it, two keys for me that I do almost sub-consciously, is feel the slope of the green through my feet while I'm walking around tending the flag, or marking my ball, or doing whatever I do before I actually putt. One visualization I use when I'm not certain of the line of a putt is to imagine throwing a bucket of water from behind my ball. That visualization gives me a pretty good idea of where the ball is probably going to break and how fast. I've also learned to look at the entire green and try to determine how water drains off of it.

Like I said, I do these things almost sub-consciously. I don't spend a lot of time putting and I get aggravated with people who do.  If my first putt is anywhere near the hole, like within 6 feet, I just putt out. People who mark balls less than 3 feet from the hole waste one helluva lot of time by doing it.

When it comes to putting I fall back on  the old saying: "Trust your instincts 'cuz thinkin' ain't workin' "

[VegasRenegade]

See ball

See Hole

hit ball

See ball go in hole.

This all in my mind then I do it again for real.

[rustyredcab]

Imagine the speed and break by looking at ball, hole and lay of green.

Determine a small point on green that will be aim point.

Line ball up with aim point. Look at that spot.

Look at ball and line up putter with line on ball.

Imagine spot and speed while looking at ball. Make a stroke that rolls ball toward the point.

[jshots]

1- Examine putt (Most important step, always different depending on putt, importance, length, etc. finish examination squatting behind the ball)

2- Pick Spot to aim at a few feet in front of the ball taking into account everything you noticed in step 1.

3- Walk up to putt and take a stance

4- a few practice strokes strictly trying to find correct stroke power

5- Address ball, line up at aim spot

6- Stroke ball trying to copy practice stroke as much as possible.

Optional steps:

7- Drain putt

8- Fist pump

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by jshots

8- Fist pump

Most important step, IMO. Can't be a sissy fist pump, like this:

Needs to be a full on, beast mode fist pump:

[NuclearMike]

I look at the green as I'm walking to it, try to assess break with my feet as well as my eyes, align the ball my intended line, and hit it.  If I'm long with the putt, or if I've hit a chip to the green past the hole, I make sure to look at how the ball moves after the hole so that I have a good idea as to what I need to do on the next putt.  I don't spend a ton of time on it.  Paralysis by analysis and all that...

[Paradox]

1. stand behind ball in line with hole and look at the surrounding area of the green for knobs, ridges, swells..that sorta thing and see how they affect my putt

2. squat and visualize my line(I have a good imagination so its easy for me to actually "see" the line in my minds eye) then pick a spot on that line for aiming purposes)

3. move to address and align my putter to the proper line

4. straight back, straight through.

I see a lot of guys miss putts because they are so focused on whats going on just around the hole that they don't notice the whole picture.  That and then they will still line up in a direct line to the hole and then try to manipulate the clubface to get the ball on the proper line.

[saevel25]

1) read putt, tracing my eyes from ball, imagining the ball roll to the hole, and back and back to the hole, finding a spot infront of the ball to line the ball up with.

2) Line up to the ball, using the spot i chosen.

3) take a few practice swings, two look at the hole, one were i will imagine the putt again.

4) step up to the ball, look at a spot out from were my clubface is pointing, i do not look at the hole because it will misalign your body.

5) Hit putt.

[inthehole]

Thanks again guys - I am amazed how many focus on a "spot" on the green and aim at that instead of somewhere around the hole & guessing the break like I do.      I've never tried this aiming point method ... I will definitely work on that !!

[fatclub]

1) Visualize what I want the ball to do - nailing details about the line, speed, etc.

2) Line up the ball

3) Hit the putt

---- pray like mad as the ball goes on its way

---- epic fist-pump

[jshots]

Originally Posted by inthehole

Thanks again guys - I am amazed how many focus on a "spot" on the green and aim at that instead of somewhere around the hole & guessing the break like I do.      I've never tried this aiming point method ... I will definitely work on that !!

They are one in the same, for me anyways. I pick a spot in front of me because its easier to square to a spot a few feet in front of me rather than a spot 15 feet or more away. You could extend that line further, and should to pick your final spot.

[Beachcomber]

Aimpoint.

Mark my ball.

Pace off the distance of the putt.

Go to the mid-point of the putt - find straight.

Guesstimate the % slope of the putt using my feet as I walk along the putting line.

Guesstimate the angle from straight the ball and hole is

Look-up my Aimpoint number in my chart book.

Go line the balls alignment mark up to my calculated Aimpoint.

Address the putt.

Look down my line while my head is over the putt.

Envision the putt rolling along that line and into the hole.

Look back down at the ball.

Pull the trigger.

[RPMPIRE]

Mark Ball

Address the marker (as if I'm going to putt) to gauge the initial break with my feet

Read the putt halfway and around the hole

Pick a spot 6 inches in front of the ball and line up the ball to that mark.

Stand behind the ball perpendicular to the putting line and take and take practice strokes gauging the pace while doing so

Address the ball

Set stance

Look at the line once

Putt

[Truegolf]

1) Read it 2) Roll it 3) Hole it