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Higher Handicap Because of Terrible Putting


bkuehn1952
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What is "Terrible Putting" is very much a personal assessment.  I have more rounds with a least one three-putt than without.  As with all golfers I have good days when a number drop and I score well.  The real problem is often lag putting from a distance.  I three-putt when the first putt leaves a missable one to the hole, (rather than yip a short one).  This is where tour standard players have a completely different game.  Tour players are excellent lag putters.  Yes, they make mistakes. Yes, they three-putt, but far fewer times than handicap players. 1  Freddie Jacobsen - 7 three-putts in 48 rounds.  T50 Andres Gonzales - 36 three-putts in 86 rounds.  In general they are playing on faster greens to difficult positions.  There is a YouTube  video of Rory McIlroy  sinking 55 consecutive 10 feet putts. The answer is to improve technique and practice.  I suspect the reality is that handicap golfers practice their swing far more than putting.  How often is the pro asked for a lesson on putting ?  This, as the stats show, is the area a tour player cannot be remotely below average and survive.  College golfers are often given the exercise of sinking 100 consecutive 3 foot putts - comment "getting up to the 80 odd mark was not the problem, it was the last dozen or so where the pressure built up, lip out on 99 and you go back to the beginning."  Jordan Speith is averaging 27.74 putts per round, you have to go 188 in the list to find someone averaging 30 putts a round. I get under 30 putts a round once or twice a year when everything goes down (and I chip a few close).

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Many here may disagree ... I'm interested in hearing feedback. I think putting REQUIRES REPS.    A $hit ton of reps.     Far more so than striking the ball.    Now I'm not talking about becoming a really good player (which I'll never be), which obviously requires ball striking reps, bigtime reps.       Speaking for myself, putting has required far more time to catch up to the rest of my game ... and I think it just required far more time and reps [U]as it's a feel thing[/U], as opposed to a whole body, large muscle athletic full swing thing. My $.02 ... thoughts ?

I try to be positive in my responses here, so I will say I semi-agree ... I agree it does take a lot reps as a high-handicap guy to get better at it putting ... however I think striking the ball takes more time/rep to get in a good spot ... after all you have to be on the putting surface to putt ... striking the ball well and on target is [U]very important[/U] in getting to the putting surface.

Ken Proud member of the iSuk Golf Association ... Sponsored by roofing companies across the US, Canada, and the UK

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Hey, new to thread here, ok, so, i would consider myself a terrible putter on most days, some days though i feel im doing as well as anyone can do, i do put in a above average time on the putting green, for me, its kinda like hitting balls on the range, i get in a groove, and nothing can go wrong, when i leave the practice green i feel ive got it, everythings going great, i implant it in my head exactly what i was doing to make it right, then the next day comes along and oops! For me, i feel more confident, and actually do better on a long breaker, than i do on say a 4 footer. At my home course i am not so much an anomaly, i see and hear a lot of others having trouble with greens too, especially going straight from practice green to course, they never seem to be a true representation of what the greens are really like on course, not to mention we have a pretty severe pull towards the valley which most have a problem with, i understand the pull and still have trouble, many putts look level or one way and the pull changes everything, its very difficult to practice one train of thought and then go out and try to convince your brain that what its seeing isnt exactly so.
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The three previous posters had good information also. I like the three R's. If you can't read the green probably can't find the hole. Lots of reps, practice lagging but what % am I really going to make a long put? So thinking a little differently now by not trying to make every long one now. I just lag them so they don't scoot by as far. Oh, i have a fitted putter also that helps I think.
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IMO bad putting is the byproduct of bad ball striking. For the higher handicap golfer a 3 putt is usually just trading the first putt for a chip because even though the ball is on the green it's not in a good spot, far from the hole, downhill, over whoop de do's etc. Put the worst putter on a flat surface and they won't have much trouble.

Dave :-)

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IMO bad putting is the byproduct of bad ball striking. For the higher handicap golfer a 3 putt is usually just trading the first putt for a chip because even though the ball is on the green it's not in a good spot, far from the hole, downhill, over whoop de do's etc. Put the worst putter on a flat surface and they won't have much trouble.

Ya well maybe the guys cutting the cups should cut them on flat parts of the green, at my course they always cut them on a slope.

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Yes to be good at any part of the game you need to put in some time and reps but putting is by far the easiest and simplest part of the game. The average 80 shooter will putt better than a tour pro almost 20% of the time, 10% for a 90 shooter.

Mike McLoughlin

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Ya well maybe the guys cutting the cups should cut them on flat parts of the green, at my course they always cut them on a slope.


Sure but how much does that matter when the first putt is 15' instead of 65'.

Dave :-)

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Understandable to a certain degree, but when you look at pga stats for proximity to hole, theyre not as close as we tend to believe, i assume cuz we generally only see the leaders who are playing hot at the time, so theyre throwing darts, but that isnt the case for the rest of the field, if i recall, the average from inside 125 is like 18ft from hole, and from 200+ is like 50ft, now, maybe the majority of us are outside this on most days, or even off green, but if we chip up arent we usually within those numbers? Forgetting for a moment about score or shot #, guess the point is, in my opinion, putting is the part of the game where those guys really seperate themselves from most of us, but what are they doing that makes them so good at it? Could it have anything to do with the greens? Idk, ive never played a top notch course that wasnt trampled by hundreds of players all day everyday, and loaded with ball marks and such.
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The average 80 shooter will putt better than a tour pro almost 20% of the time, 10% for a 90 shooter.

