3 Keys to Better Putting

[newtogolf]

22 minutes ago, natureboy said:

What's the course rating and slope from those tees?

In a single scenario, yes the two-putt is the most frequent outcome. That does not mean across multiple putting opportunities the expected result - the mean of putts taken - from those two distances will also be '2' for both players. Long term putting averages can tell you something if you account for the other contributing factors.

70.7/131

Linking this back to the original topic, my main problem is speed.  I usually play in the mid morning and the course greens get progressively faster as the day goes depending on the particular greens exposure to the sun and the weather that day.  The majority of my missed putts are left short of the hole out of concern I will roll past the hole and leave myself a tougher putt.  

[natureboy]

2 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

70.7/131

That's close enough (~ 1.3 strokes less slightly higher slope) to 'typical' that I'd say my comments are about on target.

[dchoye]

I been giving Aimpoint a break and going back to read the putt with my eyes  Finding that when I crouch down I can imagine the line more easily Also I think I tend to be more specific and aim at the left edge and see a line either curving to the edge or holding its line to that edge of the cup 

The big breakers is when Aimpoint helps me the most especially sidehill/downhill putts . This is the only time I go behind the hole and begin try to read the putt with my feet then walk back to the ball on the low side to feel the break  sometimes straddle at midway point. 

Edited April 18, 2016 by dchoye

[Ernest Jones]

8 hours ago, dchoye said:

I been giving Aimpoint a break and going back to read the putt with my eyes  Finding that when I crouch down I can imagine the line more easily Also I think I tend to be more specific and aim at the left edge and see a line either curving to the edge or holding its line to that edge of the cup 

The big breakers is when Aimpoint helps me the most especially sidehill/downhill putts . This is the only time I go behind the hole and begin try to read the putt with my feet then walk back to the ball on the low side to feel the break  sometimes straddle at midway point. 

Why do you take Aimpont reads from behind the hole? 

I switched over to Aimpoint Express pretty quickly and use it exclusively now. Sometimes I don't even use my fingers as I've gotten pretty good at knowing what ones and twos look like at various distances. 

[dchoye]

8 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

Why do you take Aimpont reads from behind the hole? 

I switched over to Aimpoint Express pretty quickly and use it exclusively now. Sometimes I don't even use my fingers as I've gotten pretty good at knowing what ones and twos look like at various distances. 

For big breaking putts I like to feel the slope if any behind the hole as well so I will crotch down and straddle that way behind the hole. If it's a breaker to the left I can see the AP without the fingers too but for some reason if it's a left to right breaker I need to do the routine step behind the ball and hold my fingers out to locate a specific AP 

Edited April 18, 2016 by dchoye

[saevel25]

Curious, should the eyes stay looking over the ball. Can the eyes follow the path of the putter in the backstroke. I seem to make much better solid contact when I track the putter more actively with my eyes. 

 

[DaveP043]

8 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Curious, should the eyes stay looking over the ball. Can the eyes follow the path of the putter in the backstroke. I seem to make much better solid contact when I track the putter more actively with my eyes. 

In my case, I feel like if my eyes follow the putterhead, my head also turns a tiny bit, and that movement leads to a tiny bit of body movement, which in turn leads to missing my line.  I might be wrong about the movement, but the missing the line part is true, so I do my best to keep my eyes steady on the ball.

[Lihu]

On 4/16/2016 at 9:37 AM, newtogolf said:

70.7/131

Linking this back to the original topic, my main problem is speed.  I usually play in the mid morning and the course greens get progressively faster as the day goes depending on the particular greens exposure to the sun and the weather that day.  The majority of my missed putts are left short of the hole out of concern I will roll past the hole and leave myself a tougher putt.  

A lot of people practice on the greens before leaving for the tee box, if no one is waiting for you you can usually get one or two rolls in before teeing off.

[saevel25]

So, is a little wrist hinge in the backstroke a good thing?

I noticed that Jordan Spieth does a little hinge, as well as Rickie Fowler and so does Brandt Snedeker.

 

[iacas]

2 hours ago, saevel25 said:

So, is a little wrist hinge in the backstroke a good thing?

