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Now you've got a reasonable long game, but your putting sometimes stinks!


Lihu
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My putting remains poor.  I read rather well, and distance control is very close though I tend to hit short (likely a reaction to missing so much).  But the issue is pretty much hitting my lines - fix that and the rest falls in place.  Everything I've done is to try to minimizing missing my lines (bigger grip, lots of interlock in the grip, etc etc - whatever takes my wrists out of it......)  I really like my grip, it's comfy and repeatable.  So down to the stroke then.....

Recent I've tried a shorter and quicker backswing (this is very counter-intuitive to me for some reason).  I'm hitting my lines much better than ever.  there's hope.

I'm wondering it this is just making it easier to keep from twitching open and shut.....less motion, less chance for unintended movement, less time to mess up....

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11 hours ago, alleztom said:

Hi @Lihu - an even easier solution than @RandallT (he and I have discussed these).

Count the number of first putts from each distance - A (inside 3'), B (3'-9'), C (9'-15'), D (15-45'), E (over 45')
Count the number of putts you take from each distance (so if you 2 putt from 7' it is B - two putts)
Calculate the number of expected putts from each distance, which I roughly worked out from strokes gained data (1 for A, 1.4 for B, 1.8 for C, 2 for D, 2.15 for E), so if you 2 putt from 7' you have lost 0.6 shots. If you then 1 putt from 1 feet you've gained 0.8 shots etc.
Compare your putts with 'expected' putts to give you a general sense.

Really quick stats to keep to keep track on whether your putting is killing you or not. Hope it helps.

Great idea. I don't get that heavy into the stats, but just develop a general sense for how long my first putts are, which translates into how my approach game is treating me that round, and what I might expect from my putting.

Dave Pelz had a couple of tips for getting a better handle on lag putts. One was to stand erect behind the ball and use your stereoscopic vision to better judge the distance. Not in your putting stance or crouched down reading the line. Both of those options give you a skewed perspective.

The other was, if you have the time and won't hold up play, actually walk from your ball to the hole and count your steps. You might think you have 25 feet to the hole, but if it takes 15 or 16 steps to get there, it ain't 25 feet!

Also, if you're always away and the first one putting, that's a pretty good clue, too!

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11 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Also, if you're always away and the first one putting, that's a pretty good clue, too!

Especially if you've just chipped :~(

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33 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

The other was, if you have the time and won't hold up play, actually walk from your ball to the hole and count your steps. You might think you have 25 feet to the hole, but if it takes 15 or 16 steps to get there, it ain't 25 feet!

Also, if you're always away and the first one putting, that's a pretty good clue, too!

I would say people who struggle with lag putting have poor technique or do have a poorly fitted putter. 

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On 2/14/2017 at 9:54 PM, saevel25 said:

I would say people who struggle with lag putting have poor technique or do have a poorly fitted putter. 

This is a good point. At one point in my life I bought a putter that was quite heavy in the head. I liked it because I could really feel the putter head. The only problem was, it didn't work worth a crap on long, lag putts where I had to hit the ball fairly hard. The ball would skid, skip, and hop all over the place!

Now, I don't know what the loft angle on this putter was, but I eventually dug into my closet and dragged out a bunch of old putters. I found one that I liked and started using it. My lags no longer skid, skip, and hop. I didn't think my technique was all that bad. I used to do the "putt the nickel on the linoleum" drill, and was able to slide that nickel all the way across the kitchen! I think it was the putter. Anyway, I'm sticking with it for now.

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Last week, I shot an 81 with 6 three putts. I am hitting the ball well, but have lost confidence on the greens. The greens that I miss, I am chipping ok, but not converting many putts. I have talked to one of our pros that is a Titleist club fitter, and we will be doing a lesson/fitting soon. I don't know if my issues are physical or mental, but the mental aspect seems to be getting bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, caniac6 said:

Last week, I shot an 81 with 6 three putts. I am hitting the ball well, but have lost confidence on the greens. The greens that I miss, I am chipping ok, but not converting many putts. I have talked to one of our pros that is a Titleist club fitter, and we will be doing a lesson/fitting soon. I don't know if my issues are physical or mental, but the mental aspect seems to be getting bigger.

