Putting - the frustration

[boogielicious]

Putting - right now it's killing me. 3 putting. Whereas it's not a high separation value skill, it's something that can't be neglected. I need to practice putting.

Chipping - that's another thing that's killing me right now. I'm getting pin high with my second shot if it's a mid iron but wasting strokes around the green.

Approach shots - if it's inside 110 yds I'm hitting poorly. I'm probably flipping again. - something I'm not doing with my mid and long clubs.

Putting, chipping, pitching and 3/4 approach shots are the best part of my game. My last three rounds putts; 27 (18 hole round), 14 and 14. Lot's of 1 putts because my pitching has gotten me close. My lag putting has been great too because of the first thread. I use the partial technique for up to the 8 iron too.

[iacas]

Putting - right now it's killing me. 3 putting. Whereas it's not a high separation value skill, it's something that can't be neglected. I need to practice putting.

Glaring weakness. You're covered. Fix your putting.

[Duff McGee]

I would like to add that while yes, the pros do get some hard pin placements and tough greens, they are usually pristine and run true, unlike the holes at your typical home course. I.e., the ball basically goes where they hit it.

[DrvFrShow]

Does a broom count as a club?

[dchoye]

Today I missed a lot of putts. Then I would redo the putt from the exact same location , as there was no waiting behind us and made every one of them.

WHY????

It was like the first putt was so meaningful that I felt that extra tension. then when there was nothing on the line with the 2nd time ball drain center cut.

WHY????

How do I fix this?

[Duff McGee]

Well the obvious answer is that you saw the line and speed.

[TBennettGolf]

I recently within the last two weeks have seen my putting game excel immensely. I was told to keep more weight to the front of my body and also to have the ball in-between your front foot/middle of your stance so you can roll the ball with your stroke. Now I swear to god I am two putting everything unless I'm under 6-8 feet which is normally a one putt. I also envision my putter and arms/shoulders to move like a pendulum. Your backstroke distance should be the same distance as your actual stroke if that makes sense?... If not your body/stroke will be out of tempo and can cause you to push the ball further than what you would like or to under power the putt. Hope this helps!

[Duff McGee]

One thing I've been wondering lately is why golfers hold their putters up in front of their faces when lining a putt up. How does that help. I tried it the other day and I felt like an idiot since I didn't find it helpful.

[TBennettGolf]

My best knowledgeable guess is they try to separate the green to visualize the line/break of their indicated putt. I can see how it would help, but I believe it's just a personal thing. Everyone has their own mojo and routine when they go to sink the ball in the hole.

[sjduffers]

Today I missed a lot of putts. Then I would redo the putt from the exact same location , as there was no waiting behind us and made every one of them.

WHY????

It was like the first putt was so meaningful that I felt that extra tension. then when there was nothing on the line with the 2nd time ball drain center cut.

WHY????

How do I fix this?

The solution is quite easy: hit your second putt first!

Yes, I know it sounds like I am joking, and I am, only partly. If you putt freely, reacting to what you see (line and speed) as opposed to tensing up and thinking about mechanics and how hard to hit the ball and what not, you'll make more of them.  Don't be afraid of having a come-backer (just make sure it's not bigger than three feet or so), as if you apply the same philosophy to the come-backer, you'll make it more than 95% of the time.

[bigwave916]

I recently within the last two weeks have seen my putting game excel immensely. I was told to keep more weight to the front of my body and also to have the ball in-between your front foot/middle of your stance so you can roll the ball with your stroke. Now I swear to god I am two putting everything unless I'm under 6-8 feet which is normally a one putt. I also envision my putter and arms/shoulders to move like a pendulum. Your backstroke distance should be the same distance as your actual stroke if that makes sense?... If not your body/stroke will be out of tempo and can cause you to push the ball further than what you would like or to under power the putt. Hope this helps!

I believe you were given very good advice. Like I said earlier, I see so many players who putt with a stroke that causes the ball to skid and slide and jump around. I see guys whose putter touches the ground when they putt causing the face to be open or closed at impact. The stance and ball position indicated in your post was the same method I adopted years ago and when I start putting poorly I know I need to get back to it.

[Jon Hoover]

I believe you were given very good advice. Like I said earlier, I see so many players who putt with a stroke that causes the ball to skid and slide and jump around. I see guys whose putter touches the ground when they putt causing the face to be open or closed at impact. The stance and ball position indicated in your post was the same method I adopted years ago and when I start putting poorly I know I need to get back to it.

Yep I was told to put top spin on your putts, they don't skid as much making speed more predictable, they won't break as much, they roll truer in imperfect conditions like punched greens, and the top spin helps a ball roll down into the hole reducing the chance to bounce back out on fast putts.

[MrDC]

My putting was much better last weekend, because I've been practicing a lot, and I think that's why many struggle, a few minutes on the green before a round is not enough, you really have to put some time in.

When I practice it's long putts only, well mostly, I'll find the longest putts on the practice green and stick with those, I've been thinking that once you start getting long putts close often, the short ones become easier.

[Bryan Kasper]

All it took was not second guessing my putts and trusting my original line and let my brain determine the speed from there. when i started to do that i started to see a big difference in my putting. i used to 3 putt like a champ. the last time out i had three 3 putts. and only 32 overall. thought that was fairly good.

[inthehole]

... putting is my nemesis.

However, after almost 500 rounds, it's finally starting to improve through repetition.   Lag putting is now reasonable & I'm not missing nearly as many 3 footers.   The 5-10 footers that I should have at least have a chance at, I almost always miss (so you're not alone).   I attended a Michael Breed putting seminar & he continually emphasized SPEED is so much more important than AIM .... focusing on speed has helped me tremendously in elimination of 3 putts.

Getting a reasonable feel for putting just seems to take longer than developing reasonable ball striking, which is hard for us golfers to accept.

[bigwave916]

All it took was not second guessing my putts and trusting my original line and let my brain determine the speed from there. when i started to do that i started to see a big difference in my putting. i used to 3 putt like a champ. the last time out i had three 3 putts. and only 32 overall. thought that was fairly good.

I'm with you on that. First thing I see when I read the putt is usually right and the more I think the more I second guess and then you don't hit the putt with confidence. It's hard to viualize the track of the ball if you haven't decided how its going to roll. I make quite a few putts by just walking up and rolling them without a lot of set up and time spent reading the green. I don't recomend it but I think overall it doesn't really hurt my total putts.

[oudrees]

My biggest problem right now is speed.  My putts are generally on the right line, just make it half way to the hole or fly by the hole by 10 feet.   I can have a 30 ft that I hit 20 ft, then hit 20 ft again.

[Jon Hoover]

My biggest problem right now is speed.  My putts are generally on the right line, just make it half way to the hole or fly by the hole by 10 feet.   I can have a 30 ft that I hit 20 ft, then hit 20 ft again.

I hear this type of thing all the time but I don't know how you can accurately judge the line is correct without the right speed, the same line at different speeds could have different results, unless the putt doesn't break. I have a joke going with my buddies that whenever they leave it short it always had the right line because that's what they usually say, but if its short you'd never know how it would turn out, except if it stopped on the edge.