3 Keys to Better Putting

[iacas]

1-2° of dynamic loft.

2-4° AoA.

Re-read the first post in this thread, too. Mechanics don't matter much so long as you can produce the three keys listed in this thread.

[Play4Fun]

Err is this a driver thread ? :-O

[iacas]

Err is this a driver thread ? :-O

No. Why do you ask?

[Play4Fun]

Why is there aoa and dynamic loft?

[Play4Fun]

Oh nevermind had googled it . Sorry... Can someone give some thoughts how to get those numbers? I don't think we got a putting lab here . Only track man .

[joekelly]

The Moment of Truth is when the Putter Head Impacts the Ball

"It is universally understood that it is best for precision putting to roll the golf ball on the green.  So when the putter launches the ball up into the air with backspin, that is understood to be not good; but, when a putter launches the ball without bounce and with immediate topspin roll, that is understood to be good."

This info continues and concludes with this statement:

"So there is picture proof that a negative 1 degree loft delivers better putting performance and (sic) (probably should be 'than') putters having the more typical 4 degree loft currently in vogue in today’s putters."

The author is also marketing a line of negative loft putters so may be biased in their favor.  more: http://www.quantumputters.com/bloft.html

I see many TV pros forward press a few degrees, thus delofting towards negative.  Frankly, i'm very uncertain if this topspin/backspin off the putter face is worth the effort needed to accept the theory and modify current technique.

[iacas]

"So there is picture proof that a negative 1 degree loft delivers better putting performance and (sic) (probably should be 'than') putters having the more typical 4 degree loft currently in vogue in today’s putters."

The author is also marketing a line of negative loft putters so may be biased in their favor.  more: http://www.quantumputters.com/bloft.html

I see many TV pros forward press a few degrees, thus delofting towards negative.  Frankly, i'm very uncertain if this topspin/backspin off the putter face is worth the effort needed to accept the theory and modify current technique.

Negative loft only works if you lean the shaft backward at impact. Again, 1-2° of delivered loft is ideal. It's enough to get the ball out of the depression in which it sits on the green (very small), and not smashed down into the ground (as negative delivered loft would), while not launching it too high in the air so that it bounces upon impact.

[Torres9]

Putting is a mind set for me. Assess my line and speed in my routine and let the pendulum roll it based on my visualization. Putting and short game are my strongest suit and have a lot to do with feel and confidence after you have your technique.

[Crim]

I may have missed it, but what are the best practices for BEAD?

I have decent speed control, I can read break pretty good, but I can't always hit my line. Sometimes I have trouble making a line. I may try and use the line on the ball, see how that works.

[iacas]

I may have missed it, but what are the best practices for BEAD?

I have decent speed control, I can read break pretty good, but I can't always hit my line. Sometimes I have trouble making a line. I may try and use the line on the ball, see how that works.

It's late so I'm only going to answer the last part… you'd be surprised how many people can't put the line down properly and point it where they think it's pointed. It's not a terribly reliable thing.

Putt off a yardstick to practice Bead. And buy LSW. :)

[Crim]

It's late so I'm only going to answer the last part… you'd be surprised how many people can't put the line down properly and point it where they think it's pointed. It's not a terribly reliable thing.

Putt off a yardstick to practice Bead. And buy LSW. :)

Sweeeeet. Thanks! Yardstick practice & yes I'm buying LSW soon.

I'm curious, a lot of pros use the line don't they? I wonder how long they had to practice until they got it down. It seems like it'd be a nice routine to have.

[iacas]

I'm curious, a lot of pros use the line don't they? I wonder how long they had to practice until they got it down. It seems like it'd be a nice routine to have.

It depends heavily on placing it down under the proper eye and the position of your elbow and all sorts of weird stuff. How your feet are arranged. Neck tilts. Etc.

[disco111]

Jack Nicklaus did 2 things with his putting and this from something that was printed years ago in a golf mag. Jack putts with a slightly open stance. When asked why, he said because it let his dominant eye take over. The second thing was getting the line. When he saw the line, he then kept a visual on that line and brought it back to about a foot from the ball and then he focused on a particular spot on that location. He said he could then look back at the hole to regain the length aspect but then went right back to that spot 1 foot away. Jack also used a shorter length putter. Could this work for you? Possibly, but like anything in golf, practice and make it your own. There's lots of different putting styles, grips, putter lengths and so on and so forth. Find yours, not the other guys. The biggest aspect in putting, at least for me, is confidence when the putter is in your hand. Spend more time on the practice green, with the club they all call the great equalizer.

