Putting Woes........

Swinging Looney

Hello people!

Please, please, please can you help me. I have been suffering from some of the worst putting of my life. It was always pretty bad, but now that I have been paying attention to it and getting worried about it it's getting progressively worse. (Oh the pain of the yips.....!) I otherwise hit the ball really well lately which just makes it more frustrating. I play off 12 but from tee to green I am getting so much more reliable and accurate but putting lets me down badly. I feel so capable of breaking 80 for the first time soon, average 8 or 9 greens in regulation per round, but generally have a good few 3 putts and the occassional 4 putt :eek:. My worst so far was yesterday; missed a 12 inch putt for a par save, 4 puttied from 60 feet, 3 putted from 25 feet, 3 putted from 12 feet, and all in the same round!!! I had 5 individual holes where my iron play was outstanding leaving me between 3 and 15 feet for birdie and I didn't make a single one. I finished the round in 83 with 38 putts.

Anyhoo, my main problem has always been missing left of the hole. Anything outside 2 feet has every chance of not going in at all. Distance control is getting really bad too, but since I am getting so worked up about three or four putting I'm not really surprised.

I've read Pelz and Rotella, had a lesson or two and discovered the weirdest thing - when I stand over the ball and am ready to putt, two things rear their heads:

1) Firstly, despite the fact that the ball appears centered on the putter face to me, it is actually about 1/4 inch towards the toe. I just can't see it. I am using an Odyssey two ball mallet. When I use my old Dunlop blade with just a little line for aligment this still happens but not to the same extent.

2) Secondly, my putter face is aimed well left of target despite it looking to me like it is bang on. On an average 6 foot putt, I will actually be aimed about 6 inches left of the hole. On short putts of around 3 feet or so I am 2 or 3 inches left of target which is just enough to miss most of the time. It simply does not look wrong to my eye. Odyssey or normal putter makes little difference.

I was sceptical when I was told this in a lesson, but set up my webcam at the back of the ball when I got home and lined up a putt then looked at the screen and SHOCK! :eek: It's true!

I feel like I may be on the verge of finally curing my troubles, but I need something reliable to help me on my way. Simply trying to aim right of the hole doesn't work as I slowly exaggerate the correction and end up missing right. I need something to help me line up properly!!

So, question time......

1) Has anybody suffered from anything remotely similar to this? If so, how did you fix it?

2) Can anyone suggest something or somehow to ensure correct alignment?

3) In case you all have no idea how to help, can anyone give me the number of a good tennis club?

Regards,

Looney (shortly to be certified.....)

copacetic

my biggest tip for this is drawing a line on your ball. Spend most of your setup time lining it up where you want to hit the putt.

When you standover the ball you just aren't going to believe it is aimed right. It will look wrong. Trust it anyway, rock your shoulders, don't look up. A good stroke and the ball will roll end over end along this line.

It took me 3-4 months before I could trust the line totally. My putting is now the best part of my game. Especially inside 10 feet.

PhilipMarlowe

I feel the pain... some of my best golf has been accompanied by my worst putting.

I actually tried to line up some 6-10 foot putts on the putting green recently using the alignment mark on the ball and was shocked when I put my putter straight behind them that it looked way wrong to me... I'll need to practice it a lot more but not sure I like lining them up. When I had a go at them, just trying to bring the putter in along an extension of this line, they did roll remarkably true to where they were supposed to go but if I didn't try and use the alignment mark on the ball, I'd set up my body much differently.
I have a training aid ( pathfinder ) that I haven't used much to be honest... It has a mirror and lines so you can tell when your eyes are over the ball.... then it has upright pins that you must swing through so that you will develop a good path. When I set it up on a green with maybe a 10' putt, I could make buckets of putts consecutively so it does help to show you that it can be done... the issue is when you take it away, will that lovely stroke remain
I must dig it out and practice indoors over the winter.
A simple thing you could do is practice indoors against a wall... take your putting stance and face into the wall and rest your head against the wall. Practice your stroke along the skirting board (you eyes will be over the ball).

