How important is the practice putting green?

[grantisadrummer]

12 hours ago, David in FL said:

Here's a thread that will give you some interesting insight...

 

Definitely a good read, and it makes me feel less guilty for hitting the driving range much more often than the practice green. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by grantisadrummer

[Shindig]

4 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

I don't know how others adjust for speed but I've come up with something I do.

With a constant tempo I go to the practice green and do a calibration.  Feet comfortable in putting stance which is shoulder width for me and on a flat putting surface, I putt a couple of balls with a swing length from the inside of my right foot to the inside of the left foot and note the distance.  Then do the same for the outside of my feet, and then the same for one foot length beyond the outside of my foot.  For a medium fast green I played on last Monday the numbers were 9 feet, 15 feet, 21 feet.  I take that to the course and extrapolate from there.

Needless to say I'm a fairly analytical guy.  I've tried doing it based on feel, but have found that I do better with this method.

Just did a google search and found this which is basically what I'm doing:

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/bowe-calibrate-your-putting-stroke/

I really like this.  I might end up doing this more regularly.  Thanks for the idea.

[Liko81]

23 hours ago, Shindig said:

...Part of that is my preferred range near me has very different greens, I think;  it's a par-3 course, and the practice green feels shaggier than greens I typically play on.  Maybe it's my imagination, but when I'm on that green, I feel the same stroke sends the ball a shorter distance.  Or maybe it's in my head. 

What problems, if any, would I face using this as a practice green regularly?  I've been a little worried about doing so, and even feel a bit silly for asking, but I'd rather ask and know, especially since the current alternate is that I hit the range and leave (I don't think they have a short game practice area except the par-3 course itself). 

I personally shun the practice greens even on the course I'm playing that day, for much the same reason. Every course I've played regularly has the practice green very near the clubhouse, and so the greens team is under extra pressure to make that one look good, even at the expense of that green not being indicative of the ones you'll find out on the course. As a result, the course greens are always significantly faster than what I've gotten into my head and hands warming up, so I usually spend my first few holes at least chasing overputts and/or being gun-shy.

I will practice putting on putting greens on days I'm not playing, to practice reading, relative putt power etc, and in that case any green will do. If the weather's not conducive to being outside for an hour or two hitting balls, I'll putt on my living room area rug, which has a feel not unlike my average course green, so the adjustments I have to make on the day tend to be smaller.

[Buckeyebowman]

I'm kind of in Liko's camp, but for a different reason. I played a local country club about a month ago. Pre-round I went out to hit some balls on the range. As soon as I hit two pitches somewhere near the target, I was off to the putting green. This was a large expanse of immaculately groomed turf that was quite flat, with some subtle breaks.

Then, we get out on the course and it's "HILLS AND DALES!" as far as the greens are concerned! I would at least like the practice green to offer some idea of what we will face on the course!

[Swungover]

My only putting practice these days is on the first hole. That way I know the speed, the dampness, etc, for the round I am about to play. 

When I first started I did a lot of indoor practice. An occasional pitch and putt round is great, too.

[lastings]

Putting practice is very different from one player (and especially skill level to the next).  

here are my impressions.  

it is true that 30-50% of all shots are from the green.  but, you can't really look at it that way, because even on a good putting day, half of those are inevitable.  If you two putt every single green in regulation, I doubt you're gonna be too down on yourself.  so really, the strokes you are adding or subtracting from your card are the number of 3-putts and 1-putts.  

For your average golfer, there are really just two things you need to accomplish to putt well.   Making every putt under 6 feet.  and putting every putt outside that 6-foot circle to within the circle.  

1) making every putt within 6 feet

this is really just about repetition.  and it really doesn't matter where you are getting your reps.  I have an 8 ft putting mat in my living room.  If I spend an hour just hitting balls on this over, and over, and, over, I notice is great deal of improvement in making my 5 footers.  I know it sounds simple, but just learning how to repeatedly hit the ball straight and having the confidence standing over the ball to hit it straight makes a huge difference.  

note: I assume as you get better and better at golf (and putting), this method of practice will have less and less of a positive impact.  This really only helps you become confident in your putting stroke, once you've got that down, you've got bigger fish to fry.  