I noticed that Jordan Spieth does a little hinge, as well as Rickie Fowler and so does Brandt Snedeker.

A little is good.

You don't want stiff wrists. You don't want sloppy wrists either.

[GolfLug]

So in the interest of eliminating glaring weaknesses, I am finally going to try and spend some time each week practice distance control. I believe at this point my 3 putting is worth a shot off of my HCP.

I can't get to my Edel fitting soon enough.

 

[Billsy]

Putting is all confidence. See the ball go in!!! Mentally and physically.

If you practice the 3 to 6 foot range weekly, your scores will drop. 

Practice distance control on any surface.

[jsgolfer]

On 4/27/2016 at 8:08 AM, DaveP043 said:

In my case, I feel like if my eyes follow the putterhead, my head also turns a tiny bit, and that movement leads to a tiny bit of body movement, which in turn leads to missing my line.  I might be wrong about the movement, but the missing the line part is true, so I do my best to keep my eyes steady on the ball.

This is my problem when I miss putts, have to keep the head still and listen for the ball to drop in the hole.  once the head moves, all bets are off if the putt can even find the hole.

[iacas]

53 minutes ago, Billsy said:

Putting is all confidence. See the ball go in!!! Mentally and physically.

If you practice the 3 to 6 foot range weekly, your scores will drop. 

Practice distance control on any surface.

If putting was all confidence, why would you have to practice distance control? Why practice 3 to 6 feet? Just be confident. No?

Putting is not all confidence. Putting is three things: reading the green properly, hitting the ball on the proper line, and hitting the ball the right distance/with the right speed.

Three things. One might even call them "keys" to putting.

[woodzie264]

6 hours ago, GolfLug said:

So in the interest of eliminating glaring weaknesses, I am finally going to try and spend some time each week practice distance control. I believe at this point my 3 putting is worth a shot off of my HCP.

My lag putting his easily the worst part of my game. I had 8 GIR, 6 nGIR, and 11/14 fairways...I shot a 91 this past weekend with 8 three-putts because of poor lags. Worst day ever! It's s hard thing to practice without going to a green. Long hallways are easy and not like a green with  undulations. Any idea how to practice lags without going to a course? (My course time is very limited)

Edited March 22, 2017 by woodzie264

[Lihu]

6 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

My lag putting his easily the worst part of my game. I had 8 GIR, 6 nGIR, and 11/14 fairways...I shot a 91 this past weekend with 8 three-putts because of poor lags. Worst day ever! It's s hard thing to practice without going to a green. Long hallways are easy and not like a green with  undulations. Any idea how to practice lags without going to a course? (My course time is very limited)

I wonder if this has to do with the conditions of the greens this time of year? Were you finding that the greens were different speeds from different directions?

[woodzie264]

There was a bigger difference in speed of uphill vs downhill putts than usual...but I can't blame anything but myself for 8 three-putts. 

[GolfLug]

4 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

There was a bigger difference in speed of uphill vs downhill putts than usual...but I can't blame anything but myself for 8 three-putts. 

 

21 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

My lag putting his easily the worst part of my game. I had 8 GIR, 6 nGIR, and 11/14 fairways...I shot a 91 this past weekend with 8 three-putts because of poor lags. Worst day ever! It's s hard thing to practice without going to a green. Long hallways are easy and not like a green with  undulations. Any idea how to practice lags without going to a course? (My course time is very limited)

I guess you can get one of those putting mats for your hallway that you can put away after practice. Anything helps. But you will be surprised how quickly you can get significantly better (maybe just couple of three putts instead of 8.. ) with a little putting practice..

Also when it comes to putting there is a pretty good chance that it is the arrow and not the...

For me I found that most off the rack putters are too light to have proper distance control. And then there is the aiming component. Which is exactly why I have decided to get a proper fitting this year to take equipment out of the equation.

There is a thread on Edel putter fitting on TST here that you should spend some time reading. I highly recommend just to understand how your natural stroke is not as bad as you think and the best way to improve is to adapt a putter to your stroke, instead of the other way around. The Aimpoint clinic in May will help (assuming you are still coming)..