 

A lesson can help with the mental stuff too - because you have a set idea of something to work on rather than going down the nasty path of self-doubt and minor adjustments.

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On 2/13/2017 at 11:49 AM, Lihu said:

So, what do you guys think? Is putting all mental or is it a skill that you either have or don't? Some days you can putt like a pro, while others, anyone can beat you at it?

My putting sucks.  I think the main problem is reading greens.   Somehow, when I hit the green, I sort of mentally check out.   Last round was a perfect example.   I hit the par 4 18th green with my second shot, which left me with a 30 foot downhill putt.   I stood behind my ball and saw about a 5 foot right to left break.   So I hit it that way, and it broke 5 feet left to right!   I was still 10 feet from the hole. 

One of my playing partners said, "Stand behind the hole.  There's a big hump you just putted over.  You can see it quite clearly from behind the hole."   So I did, and yes, there it was, quite obvious.   I hadn't bothered to look at the line from that angle.   What a brain fart.   And yet I do that kind of thing all the time.  I don't know if I just cannot read greens, or if I'm just not making the effort.   Maybe I just need to put out more effort. 

There are a lot of cases where I cannot see the break, though.  Even on the practice green where I usually play, I can putt that green great because I've memorized the breaks, but if I stand there and look, I cannot see the breaks at all.   So many times it just looks perfectly flat, but I know from experience that there are substantial breaks. 

Sorry, that was a long story in which I said basically, my putting sucks. 

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

My putting sucks.  I think the main problem is reading greens.   Somehow, when I hit the green, I sort of mentally check out.   Last round was a perfect example.   I hit the par 4 18th green with my second shot, which left me with a 30 foot downhill putt.   I stood behind my ball and saw about a 5 foot right to left break.   So I hit it that way, and it broke 5 feet left to right!   I was still 10 feet from the hole.

That's the phrase I wanted to say.

I'm usually focused on really nice courses, but the one that prompted this entire thread was my "beginning" course. Maybe you can call it boredom as well? "Sub-conscious boredom" of the hole?

Yuck. I suppose there's no excuse for this?

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@Marty2019, take an AimPoint class.

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On 2/13/2017 at 0:42 PM, Hacker James said:

yet another use for The Tee Claw ( or pair of them). indoors, I stretch out a length of tee claw using two claws. Place the ball up against the line,and put into a cut off end of conduit. If you pull the put, you will lose contact with the line.  or to check against both pulls and pushes, simply stretch out two strings to form a "gauntlet". 

What's a tee claw? I use a metal yardstick I bought at walmart for $5, put the ball in the small hole on one end, and try to putt the ball all the way down the yardstick trying to keep it on the yard stick. If you hit your line even just a little off it will roll off the side of the yardstick. Pretty good practice for hitting your start line and making good contact.

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30 minutes ago, Slowcelica said:

What's a tee claw? I use a metal yardstick I bought at walmart for $5, put the ball in the small hole on one end, and try to putt the ball all the way down the yardstick trying to keep it on the yard stick. If you hit your line even just a little off it will roll off the side of the yardstick. Pretty good practice for hitting your start line and making good contact.

there is a whole thread on it.

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Aimpoint helped to allow me to trust the feel of my feet to read the ground better.  I like to start walking from the low side to my ball as a routine too 

One thing that is unique to me is that I like to wrap my left forefinger around the grip for longer putts 

Press my left thumb down to angle my shaft more on the toe side like Stricker style when facing short left to right putts 

 

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In mid-summer, allergies can cause problems for some golfers.

If I face alternating days of rain, 95° and sunny, rain, 95° and sunny... the mold count can skyrocket to 60,000. During weeks like this, I'm slightly dizzy on course, and have trouble finding my balance point over putts. Frustrating times for putts under 10 feet. And antihistamines don't help much on those stretches.

But when the sun returns and the mold count drops, the problem goes away.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, I played a round with my daughter yesterday at the same course that I'd been having trouble putting. I had 2 holes with 20 and 30 yard eagle chips and somehow converted them into a par and bogey. This was with bump and run for 90% of my near green shots. When I missed the birdie putts, I somehow got into my head that putting just didn't matter any more. When I practiced the same or similar shots after plopping the flag back in, I made every putt.

