Lipping out Putts

[Shorty]

My glass of water keeps falling off the table.

Once I put it 1 foot from the edge and it didn't fall off.

What causes it to fall onto my carpet?

I have seen other people put their glasses on tables and they don't fall off.

What is wrong with my glass or my table, or is there something else that I'm not getting?

The OP is officially certifiable.

[Golfingdad]

My glass of water keeps falling off the table. Once I put it 1 foot from the edge and it didn't fall off. What causes it to fall onto my carpet? I have seen other people put their glasses on tables and they don't fall off. What is wrong with my glass or my table, or is there something else that I'm not getting? The OP is officially certifiable.

I think it's probably the way you rotate it just before you place it on the table. Or perhaps it's the type of water you drink. Next time try sparkling. ;)

[pipergsm]

Originally Posted by trackster

I played a cheap par 3 9 hole course last year with my girlfriend and got to enjoy 22 putts.  After I was missing 6 inch putts that should have dropped on multiple holes I started inspecting the holes.  They were definitely not cut out right.  If you were not dead centering the hole the ball was not going to fall in.  It was actually kind of comical to see the ball dance its way out of the hole.

I think something similar is going on at certain holes of my local course.

When I stroke my hand over the grass surrounding the hole, I can sometimes feel a kind of bobble at the edge of the hole.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

It's pure physics.  The ball is going too fast relative to how off line it is from the center of the hole.  I had this playing partner today say "Ah, you got robbed" to me a couple of times when I lipped out.  Now, I didn't get robbed, I hit the putt wrong, plain and simple.

Then you either always play alone, or you are really not paying attention.  Again, it's physics.  If the ball is going too fast, it's going to lip out.

You're delusional.  Nothing "special" is happening to you.  The putts that you see falling (whether yours or anybody elses) are hit with proper speed (relative to how off center they are) and the ones that miss are not.

Yes, Patrick.

Thanks for this explanation.

I'll have to practice more on my aiming.

[pipergsm]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

I think it's probably the way you rotate it just before you place it on the table. Or perhaps it's the type of water you drink. Next time try sparkling. ;)

Originally Posted by Shorty

My glass of water keeps falling off the table.

Once I put it 1 foot from the edge and it didn't fall off.

What causes it to fall onto my carpet?

I have seen other people put their glasses on tables and they don't fall off.

What is wrong with my glass or my table, or is there something else that I'm not getting?

The OP is officially certifiable.

Thanks guys!

Great advise!

This is exactly the kind of reaction I expect from more experienced fellow golfers trying to help each other out!

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by pipergsm

Thanks guys!

Great advise!

This is exactly the kind of reaction I expect from more experienced fellow golfers trying to help each other out!

The point is that yopur question is stupid.

Hit the hole at the right speed and the ball will go in.

Most 8 year olds work that out the first time they hold a putter.

[pipergsm]

Originally Posted by Shorty

The point is that yopur question is stupid.

Hit the hole at the right speed and the ball will go in.

Most 8 year olds work that out the first time they hold a putter.

Hit the ball the right way, and it will go wherever you want!

Golf is so simple!

[saevel25]

Originally Posted by Shorty

The point is that yopur question is stupid.

Hit the hole at the right speed and the ball will go in.

Most 8 year olds work that out the first time they hold a putter.

The point of your statement is your a jerk.  You blantenly throw around a "DUH" statement to prove your intelligence. Until recently that "Duh" statement wasn't used by even professional golfers. Most golfers want to hit the ball firm to the hole. Which in golf isn't optimal. So, even the best of the best can learn a better way. Throwing in the word right, is a cop-out. It shows you know nothing of the subject since you used an adjective to describe the word speed, instead of specifying what speed should be used. My response to you, No shit the ball will go into the hole at the right speed, "DUH"

[MS256]

Originally Posted by pipergsm

I think something similar is going on at certain holes of my local course.

When I stroke my hand over the grass surrounding the hole, I can sometimes feel a kind of bobble at the edge of the hole.

A few points:

Most of the traffic on a green is around the hole. After a few groups come through there are always footprint indentions close to the cup. If you drive up to the green after dark and shine headlights on the green you will wonder how you ever made a putt.

If the holes aren't changed at least twice a week the grass starts to grow over the edge of the hole and cause more lip outs.