2) hitting everything outside that 6 foot circle to within 6 feet.  

This one is a bit trickier.  I think the best practice for this one is to get to a practice green and putt from many different distances.  and changing it up very frequently (as opposed to putting many balls from one distance and then moving).  This one is all about feel.  and feel only comes with practice.  

 

If you can get really good at these two simple skills, you can certainly become a passable putter.  

Now the next step is raising your conversion rate on 10-15 foot putts.   I think this step takes a lot more work and a much better understanding of how to read a green as well as being a lot more precise with your pace.   If I ever figure this stuff out, I'll do my best to share. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dchoye]

On August 25, 2016 at 7:53 PM, Shindig said:

It isn't just the GG Strokes Gained for me;  I've been neglecting my putting practice.  I know I should be spending ~15% of my practice time on it, but I haven't.

Part of that is my preferred range near me has very different greens, I think;  it's a par-3 course, and the practice green feels shaggier than greens I typically play on.  Maybe it's my imagination, but when I'm on that green, I feel the same stroke sends the ball a shorter distance.  Or maybe it's in my head. 

What problems, if any, would I face using this as a practice green regularly?  I've been a little worried about doing so, and even feel a bit silly for asking, but I'd rather ask and know, especially since the current alternate is that I hit the range and leave (I don't think they have a short game practice area except the par-3 course itself). 

(If it's fine to practice putting there regularly, I plan to start doing so with more regularity)

I think it better to practice on as many types of greens as possible . I have noticed that if you don't you only get the feel of one course To be a complete putter need to play slow and fast greens. 

Slow green are great to develop confidence on short putts but sometimes can be too bump on long putts

Fast greens roll truer on longer putts and I like to see how close I can the ball and judge fast greens but short putts can be scary as there more chance for lip outs and longer 2nd putt

Edited August 31, 2016 by dchoye

[No Mulligans]

4 minutes ago, dchoye said:

Slow green are great to develop confidence on short putts but sometimes can be too bump on long putts

Fast greens roll truer on longer putts and I like to see how close I can the ball and judge fast greens bit short putts can be scary as there more chance for lip outs and longer 2nd putt

And fast greens can be near impossible to get the ball close on down hill putts, the margin of distance error is really thin.  On my most recent round I had a 60 foot downhill putt that I hit 90 feet and right off the green, I went fringe to fringe.  Ended up with 4 putts and the greens were not that fast.

[dchoye]

22 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

And fast greens can be near impossible to get the ball close on down hill putts, the margin of distance error is really thin.  On my most recent round I had a 60 foot downhill putt that I hit 90 feet and right off the green, I went fringe to fringe.  Ended up with 4 putts and the greens were not that fast.

Yes I had that experience putting off the green. Usually on unfamiliar fast greens that I did not realize how much downslope actually is.  There was one green that was very deceiving and it sloped severely sideways rather than the usually back to front 

There is usually a flat spot around the hole you can stop the ball unless the pin placement is in a unfair location   I look for a spot for the ball to decel and just roll to the hole 

 

[Liko81]

21 hours ago, dchoye said:

There is usually a flat spot around the hole you can stop the ball unless the pin placement is in a unfair location   I look for a spot for the ball to decel and just roll to the hole.

Yes, theoretically, by USGA guidelines on course management, an area two to three feet in radius around the hole location should be as close to level as possible, and of uniform grade.^[1] The hole should not be located in an intentionally "tricky" place that actively works to prevent tap-ins after a close putt, such as on a steep grade, the crest of a mound, etc.^[ibid]

These are, however, just guidelines, not actual rules or requirements (even for competition). The groundskeeping staff will usually be much more concerned with maintaining good green conditions and avoiding artificially-created hazards to a putt due to greens maintenance. They'll avoid hole plugs (and in certain course conditions or if the hole was badly cut or was abused, it can take weeks for a plug to heal), thin spots, cart wheel marks (even private courses have people who don't know or don't care), etc. If the best place for a hole based on the condition of the green that day is on the precipice of a steep slope, that's where they'll cut it, cause they'll get far fewer complaints about an overputt rolling down the hill halfway across the green than they will about the fresh hole plug three feet from the current hole.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Liko81