So, my daughter watched me hit greens and fringe after fringe then 3 putt (including the fringe putts). I made 1 par on the hardest putting hole ( a notorious island green par 3), but that was only because my tee shot landed 15 feet from the pin and I still had to make a 4 to 5 foot putt to pull it off. :-(

Meanwhile, all last week at my home course, I was averaging about 32 putts per round. Lower than my average of 1.9 per hole. I was ready to conquer this course!

It destroyed me with a 44 on a par 36! :~(

It's not like I putt bad or anything. When I'm on the practice greens I can beat most people in "closest to pin". I also can read greens okay. I know pretty much how it's going to break with reasonable accuracy.

I just can't score at this point, and am at a complete loss as to why? :doh:

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On 2/13/2017 at 0:05 PM, Piz said:

Most golfers would require extensive therapy if they putted like I do.  Last Saturday I four-putted the first green, one-putted the second, three-putted the third, and one-putted the fourth and fifth.  I went 13/18 GIR and had 37 putts total.  The trouble stems from finding the green; but in the worst possible relation to the pin.  That results in a lot of long, downhill, putts that just...keep...going...and leave 10-15 feet for par...if they are still on the green.  Long story short...the end.

I might need therapy just from reading about what happened the first 5 holes on Saturday...this could cause nightmares.

I'm kidding of course (well, half kidding :whistle:).  This thread hits close to home so I'm not in a position to tease anyone. Obviously part of it is physical, but I really believe the mental aspect far and away has a larger influence on how successful a player is at holing putts.

I have gone through periods where from tee-to-green I hit the ball like a +2, but I putt like a 20.  I could have a straight forward 15 footer that I feel I put a good stroke on and it comes up 4' short.  Next hole might be similar.  So I make a slight adjustment and then I blow it 6' past.  When I practice, I can step up to a 30' putt without reading it, and using only my right hand if I don't make it, it's stoney.  I can putt looking at the hole, and I can putt with my eyes closed during practice really well too. On the course? As soon as I step foot on the green it's like my brain turns into an ax murderer.  

A number of years ago I spent over an hour with an instructor using a SAM putting lab that captured data on my stroke and impact conditions.  He had never seen me putt before.  He said I had the best, most consistent stroke and produced the best numbers he had ever seen. To which I replied "so why in the hell can't I make a putt!!?"

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On 2/13/2017 at 10:05 AM, Piz said:

Most golfers would require extensive therapy if they putted like I do.  Last Saturday I four-putted the first green, one-putted the second, three-putted the third, and one-putted the fourth and fifth.  I went 13/18 GIR and had 37 putts total.  The trouble stems from finding the green; but in the worst possible relation to the pin.  That results in a lot of long, downhill, putts that just...keep...going...and leave 10-15 feet for par...if they are still on the green.  Long story short...the end.

Group therapy perhaps?

I'm mostly happy with my putting but...  Last Sunday after sinking an 18 footer that broke 2 feet, perfect read, speed and bead, I birdied the par 4 and was 1 under through five holes.  I thought to myself, "could this be the day of all days?".  Next hole I went into the hazard, took the penalty, dropped, hit the green on the next shot, 3 putted for a triple.  With 3 more 3 putts and a 4 putt I ended up at 14 over on my home course, an executive.

The executive is a par 58 and my "day of all days" would be to hit my age on it, a 59.  I'd like to do that before I'm 60.  As each day goes by it becomes more and more of a long shot.

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50 minutes ago, No Mulligans said:

Group therapy perhaps?

I'm mostly happy with my putting but...  Last Sunday after sinking an 18 footer that broke 2 feet, perfect read, speed and bead, I birdied the par 4 and was 1 under through five holes.  I thought to myself, "could this be the day of all days?".  Next hole I went into the hazard, took the penalty, dropped, hit the green on the next shot, 3 putted for a triple.  With 3 more 3 putts and a 4 putt I ended up at 14 over on my home course, an executive.

The executive is a par 58 and my "day of all days" would be to hit my age on it, a 59.  I'd like to do that before I'm 60.  As each day goes by it becomes more and more of a long shot.

You'll do it! :dance:

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Note: This thread is 2542 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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