When the plug is pulled it will very often raise the level of the ground around the hole making any putt from any direction that is dying at the hole break around the hole. When I change the holes I start the cup into the hole by hand but push it down to ground level with my foot, then turn my foot 90 degrees and push down very slightly again. That levels the ground around the top of the cup. Then I push the cup to the bottom of the hole.

I not only work there but since I also play there and putting is the best advantage I have in golf I'm very picky about how I set the cup. Some people are not so picky and are just in a hurry to get the pins set. I've even seen the replaced plug sticking up 1/2 inch above the level of the rest of the green or 1/2 inch low. Pretty sure the next guy that mowed those greens wasn't too thrilled.

[Ernest Jones]

A few points: Most of the traffic on a green is around the hole. After a few groups come through there are always footprint indentions close to the cup. If you drive up to the green after dark and shine headlights on the green you will wonder how you ever made a putt. If the holes aren't changed at least twice a week the grass starts to grow over the edge of the hole and cause more lip outs. When the plug is pulled it will very often raise the level of the ground around the hole making any putt from any direction that is dying at the hole break around the hole. When I change the holes I start the cup into the hole by hand but push it down to ground level with my foot, then turn my foot 90 degrees and push down slightly again. That levels the ground around the top of the cup. Then I push the cup to the bottom of the hole. I not only work there but since I also play there and putting is the best advantage I have in golf I'm very picky about how I set the cup. Some people are not so picky and are just in a hurry to get the pins set.

There's also those jokers who pop the ball out of the hole with their putter using a kind of lever action. That dents the side of the hole and is idiotic. I routinely hit into those groups.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by pipergsm

When putting, I usually try to calculate the speed of the ball such that, if I miss the hole, it will not pass it by more than 2 feet, often resulting in the fact that my ball comes up just a little short.

This is not my biggest problem however.

Quite often, I see my ball going in (half) and coming out again (lipping out?).

Is this caused by a specific flaw in the way I put, or is it rather bad luck and will it get better as I practice more?

Thanks for the answers.

It means that you are almost making those putts.  Those deep lip outs are probably hit too fast, but since you also leave some short, it's obviously not a consistent problem.  If you start playing them with less pace you will just leave more putts short, and that's a lot worse than lipping out.  We can't possibly tell anything else about it sitting here at our computers.

I'll put it this way, would you rather that your misses were bad enough that the ball never even touched the lip?  Lip outs are a part of golf.  Ever watch a pro tournament?  Phil lipped out several putts just in the final round at the US Open on Sunday - a couple of those drop and he wins the tournament.  It happens.  Accept the fact that you are probably hitting good putts, but not all of them are quite good enough.  That just makes you a typical golfer.

[TJBam]

My scientific side tells me that your key problem here is not hitting the ball into the hole, which is clearly a result of... not hitting the ball into the hole.

[pipergsm]

Originally Posted by MS256

A few points:

Most of the traffic on a green is around the hole. After a few groups come through there are always footprint indentions close to the cup. If you drive up to the green after dark and shine headlights on the green you will wonder how you ever made a putt.

If the holes aren't changed at least twice a week the grass starts to grow over the edge of the hole and cause more lip outs.

When the plug is pulled it will very often raise the level of the ground around the hole making any putt from any direction that is dying at the hole break around the hole. When I change the holes I start the cup into the hole by hand but push it down to ground level with my foot, then turn my foot 90 degrees and push down very slightly again. That levels the ground around the top of the cup. Then I push the cup to the bottom of the hole.

I not only work there but since I also play there and putting is the best advantage I have in golf I'm very picky about how I set the cup. Some people are not so picky and are just in a hurry to get the pins set. I've even seen the replaced plug sticking up 1/2 inch above the level of the rest of the green or 1/2 inch low. Pretty sure the next guy that mowed those greens wasn't too thrilled.

Thanks MS256, this explains a lot!

After speaking with some members of the club, I realize now that this course is really at the bottom of the quality ladder and most serious golfers wouldn't even consider playing here (so I was told).

The holes are sometimes changed, but not often and certainly not twice a week. When they do change them, they just fill the old hole with sand! you can actually see the yellow sand-circles where the old holes used to be.

Originally Posted by Fourputt

It means that you are almost making those putts.  Those deep lip outs are probably hit too fast, but since you also leave some short, it's obviously not a consistent problem.  If you start playing them with less pace you will just leave more putts short, and that's a lot worse than lipping out.  We can't possibly tell anything else about it sitting here at our computers.

