Putting

[Joey de Maio]

Hi everyone,

I am relatively new to golf and am a terrible putter.

What are the 10 top tips on improving my putting....?

answers on a post card :)

I'm thinking that if fellow forum members can put forward what they feel is the single most important tip I can generate a decent shortlist to practice with.

Cheers to you all

[Abu3baid]

Well as you will read if you go through the site there are three parts to putting. Hitting your line Hitting it with the right speed Picking out the right line to hit it on Green reading or knowing what line to hit the ball on is easy - just take an aimpoint class. I'm never guessing what line to hit ever and I'm always giving my self a chance. Then I would practice hitting the ball to the right spot.. In your living room just go back like 8 feet from a table and just aim for ones the table legs or something and practice hitting different things all around you. This should get you started. Finally to practice your distance control I would go to a putting green and just practice hitting to a string at different lengths of 5 , 10 , 15 and 20 feet until you start getting the hang of it. Maybe not what your looking for, but I hope it helps.. If you are looking for a generic tip then I would say what ever break you think it is just double it before taking your shot :) you are most likely under reading your break.

[Patch]

What Abu3baid said. Then practice, practice, practice, and more practice in all those areas. It would also help to have a putter that is fitted properly to your stroke to help further dial in your putting prowess in all those areas.

Something I did because the break I was seeing, was not enough, so I added  inches to what I thought was the correct break. Why? Because that was the amount of the mistake I was constantly seeing.

[dave s]

I developed a personal drill after watching my HS basketball playing son working with a college coach.  His theory was repeating shots close to the basket and focusing on SEEING the ball in the basket every time was important.  I use his principle for putting. Here's a drill:

Find a hole on a practice green that isn't quite level.  Take 2 balls.  Moving around the hole at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions, make both balls from each position at a distance of only 2 feet.  Repeat same drill from 3 feet then move out to 5 feet.  Using a hole position that isn't quite flat should give you uphill, sidehill and downhill putt opportunities.  You'll get used to seeing the ball go in the hole plenty during the drill.

Why this is important:  When you get better at the lag putts, you'll find yourself in that familiar 'make range' inside 5 feet.  It's like getting the basketball deep into the post position.  When you're there, it's drop-step to the basket, bank off glass and down it goes.  Same theory with the short putts.  You've practiced the short putts, been there-done that, and seen enough of them go in during practice that they start dropping with regularity on the course.

I do the same short-putt drill before every round.  Takes about 10 minutes.  After the drill, I hit a half dozen 15 footers, and the same amount of 30 footers just to gauge green speed and to make sure I'm getting them into my 'make' range.  Your make rate on anything longer than 5' drops significantly, so being good INSIDE 5 feet a good practice strategy.

dave

[Club Rat]

Great drill / practice as per @dave s .

I would like to add -

1. Relax

2. Have putter square at contact to target

3. Proper ball position during stroke which works best for you

4. Find the most comfortable method in making a putting stroke

5. Find proper length and model which is best suited for you.

Club Rat

[iacas]

Well as you will read if you go through the site there are three parts to putting.

Yes, in fact, we have a whole thread on it:

[GolfMaineiac26]

I've been lucky with my putting I've managed to be mostly a 2-Putter with the occasional 3 putt, and have to say putting is probably the hardest and most challenging part of anyone's game whether they are a Joe or a Pro, and putting involves a bit of guessing especially when your dealing with an Undulating or sloped green.

1. take a few moments to observe the green in relation to where your ball is.

2. kneel behind the ball and look towards the hole to assess the balls line of travel.

3. Make note of the slope of the green if the green is sloping left on the ball's approach to the hole your going to want to hit it slightly to the right and vice versa.

4. Visualize in your head which way the ball will go if hit a certain way, at a certain speed, once you think you've got it figured out it's time to putt.

5. Take a breath and relax, block out anything else around you voices, sounds ect.

6. Make sure you have the putter head even with the ball, then with a even stroke and appropriate speed (guess the speed) hit the ball towards the hole.

7. (and this is the most important) Have Fun!

also what Abu3baid is also a great way to make good putts!

[DrvFrShow]

One thing I used to do and this caused me to miss a lot of putts was after I picked my line, my "spot", I'd address the ball and then l'd look at the hole, then make my stroke. I'd always miss on the low side of the hole. If I kept my "spot" in my mind on the line above the hole and made my stroke I'd tend to end up closer to the hole or sometimes even make the putt on a longish putt.

I two putt most holes with an occasional three putt and some one putts. It's not great, but I can hold my ground. Then there's the "choke" factor. The two foot birdie that misses. And of course the 30 footer you sink with ease on the hole you're getting an 8.

[joekelly]

My 2 cents.  Must putt ball straight, always.  To do so, must hit center of ball with center of clubhead.  Keep body, esp head, still,  without movement and let arms, shoulders do the work.  Keep hands very calm with light grip on putter.   Once a suitable line along green is found, when positioned over ball, i have found it best to focus on a point about 6=10 inches in front of ball.  Visualize ball rolling over that point, and nothing else.  Work on even, smooth motion.

Even the best pros miss 2 foot putts, but not often.  Nothing about golf is 'easy'.

[JJ 480]

I used to play darts in a league and having been accustomed to firing at small targets under pressure, when I picked up golf again a few years ago I figured that putting would be the least of my worries.   How wrong I was!   Fast forward three years and I've overcome most of my formerly horrible swing mechanics but continue to wrestle with three-putts and struggle to overcome the yips that inevitably creep up on me when I'm faced with a 5% slope or I feel pressure for whatever reason (it should be said that this extends to chipping as well).

I do have the occasional round where I am on fire and one-putt six or seven holes, but even on those rounds you can usually find a three-putt on the card.   I'm continuing to work on it but there are so many variables in putting, it continues to be the most difficult part of the game for me.

[JJ 480]

I like the idea but my problem with aiming at a target closer to the ball is speed control.   Matching a correct length of the putting stroke to the distance to the hole (taking into account uphill and downhill slope, if any) is supposed to be highly intuitive, but I find that aiming at a close target throws that intuition off.

[Golfingdad]

I like the idea but my problem with aiming at a target closer to the ball is speed control.   Matching a correct length of the putting stroke to the distance to the hole (taking into account uphill and downhill slope, if any) is supposed to be highly intuitive, but I find that aiming at a close target throws that intuition off.

I think a fix for this is that you do it in two parts.  Don't actually aim at the spot closer to your ball, just get lined up using that spot.  Then you can go back to focusing on the hole and worrying about distance control, and just trust your aim.