Lbob

I'd pay money to wach Jim Furyck swing a Medicus driver! What's the over/under on how many times it would break?

I know exactly how many putts. I averaged 36.6 over my last 12 rounds. The lowest number of putts was 32. I don't want to talk about the highest But strangely my scoring actually got a bit better. One reason that my putting was high is that my miss-hits are getting better and because of this I'm hitting more greens in regulation. But a side effect of this is that I get more 3 putts because I trickle one on the front edge and get 60 footer. Also I really need to work on my up and downs....

I think putting routines are extremely important. I know because I didn't used to have one. The routine is crucial because if you stick to it, you are less likely to have the "gremlins" creep into your head. Your focus is on the routine, and pulling the trigger is just part of it. There's a considerable amount of research to support the idea that a routine improves performance. My routine is simple, and I confess I stole if from a movie (The Greatest Game Ever). The routine is: Read it, Roll it, Hole it. Read it = I get an idea of the line, then align the line of my ball with this line. Roll it = Get in the stance and take two practice swings at the correct speed. Hole it = Get over the putt, and align the putter with the line on the ball. I don't look at the hole, all I think is speed. I take a breath, let it out, and pull the trigger. I don't lift my head till the putter has stopped. I actually do a drill now with 6 footers where I listen to see if I made the putt. That's fun drill. I made 9 in a row in my last session. Of course the practice green is always different since you have a real good idea what the putt will do and you may not on the course. I like this routine for a couple of reasons. First it's very simple. Second, I like the self-statements. It's good to have positive thoughts over a putt. Again it keeps the gremlins at bay. Third, well I just think it sounds cool!

Been there, done that, got the tee shirt. I'm the origninal short-but-straight guy. I don't try to hit hero shot because I know I can't hit them with andy consistancy, but I still get blow up holes. I'm a bogey golfer so doubles, triples and snowmen really hurt. I don't get too many birdies to make up for them. I don't have nearly as many blow up holes because for some reason this year I internalized the idea that sometimes you just take your medicine. Helps a lot. Like when I was having the round of my life and hit a drive down the right center of the fairway that took a bad bounce into some very nasy rough. Had 150 to go to an elevated and very nicely trapped hole. Never even thought about the green, just got out the SW, hacked it onto the fairway, put a wedge about 12 feet from the hole and darn near scrambled a par. No muss nor fuss. Howerve, this thread reminds me of the "Nemisis" holes thread. I think some holes are conducive to blowups/big numbers. On my home course, the 9th hole is a dog leg left with water on the left, and OB on the right. I've never had a water ball or hit one OB (knock wood!) but I can still get a big number on the hole because if you miss the fairway left you are faced with a downhill, sidehill shot from really thick rough where it's tough to advance the ball much less put it where you aim it. I've had shots shoot out left or right and hook and slice. They usually end up in another patch of nasty rough where you get to pitch over a deep bunker and if you miss long you're in grass bunkers. I've screwed up many a good round on this hole.

I think that one thing this thread did is highlight the importance of keeping stats on your rounds. I do research for a living, and one thing I learned really quickly is that subjective impressions are highly innaccurate. I thought I was a pretty good putter until I started charting my putts. Then I was horrified. Of course part of it is the chipping/wedge game. I'm only averageing about 2 to 3 up and downs per round. And don't get me stared about the sand.... I'm firmly convinced that Dave Pelz's idea of a scoring zone inside 100 yards is correct. Right now the empahsis is on getting better with my lag putts to avoid the 3 putt blues.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep using the optomistic (but math challenged) method.

I'm big on numbers. The stars might lie but the numbers seldom do. I want to get an idea how well I am doing with the putter. My suspicion is that it is an area I really need to improve on. I chart the number of putt I make each round, and my average is a bit over 36. I don't think this is too good because hit only 8 or 9 greens in regulation. Now I realize that there are a lot of variables, like sometimes you miss-hit a shot that goes on the green and get left with a 70 foot putt and do the old 3-putt boogey. Also your chipping/wedge game comes into play. But all else aside, here's how I figure a reasonable goal: 1) Number of greens hit in regulation times 2 2) Greens missed times 1.5 I figure that if you miss the green you should get up and down about one time in four. At least that's a reasonable number for a 17 handicapper. So then for example if i his on average 8 greens in regulation that would work out to 16 putts for those greens. For the 10 greens I miss, I should have 15 putts. Added up I should have about 31 putts if I'm putting well. Does this sound reasonable?

Greetings all. I just started playing golf 4 years ago. I was smart and worked with a pro who actually taught me pretty well. This year I broke 80 and I'm in the mid 80's consistently. Just have to start making 6 footers now.