I'll put it this way, would you rather that your misses were bad enough that the ball never even touched the lip?  Lip outs are a part of golf.  Ever watch a pro tournament?  Phil lipped out several putts just in the final round at the US Open on Sunday - a couple of those drop and he wins the tournament.  It happens.  Accept the fact that you are probably hitting good putts, but not all of them are quite good enough.  That just makes you a typical golfer.

Thanks Fourputt, I think you're right!

If I keep on practicing, I guess more balls will drop instead of lipping out.

It's just a little frustrating, seeing your ball go in, only to come out again! lol

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by saevel25

The point of your statement is your a jerk.  You blantenly throw around a "DUH" statement to prove your intelligence. Until recently that "Duh" statement wasn't used by even professional golfers. Most golfers want to hit the ball firm to the hole. Which in golf isn't optimal. So, even the best of the best can learn a better way. Throwing in the word right, is a cop-out. It shows you know nothing of the subject since you used an adjective to describe the word speed, instead of specifying what speed should be used. My response to you, No shit the ball will go into the hole at the right speed, "DUH"

No - you're (not that apostrophe there?) the jerk.

Do you not think that an adult could spend five minutes on the putting green and realise that there is an optimal speed for the ball to enter the hole?

The OP is a beginner who thinks he can teach others how to play (perhaps you haven't read his other posts) and now is wondering why his putts aren't dropping.

As for the adjective you so eloquently allude to, which I'm assuming is "right' you are exposing your own ignorance by saying that this has to be defined.

The laws of physics are self evident when it comes to questions like these. It would be like explaining the "right" speed to throw a ball so it stays in the garden and doesn't go over the fence.

It certainly doesn't need to be explained or defined, unless you are completely stupid.

[pipergsm]

Originally Posted by Shorty

No - you're (not that apostrophe there?) the jerk.

Do you not think that an adult could spend five minutes on the putting green and realise that there is an optimal speed for the ball to enter the hole?

The OP is a beginner who thinks he can teach others how to play (perhaps you haven't read his other posts) and now is wondering why his putts aren't dropping.

As for the adjective you so eloquently allude to, which I'm assuming is "right' you are exposing your own ignorance by saying that this has to be defined.

The laws of physics are self evident when it comes to questions like these. It would be like explaining the "right" speed to throw a ball so it stays in the garden and doesn't go over the fence.

It certainly doesn't need to be explained or defined, unless you are completely stupid.

The OP also sees other golfers play the ball much faster than he does, entering the hole the same way, and they do not jump back out of the hole or lip out!

I may be stupid, but I can still see when 1 ball rolls faster than the other one and whether or not they enter the hole the same way!

[pipergsm]

Unless you think I'm blind as well, but then I wouldn't be putting at 1.88, would I?

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by pipergsm

Unless you think I'm blind as well, but then I wouldn't be putting at 1.88, would I?

Putting at 1.88 is meaningless.

A figure like that for someone at your level of experience is not an indicator of putting ability, it is a reflection, usually, of chipping.

Some of your worst rounds are when you have 27 putts. And a round of 1.5 putts per hole does not necessarily mean that you have putted. Similarly, a round where you have 36 putts could be one of your best rounds ever, because you are hitting greens in regulation.

So...don't make the mistake of thinking that 1.88 means something.

[pipergsm]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Putting at 1.88 is meaningless.

A figure like that for someone at your level of experience is not an indicator of putting ability, it is a reflection, usually, of chipping.

Some of your worst rounds are when you have 27 putts. And a round of 1.5 putts per hole does not necessarily mean that you have putted. Similarly, a round where you have 36 putts could be one of your best rounds ever, because you are hitting greens in regulation.

So...don't make the mistake of thinking that 1.88 means something.

By reasoning that way, you can prove whatever you want, even completely opposite things!

A putting average of 1.88, or 1.5 DOES mean something: it shows that you do have "some" putting abilities, or your averages (talking about a beginner here!) would be much higher, no matter how good or bad the rest of your game is.

NEEDING to putt better than 1.88/hole in order to get a good final result, because the rest of your game sucked, does not mean that the average of 1.88 putts/hole is meaningless.

When the majority of your first putts come from outside 15 feet, that means your approach sucks off course and to get a decent final result you would need to putt better than 1.88/hole, but that doesn't mean the result of 1.88/hole in itself is meaningless or bad, especially when you're a beginner and +70% of your first putts had to be made from outside 15 feet.

[tomvk77]

for sure Phil would like to know how you solved it