3 Keys to Better Putting

[billchao]

18 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I've heard people that use the no look method describe it as shooting a free throw.   You don't look at the ball when you shoot, at least you shouldn't .

I don't like that analogy.  You shouldn't have to look at the basketball because it's in your hands. You don't have to look at the golf ball to make a good stroke at it, either, but it's not the same thing.

[dennyjones]

11 minutes ago, billchao said:

I don't like that analogy.  You shouldn't have to look at the basketball because it's in your hands. You don't have to look at the golf ball to make a good stroke at it, either, but it's not the same thing.

I completely agree with you.   I'd never putt w/o looking at the ball.   I guess I didn't give it much thought about the ball in the hands vs.  ball on the ground.  The sense of touch is amazing and with the ball on the ground, that is lacking.

[billchao]

4 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

The sense of touch is amazing and with the ball on the ground, that is lacking.

This is getting OT, but I think you're not giving enough credit to people's kinesthetic sense. The fact that we have flawed swings that require multiple compensations in a very short amount of time to hit the ball is a testament to it.

[Patch]

I became a much better putter when I started using an intermediate target (spot) a foot, or so in front of the ball, that was directly on the line I wanted to start ball on. 

One of my practice routines is putting the ball over a dime a foot or so in front of the ball. 

I can see both the ball and my intermediate target during the stroke. By rolling the ball over that closer target, I know I rolled a straight putt on my chosen line. 

If I found, and chose the right line to start the ball on, and I have the initial ball speed correct, my chances of making the putt are increased. 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Patch

[Buckeyebowman]

On 9/10/2014 at 6:29 AM, CarlSpackler said:

I need to get some knitting needles. Why do I keep procrastinating on this?

Why not just go to the hardware store and get a chalkline, and snap a line on the green? Problem solved! 

[CarlSpackler]

51 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Why not just go to the hardware store and get a chalkline, and snap a line on the green? Problem solved! 

I actually have a chalkline. Great idea. I would have to say that speed is my biggest problem with putting right now. 

[Inferno2ss]

My speed is really good, probably because I am so bad at putting I have been focusing most of my energy on getting it close so I can avoid 3 putts.

My biggest issue is I tend to pull the putt across my body which leaves the face open and pushes it to the right.  Just can't seem to get my forward path moving towards the spot I am aiming at.  It causes me to miss multiple 3 foot putts which is just embarrassing.

[Piz]

Make sure to hold your mouth right.  It is a vital, and frequently overlooked, aspect to success in just about everything.

[dennyjones]

13 hours ago, Piz said:

Make sure to hold your mouth right.  It is a vital, and frequently overlooked, aspect to success in just about everything.

 

[Killa]

On 10/3/2019 at 1:32 AM, Inferno2ss said:

My speed is really good, probably because I am so bad at putting I have been focusing most of my energy on getting it close so I can avoid 3 putts.

My biggest issue is I tend to pull the putt across my body which leaves the face open and pushes it to the right.  Just can't seem to get my forward path moving towards the spot I am aiming at.  It causes me to miss multiple 3 foot putts which is just embarrassing.

While this is a fairly annoying video (from the interviewer) I though all the information was great. I know many on this site don’t think that using the line to line up putts is beneficial I know it works for me. And I used to have a semi circle line drawn on the ball. After this video I started drawing a full circle on it. And it’s really awesome watching the putt roll with the line straight without any wobble. Like Malaska said, if you line it up and make it roll you’ve made one part of the putt already. This will help with speed as it will give you a constant roll out and with bead as you will get instant confirmation you’ve hit your line. It doesn’t help with the read though. 
 

 

[ChetlovesMer]

On 5/3/2019 at 10:56 AM, billchao said:

I don't like that analogy.  You shouldn't have to look at the basketball because it's in your hands. You don't have to look at the golf ball to make a good stroke at it, either, but it's not the same thing.