That's an awesome stat.  Where did you get it?  (I'm not disputing it.  I want to use it.)

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Forgetting for a moment about score or shot #, guess the point is, in my opinion, putting is the part of the game where those guys really seperate themselves from most of us

Interesting word choice.

I know you might think I'm following you around trying to find things where I can say "you're wrong" but… no, it's not where they have the most separation. It's where they have the least. They have far, far more separation in the full swing than in putting.

I even wrote a book about it (among other topics)…

  • PGA Tour pros make only 50% of their putts from 8'.
  • PGA Tour pros make, on average, 1.5 putts over 21' over four rounds. The winner makes only 1.8 on average (over 72 holes).
  • From 33', PGA Tour pros are as likely to three-putt as they are to one-putt.
  • You'll beat a PGA Tour pro in a putting competition LONG before you'll beat them in a driving competition. Or an "approach shots from 210" competition.


As for putting for the OP and others who feel they struggle, figure out which of the 3 Keys is your worst and work on those to get better.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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Understandable to a certain degree, but when you look at pga stats for proximity to hole, theyre not as close as we tend to believe, i assume cuz we generally only see the leaders who are playing hot at the time, so theyre throwing darts, but that isnt the case for the rest of the field, if i recall, the average from inside 125 is like 18ft from hole, and from 200+ is like 50ft, now, maybe the majority of us are outside this on most days, or even off green, but if we chip up arent we usually within those numbers? Forgetting for a moment about score or shot #, guess the point is, in my opinion, putting is the part of the game where those guys really seperate themselves from most of us, but what are they doing that makes them so good at it? Could it have anything to do with the greens? Idk, ive never played a top notch course that wasnt trampled by hundreds of players all day everyday, and loaded with ball marks and such.

I am not sure what the PGA stats are but something like the bold is elusive stuff for higher handicap golfer. You have to get below a 10 handicap just to hit 5-6ish greens a round and some of that is dumb luck. From 200 out I am lucky to end up 50 feet from the green.

Dave :-)

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in my opinion, putting is the part of the game where those guys really seperate themselves from most of us

Are you suggesting that there is less separation between the top players and "us" in driving and approach play? Really?

A mug off the street putting from 20 feet might lose a couple of strokes a round to a top player on a hot streak.

The whole premise of smart play/course management/practice is to work out what REALLY benefits a player.

I can assure you that if you really want to compete you should spend the least amount of your practice time on the putting green.

nGIR is where it's at. And that is a combination of driving and good iron play.

In the race of life, always back self-interest. At least you know it's trying.

 

 

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... i would consider myself a terrible putter on most days, some days though i feel im doing as well as anyone can do, i do put in an above average time on the putting green, for me, its kinda like hitting balls on the range, i get in a groove, and nothing can go wrong, when i leave the practice green i feel ive got it, everythings going great, i implant it in my head exactly what i was doing to make it right, then the next day comes along and oops! For me, i feel more confident, and actually do better on a long breaker, than i do on say a 4 footer. At my home course i am not so much an anomaly, i see and hear a lot of others having trouble with greens too, especially going straight from practice green to course, they never seem to be a true representation of what the greens are really like on course, not to mention we have a pretty severe pull towards the valley which most have a problem with, i understand the pull and still have trouble, many putts look level or one way and the pull changes everything, its very difficult to practice one train of thought and then go out and try to convince your brain that what its seeing isnt exactly so.

My average bad drive still goes like 275…generally my bad shots are thin, so they end up rolling out pretty good.

90% of the time I’m hitting a wedge on par 4’s; my average drive is around the 305 area.

P.S. I am the master of the 3-putt … and again, my putting is my big killer

Thanks for posting to this thread, daa1969.  You were one of the players I was thinking about.  Clearly you have the game to be better than a "10".  Averaging 300+ off the tee with miss-hits going 275 takes some skill.  When I see someone hitting a long drive and then wedge to the green but not scoring because they are a terrible putter, to me there is a disconnect.  It takes a heck of a lot more talent to hit a playable 300 yard drive than it does to roll a putt twice and get it in the hole.

If I understand your situation, it involves two things: an inability to take your putting stroke from the practice green to the real course and a quirky home course with unusual greens.

The latter issue would seem to be solvable with just more play and familiarity with the greens.  So really, it is the inability to take your grooved putting stroke from the practice green to the course.  Do you have any ideas for why this is so?  Nerves?  Overly aggressive once the game starts?  Lack of focus?  Something else?

