need help with putting

[RandyBobbitt]

I've been playing for 45 years and am currently a 7 handicap. I've never putted as poorly as I have the last year. At one time good short putting helped me save par when I wasn't hitting many greens, but now my poor putting is making average rounds worse. A few months ago I described my putting stroke as "Billy Mayfair on the backstroke, Brandt Snedeker on the through-stroke." I think I've fixed the through-stroke problem, but the backstroke still has a hesitation and then a loop.

Any recommendations for putting drills, books, videos. etc? I'm interested in a long-term solution rather than a quick fix.

Thanks!

 

 

[iacas]

If you putt off a yardstick, you'll be able to see whether you're swinging outside, too far inside, etc.

Post a video of your stroke?

[StefanUrkel]

square setup

grip in palms

hands straight down or little in front

figure out dominant eye and make sure you are aiming right

head down and still

same length back and forward

 

 

All you can do. No need to have an expensive putter. 

[Patch]

If you are a right hander, read up on the "left hand low" grip/putting stroke. If you are a lefty, then right hand low. 

I developed that " hesitation/loop" scenario you spoke off. Went to the left hand low grip, which solve that problem for me. I've been using it for several months now, with very positive results. 

[RH31]

Put 2 balls on the green or carpet 3 feet apart. Putt one ball into the other. When you make dead center contact ball to ball, that is your perfect stroke. If you contact the other ball off center either way its still a good putt. Miss the ball on either side and its a pull or push. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that.

Now fiddle with your ball position and setup until you can hit ball to ball putts at a high percentage.

Over the years I've figured out what my own keys and tendencies are by using this putting drill.

For me.....

sole the putter lightly. If I lay it on the ground, I tend to snatch it away when I start my stroke.

Keep my hands even or slightly ahead of the ball at address. I tend to let my hands creep back which adds loft to my putter, a real no-no that leads to slight mis hits

Good luck

 

[Jameson]

12 hours ago, RandyBobbitt said:

I've been playing for 45 years and am currently a 7 handicap. I've never putted as poorly as I have the last year. At one time good short putting helped me save par when I wasn't hitting many greens, but now my poor putting is making average rounds worse. A few months ago I described my putting stroke as "Billy Mayfair on the backstroke, Brandt Snedeker on the through-stroke." I think I've fixed the through-stroke problem, but the backstroke still has a hesitation and then a loop.

Any recommendations for putting drills, books, videos. etc? I'm interested in a long-term solution rather than a quick fix.

Thanks!

 

 

What putter are you using? I know, the most important thing is you, and not your club,,, but I've changed it recently and (maybe it´s just psychological) I am feeling more confortable, and making more putts. Good aim, good rhythm and  there you go. And practice on the carpet too.

By the way, you are not saying if you struggle with long or short putts. Are completely diferent stories. And depending on this, I will go for one exercise or another...

Edited October 6, 2016 by Jameson

[RandyBobbitt]

I went to left-hand low about 10 years ago and found positive results for about a year, then the positive results tapered off. But I've been doing it for so long now, like the look and feel of it, that I can't see myself going back. 

About five years ago I tried the belly putter and saw immediate improvement, but again, the improvement wore off eventually and I went back to conventional length even before the rule change. 

For most of the last decade I've used face-balanced mallet putters (currently a Rife Barbados). Again, it's look and feel. I've also tried anser-style putters such as Camerons and various look-alikes, but without any positive results. Friends tell me I would be better served if I stopped switching putters so much (i.e. trying to "buy" a game) and instead either take a putting lesson or find a good putting video -- and then practice, practice, practice. I do practice putting more than anything else, but if I'm not practicing the right way . . . 

FWIW, I've never understood the theories behind face-balanced putters vs. toe-down putters and the whole debate over straight back-and-through vs. inside-out strokes, but playing partners who have stood behind me tell me the stroke is not consistent enough to be categorized as one or the other.

Thanks for the input . . . 

[IndianaDundee]

This is going to sound extreme but it worked for me.  Turn around and putt left handed.  You may need to buy a left handed putter, but you can try it in any golf shop with a practice green.  Hold the putter just like you would swing your 9 iron and putt.  Almost magic when it bangs in the back of the cup.

[dchoye]

1 hour ago, IndianaDundee said:

This is going to sound extreme but it worked for me.  Turn around and putt left handed.  You may need to buy a left handed putter, but you can try it in any golf shop with a practice green.  Hold the putter just like you would swing your 9 iron and putt.  Almost magic when it bangs in the back of the cup.

That's worked for me.  I can get "yippy" start flinching my hands and bracing my body and move my head backwards during the stroke . 

Once I putt lefty it all goes away 

[natureboy]

7 hours ago, RandyBobbitt said:

I went to left-hand low about 10 years ago and found positive results for about a year, then the positive results tapered off. But I've been doing it for so long now, like the look and feel of it, that I can't see myself going back. 

About five years ago I tried the belly putter and saw immediate improvement, but again, the improvement wore off eventually and I went back to conventional length even before the rule change. 

Did your actual putting skill decline or did your expectations shift as you got better?

[TourSpoon]

A few years ago I had the same issue and wanted to get a stroke that I could consistently get that end-over-end line going toward the hole. I took a lesson and sure enough, I was taking the putter back outside the line and cutting across the ball. I decided to concentrate on the inside down the line approach. I eventually bought the Momentus IDL putting track combo. I put the long track in the living room and the short track in the bag to take to the practice green. It took a while but it helped me groove the path. I eventually sold them, but it did help me really feel and see the path. Breaking that outside habit was one of the hardest things I have done, but it made a big difference in my consistency.