Pathfinder video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ku-u-ek72E

stockdam

Why are you aiming left? Are you standing open, are you looking at the ball with your right eye so that your head is "open", are you standing too far from the ball, is the toe of the putter up in the air?

Distance control is a hard thing to explain and it comes down to a good stroke, confidence and lots of practice. Find a flat green and try to stroke the ball so that it is always within 2 feet of the hole (30 feet or more away).

Swinging Looney

stockdam wrote: »

Why are you aiming left? Are you standing open, are you looking at the ball with your right eye so that your head is "open", are you standing too far from the ball, is the toe of the putter up in the air?

Not standing open - at least not to an obvious degree. Definitely looking squarely with both eyes. Head is exactly over the ball (I use a CD regularly - place it on the floor, put a ball in the middle and set up so you can see your eyes in the CD). Putter is pretty much dead level.

kingshankly

a while back i had been missing a lot of putts left and it was getting to me so while out with the pro he discovered my putter was off when you went to stand it up it sat well to the left (couldnt believe i hadnt noticed it)so a few taps later it was sorted now i miss left and right

GreeBo

A right hander will miss short putts left if they look up before the stroke is completed.
On short putts (6foot and less) dont look at the ball, look at a blade of grass between the ball and the putter. This will help to stop your eyes from following the ball and pulling it left.

I totally agree with lining the ball, at least during practice. This will show you if the alignment is wrong or the stroke. If the line on your ball wobbles then its your stroke.

As above, distance putting is heavily influenced by a good stroke. If you do something different each time then its nigh on impossible to be a good distance putter.
Try taking some long putts while looking at the hole and not the ball to develop some feel. Then take some practice swings looking at the hole and then a normal swing looking at the ball.

The vital part of putting is acceleration. If you decelerate into the ball you will hit a bad putt, but when you are nervous about your putting thats exactly what you will do. Try to tell yourself that if you are going to miss you are going to miss long.

Niall09

GreeBo wrote: »

A right hander will miss short putts left if they look up before the stroke is completed.
On short putts (6foot and less) dont look at the ball, look at a blade of grass between the ball and the putter. This will help to stop your eyes from following the ball and pulling it left.

I totally agree with lining the ball, at least during practice. This will show you if the alignment is wrong or the stroke. If the line on your ball wobbles then its your stroke.

As above, distance putting is heavily influenced by a good stroke. If you do something different each time then its nigh on impossible to be a good distance putter.
Try taking some long putts while looking at the hole and not the ball to develop some feel. Then take some practice swings looking at the hole and then a normal swing looking at the ball.

The vital part of putting is acceleration. If you decelerate into the ball you will hit a bad putt, but when you are nervous about your putting thats exactly what you will do. Try to tell yourself that if you are going to miss you are going to miss long.

+1

Also, you should be doing some drills.

Go from 1 end of the putting green, and putt to a hole at the other end of the green with 4 tees around it (maybe in a radius of 3 foot from the hole), see how many you can get, and keep doing this and trying to improve on your last score.

Also, for the short putts, you should put a marker down 2 putterlengths from the hole. Try and get 20 in a row. If you miss one, start all over again. Always do your putting routine while practicing. Once you get 20 from 2 putterlengths, try to get 5 or 10 from 3 putterlengths.

Remember, putting is all about confidence, if you feel your not going to make a put, step away from the put and say to yourself that it will go in, go through your routine and make a confident stroke.

DIEGO WORST

I feel your pain.
Been there, tend to revisit every now and again.

Ken Brown gave a wonderful tip there a few months ago on Sky Sports "Keep your knees steady thruout the stroke". It worked for me for about two or three rounds. It results in your head remaining perfectly still.

Another tip, try to visualise the ball travelling the last two feet into the hole. So if you have a 30 footer, just think about the last two feet, and see it plopping in the cup. I had amazing success with this for nine holes once, rolled in two 20+ footers, and a 40+ footer. Like everything else, instead of trusting it, I probably tried to figure out how it was working and slowly lost the plot.

Every time I try something new, either a new putter, a cross handed grip or something else, I get great results for a while. So when my putting gets out of sync, I change something.