[Torres9]

Jack Nicklaus did 2 things with his putting and this from something that was printed years ago in a golf mag. Jack putts with a slightly open stance. When asked why, he said because it let his dominant eye take over. The second thing was getting the line. When he saw the line, he then kept a visual on that line and brought it back to about a foot from the ball and then he focused on a particular spot on that location. He said he could then look back at the hole to regain the length aspect but then went right back to that spot 1 foot away. Jack also used a shorter length putter. Could this work for you? Possibly, but like anything in golf, practice and make it your own. There's lots of different putting styles, grips, putter lengths and so on and so forth. Find yours, not the other guys. The biggest aspect in putting, at least for me, is confidence when the putter is in your hand. Spend more time on the practice green, with the club they all call the great equalizer.

Confidence and perception. (If you have the proper skill) and can get lost in the moment of what the putt truly "means" in relation to par, you would be surprised how many you make. I personally see some of the best ball strikers are the poorest putters, mentally. Technique is solid, they also tend to change flatsticks relatively often. Their supreme ballstriking and hitting GIR after GIR psychologically plays tricks on them and makes them believe they are not good at putting because they are always going for birdie and statistics show it's just not feasible to make them all. Proximity to the hole is a factor but even short putts wreak havoc on their mind, these are players who hit 13/14 GIR.... It's crazy. They also seem to be chatty about their putting woes, thinking they are accentuating their ball striking prowess, which is undoubtedly great... But they are thinking themselves into misses. Some of best ball strikers often struggle on the green and I believe it's mental, they still shoot par, but if they freed their mind, they could go low.... Im playing the best golf of my life this season, and I really think it's a product of relaxed confidence and elite putting, it bleeds into the rest of my game. For the first time in any years, I'm breaking par every other round, which is not common for me.

[joekelly]

I've taken up JNicklaus's technique, that is seeing a line and finding a spot on that line about 6 inches in front of the ball.  Once that  spot is found, fully accepted, as the point over which the ball must roll to get on the path, then focus on the spot, the spot and the spot.  Keep mind on spot, not on ball.   When ready, look at ball and center mark on putter and then fire away.

IMO, this works coz it takes my mind away from the static ball and club and gives me a target.  Before, i would look at the ball and club head and tense up in my attempt to control the ball.  No more of that for me.   And oh yeah, a very light grip and relaxed hands helps too.

[inthehole]

The one constant in my game has always been lackluster putting ... BUT ... I have discovered something recently that has helped me make the short ones (/emoticons/d2_doh.gif"/> but since I started doing this, it really works.

[Big C]

Having a knitting needle or other visual aid really works quite well to identify putting flaws and tendencies. Working on the practice putting green today, I noticed that someone had sprayed a straight blue line in the grass about 8 feet out from one of the holes. Since the putt itself was perfectly straight, it was a fantastic visual aid. Any putt that stayed on the line, or within about a quarter inch in either direction generally went in the hole. I spent about 15 minutes hitting 7 foot putts to assess my "bead."

The good news is, I can hit my line when it's drawn out for me. Out of about 50 7 footers, I probably made two thirds of them, including my last 7 in a row. My primary miss was a slight pull and I had the occasional tendency to rotate the clubhead closed (missing a few that curved left in front of the cup), but most of them followed the line straight into the cup.

The bad news is that I am still a mediocre putter, so my speed and/or read must be quite crappy to offset what appears to be a good bead.

[saevel25]

Since the putt itself was perfectly straight, it was a fantastic visual aid. Any putt that stayed on the line, or within about a quarter inch in either direction generally went in the hole. I spent about 15 minutes hitting 7 foot putts to assess my "bead."

I almost been willing to buy some chalk line to mark the putting green. It doesn't hurt the grass and will wash away in the next rain. I think that is a great visual aid to help see putts break or hit the starting lines.

The good news is, I can hit my line when it's drawn out for me. Out of about 50 7 footers, I probably made two thirds of them, including my last 7 in a row. My primary miss was a slight pull and I had the occasional tendency to rotate the clubhead closed (missing a few that curved left in front of the cup), but most of them followed the line straight into the cup.

The bad news is that I am still a mediocre putter, so my speed and/or read must be quite crappy to offset what appears to be a good bead.

Keep working at the start lines. Ideally you want to hit that start line every time and your only miss would be on the speed.

I recommend Aimpoint. Just takes all the worry about the line out of the way.