Brian Kuehn

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Ok, yesterday i shot an 84, with 41 putts, i didnt count, but im pretty sure i average more than 5-6 greens, again, we're associating hndcp with stats and so called known figures, for myself, i strike the ball well, if you played with me you would think im a much lower hndcp, but once you saw the putting you would understand, i very often have birdy putts and for the most part at least a putt for par. As far as pros seperating from us at putting, for me, i feel thats the biggest seperation from my game. And i apologize if i may have categorized anyone else along with me, im still learning how sensitive others can be to each and every word thats posted here
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Originally Posted by daa1969

... i would consider myself a terrible putter on most days, some days though i feel im doing as well as anyone can do, i do put in an above average time on the putting green, for me, its kinda like hitting balls on the range, i get in a groove, and nothing can go wrong, when i leave the practice green i feel ive got it, everythings going great, i implant it in my head exactly what i was doing to make it right, then the next day comes along and oops! For me, i feel more confident, and actually do better on a long breaker, than i do on say a 4 footer. At my home course i am not so much an anomaly, i see and hear a lot of others having trouble with greens too, especially going straight from practice green to course, they never seem to be a true representation of what the greens are really like on course, not to mention we have a pretty severe pull towards the valley which most have a problem with, i understand the pull and still have trouble, many putts look level or one way and the pull changes everything, its very difficult to practice one train of thought and then go out and try to convince your brain that what its seeing isnt exactly so.

My average bad drive still goes like 275…generally my bad shots are thin, so they end up rolling out pretty good.

90% of the time I’m hitting a wedge on par 4’s; my average drive is around the 305 area.

P.S. I am the master of the 3-putt … and again, my putting is my big killer

Thanks for posting to this thread, daa1969.  You were one of the players I was thinking about.  Clearly you have the game to be better than a "10".  Averaging 300+ off the tee with miss-hits going 275 takes some skill.  When I see someone hitting a long drive and then wedge to the green but not scoring because they are a terrible putter, to me there is a disconnect.  It takes a heck of a lot more talent to hit a playable 300 yard drive than it does to roll a putt twice and get it in the hole.

If I understand your situation, it involves two things: an inability to take your putting stroke from the practice green to the real course and a quirky home course with unusual greens.

The latter issue would seem to be solvable with just more play and familiarity with the greens.  So really, it is the inability to take your grooved putting stroke from the practice green to the course.  Do you have any ideas for why this is so?  Nerves?  Overly aggressive once the game starts?  Lack of focus?  Something else?

Seems like the answer is staring us in the information culminated in several posts? Get better at your approaches so it leaves you with less than 15 foot putts, and get better at your drives so your approaches can get within 15 feet of the pin. Something like that, anyway?

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Thanks for posting to this thread, daa1969.  You were one of the players I was thinking about.  Clearly you have the game to be better than a "10".  Averaging 300+ off the tee with miss-hits going 275 takes some skill.  When I see someone hitting a long drive and then wedge to the green but not scoring because they are a terrible putter, to me there is a disconnect.  It takes a heck of a lot more talent to hit a playable 300 yard drive than it does to roll a putt twice and get it in the hole.

If I understand your situation, it involves two things: an inability to take your putting stroke from the practice green to the real course and a quirky home course with unusual greens.

The latter issue would seem to be solvable with just more play and familiarity with the greens.  So really, it is the inability to take your grooved putting stroke from the practice green to the course.  Do you have any ideas for why this is so?  Nerves?  Overly aggressive once the game starts?  Lack of focus?  Something else?

Except this isn't happening often. Someone like @daa1969 has a GIR % in the 25-35% range. Even when we get close to the green we stub chips, blade it out of traps and crap like that.

Some stuff can't even be practiced. If I 3 putt it's not because I am a bad putter. It's because I have a putt that breaks 15 feet and I'm over the hole on a green with severe slope and I have my back to the hole putting to a spot 20 feet above it hoping it doesn't roll 20 feet by the hole. Of course I have no idea how hard to hit it because the break is so severe it has to have enough speed to get to a spot where it at least had a chance to trickle to the hole. You don't see practice greens that are much more than mostly flat unless it's a very nice course with A+ practice facilities.

I am huge about 3 putt avoidance but when it happens it's due to being in an awkward spot not because I haven't put in my time on the practice green.

Dave :-)

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@daa1969 … You said:

in my opinion, putting is the part of the game where those guys really seperate themselves from most of us

So…

As far as pros seperating from us at putting, for me, i feel thats the biggest seperation from my game. And i apologize if i may have categorized anyone else along with me, im still learning how sensitive others can be to each and every word thats posted here

It has nothing do with people being "sensitive" to things. It's people simply responding to what you actually type. The only person possibly being sensitive is you right now, or at least you're ascribing things to others which don't exist.


To the topic at hand, and to @bkuehn1952 and to @daa1969 , please answer the question: which of the three keys do you lack the most? Do you lack all of them?

If it's distance control, we have a great thread on that. If it's aim… we have threads on that. If it's green reading, we have threads on that (synopsis: go learn AimPoint). If you improve at the three keys to putting, or you get close to mastering them, you'll be a good putter. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You lack one or more.

Neither putting - nor the solution to your putting problems - is all that difficult. :-)

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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Note: This thread is 3106 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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