Trampas

people think they should make every putt inside 10 feet.

you will be surprised how many putts are missed in a round by a pro inside 10 feet. you only see a 30 of so players in a round where there is 156 playing and they are all not making putts.

confidence is huge i think. which i have none

aarymark

i just cant believe that nobody has remarked on your handicap.how anyone can play off 12 having never broken 80 is beyond me ,how did you get so low

kingshankly

aarymark wrote: »

i just cant believe that nobody has remarked on your handicap.how anyone can play off 12 having never broken 80 is beyond me ,how did you get so low

just about to make the same comment myself he must be constantly hitting low eighties but im sure it will happen some day

Swinging Looney

I hope this works because I'm replying on my mobile phone!

Regarding my handicap, I pretty consistently manage between 80 and 85 in competition although my average is up a little over the last few rounds. I've shot 80 3 times, 81 a little more often. I've also managed 37 for 9 holes a good few times but either just when playing 9 or else combined with a really poor other nine! I have recently scored 81 at Portmarnock Links with abysmal putting on the last 12 holes. Played superbly from tee to green but couldn't putt to save my life.

Some very interesting suggestions here that I can't wait to try out. I have just recently been marking a line on my ball pretty much all the time, but the cheap ball stencil I'm using can't manage to find the equator of the ball so it rarely looks right. I'm trying to find a better one somewhere else.

What are the experiences of anyone using a two ball putter? Do you find it easier or harder to align than a regular putter with a simple line on it??

slingerz

i 3 putted 6 times today and still had 42 stableford and a gross of 85

Some of the putts I missed where inside 2 feet like

to balance it up a bit i sank a birdie from around 20 feet!

Pen1987

Two drills I'd advocate...


When youre practicing - get setup without a putter, just stand over the ball with nothing but a second ball in your hands. Then without moving your body positions lift the second ball up and hold it so its touching the tip of your nose, not the bridge. Drop the ball. If the second ball doesnt hit the first ball your eyeline is off which is making you percieve your putter face to be pointing somewhere that it is not. [if the putter is in fact aiming left its likely you will find the second ball lands somewhere between your feet and the ball. You want your eye directly over the ball so your looking right along the line of the putt.] Change your setup accordingly until you can get the second ball to hit the main ball every time.

Secondly, go somewhere that there is a series of parrelell straight lines to stand on. On the tiles of my kitchen floor was where worked best for me, once there is accurate parrelell lines youre can do this anywhere.

Now take a shaft or a broomstick or any item that doesnt bend significantly and place it under your left armpit, then pull it across your chest and place it under your right armpit (this may be more difficult for the more 'rotund' man but persist even if you have to 'lift' your shoulders, it may be uncomfortable but it really helps) By now you should have a shaft running directly across your chest, take your putter in hand and get setup, align your feet on one parrelell line, then the putter face to another, if you did the first drill enough then your eyes will be aligned on the same line as you putter.

So youve your feet, eyes and putterface all pointing and/or looking down the same line, all in unison, the only thing remaining of significance in the putting stroke it the shoulders.

When you look down the shaft should be in the general view between your ball and feet. Adjust your shoulders until the line of the shaft aligns with the line of your feet [this is where the use of parrelell flooring helps, make sure one end of the shaft looks to be the same distance according to how you can see it from the line on the floor as the other end of the shaft.]

So now you have everything required, feet, putterface, eyes and shoulders all in unison and facing where you want them too. All that is required is you 'rock' your shoulders, [think 'grandfather clock'] without moving your arms, back and through in rhythmic fashion through the ball. DONT TURN YOUR SHOULDERS.


Note* This style of putting advocates keeping the putterface facing the target perpendicular (within 1 or2 degrees) to the swingpath at ALL times. Its not going to help if you splay your hands open on the way back and closed on the through in a whats known as a 'swinging door' putting method. I tried to concentrate on moving [rocking] NOTHING but my shoulders, everything else stayed the same as it was at 'setup' for the full stroke.

Those two drills revelutionised MY (maybe not yours, this IS golf) scoring after around 2 weeks of practicing them 30 minutes a night.