I agree. I've always thought that was a goofy analogy. In every other sport where you try to hit something with another piece of equipment you are taught to LOOK at the thing you are trying to hit. Baseball, you look at the ball when you are trying to hit it. Tennis, you LOOK at the ball when you are trying to hit it. 

Golf is somewhat unique in that it is the only sport I can think of in which you are tying to hit a ball that isn't moving. 

I will say I've often practiced putting with my eyes closed. I don't think I could hit a baseball with my eyes closed. 

[Double Mocha Man]

On 6/11/2019 at 6:06 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Why not just go to the hardware store and get a chalkline, and snap a line on the green? Problem solved! 

Buckeye... will you be there to explain to my head pro why there's a chalkline on his practice putting green?  😊

[saevel25]

3 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Buckeye... will you be there to explain to my head pro why there's a chalkline on his practice putting green?  😊

It will only last till the next trim or rain. Better then spray paint 😛 

[Double Mocha Man]

9 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

It will only last till the next trim or rain. Better then spray paint 😛 

Speaking of white spray paint... a few years ago I carried a can of paint in my bag and painted the upper earth/dirt portion of the 4th hole cup at my local course (using a pre-cut template so no paint got on the putting surface) to resemble how they paint the cups for PGA events.  My golfing friends are essentially non-observant and didn't know this was done... which gives the pros a bright white target to aim at. An advantage we mortals don't get. They all loved putting at that cup.  I'm sure the greenskeepers were a bit surprised the next morning.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 10/23/2019 at 5:20 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

Buckeye... will you be there to explain to my head pro why there's a chalkline on his practice putting green?  😊

If he needs an explanation, maybe he shouldn't be a head pro! 

Edited November 25, 2019 by Buckeyebowman

[ForcedCarry21]

This is great info but my putting is a mess. I feel like one green I have the speed of the green down and the next I am running it 10 ft past. I do play on a lot of different courses in my area (South Carolina, North Carolina) so it is not like I am playing the same course over and over again.

Any recommendations or tips into reading the direction and speed of the grain? Anytime I play a nice enough course I always look like a fool with clients with me mind you as I run it 10 ft past and then the client will mention "should have seen the grain".

[DaveP043]

11 minutes ago, ForcedCarry21 said:

This is great info but my putting is a mess. I feel like one green I have the speed of the green down and the next I am running it 10 ft past. I do play on a lot of different courses in my area (South Carolina, North Carolina) so it is not like I am playing the same course over and over again.

Any recommendations or tips into reading the direction and speed of the grain? Anytime I play a nice enough course I always look like a fool with clients with me mind you as I run it 10 ft past and then the client will mention "should have seen the grain".

The grain generally goes downhill.  Read this from real scientists who study grass:

https://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/article/whitlark-agronomists-11-14-14.pdf

I was just in the Pinehurst area, not too far from you, and I could see that from both the grass patterns where the hole was cut, and from the shiny/dull color patterns of the grass.  At least in that area, most of the greens are the new miniature Bermuda grasses, which are cut very short, and have very little grain effect.  If anything, the grain exaggerates the increased speed going downhill, and the speed decrease going uphill.  So the thing to do is to learn to tell which way the slope is going.  Aimpoint is an excellent method.

[Buckeyebowman]

Yep! Look at how the water will drain off the green, that's how the grain will run. 

I will say that most of the greens around here aren't excessively grainy, but you will run into a course here and there. One of those is located well south of us in the hill country! On a par 5 I hit my 3rd shot a little too far, and it wound up just over the back fringe, The green sloped from back to front, and when I got back there to look at my chip, the green shone like a polished silver mirror! 

I looked at my shot and thought, "I'm dead meat on a stick!" I played the nicest little chip that I could, barely into the fringe, and just trundles onto the green. Then it took off, and wound up 20-25 feet below the hole! Nothing I could do about it. 

Sometimes you just have to take your medicine!