Putting practice/drills?

danthefan

Just wondering how people go about practicing putting. My putting is absolutely awful at the moment, I think I missed around 4 or 5 short putts yesterday, which is just killing my scores. My stroke seems to be all over the shop. Any advice for how to practice?

Trampas

define a short putt.

what length?

When I was playing I found the front press helped me get a smooth back and forward stroke as going back with first movement seem to make my stroke jerky.

I used to practice with a line of tees forward and backwards of balls on both sides of the ball to help keep a straight line

danthefan

Well I missed a 3 footer on the last for birdie

But from around 10 feet I was desperate.

Trampas

Putting stats from 10 feet

http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/info/?348

if you made 40% you will be doing well

danthefan

Trampas wrote: »

Putting stats from 10 feet

http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/info/?348

if you made 40% you will be doing well

Wow that's interesting. Didn't know that at all.

But anyway the issue isn't really that I was missing the putts, I don't expect to hole everything, it's that I was not striking the ball cleanly and most of the time I was not even threatening the hole.

nocal

Here is a suggestion:

Go to the putting green with one ball.
Walk 6 feet away from the fringe. Putt the ball so that it stops just short of the fringe.
Do the same from 10 feet, 15, 20 etc.
This will give you a sense of pace. Practise this a few times until you are comfortable with pace. Trust this when playing a round.
When playing if you need to take a look at a putt, do so from the low side. Take no more than 5 seconds to look at the line of a putt and pay particular attention to the last 1/3 of it. (Sometimes you will look at a putt and not believe what you think the line is so in these cases it is ok to look at it again. This time does not include looking at it from the low side - it is purely the working out the line part. Generally speaking the longer you try to line it up the more you over-complicate it.)

Trust your body and not your brain when it comes to putting.

stockdam

How often do you practice?

Practice on a carpet at home and keep on doing it until you can "hole" 30 putts from 8 feet in a row then change your target to 50.

In order to get a good putting stroke, most people have to work at it. Then there's the problem of reading greens etc. But first, if you read the putt as straight then you should have a putting stroke that hits the ball straight.

Don't compare yourself with the pros on TV as they are talented and they practice every day.

whizbang

what works for me is a slow methodical push, thro to the hole.
Try putting with another ball 4 inches behind the putter head, and
dont hit the behind ball when putting through to the hole!

Static M.e.

I'm a complete beginner but I watched a video yesterday and the famous chap was saying for the 3 foot putts, your putt swing? should go back 25% and forward 75%.

danthefan

Went to the practice green there, taking advice on board, and hit a lot of putts until I was happy. Results were decent enough, haven't 3 putted since and have rolled in a couple of long ones.

Still missing some shorter putts in a disappointing fashion but I'm on the right track I think.

nocal

danthefan wrote: »

Went to the practice green there, taking advice on board, and hit a lot of putts until I was happy. Results were decent enough, haven't 3 putted since and have rolled in a couple of long ones.

Still missing some shorter putts in a disappointing fashion but I'm on the right track I think.

Excellent stuff. Sounds like you are on the right path.

Rolling in a couple of long ones is definitely a great sign imo.

Right so back to the putting green with you for more practise.:D
The key to consistent short putting is to make sure that you do not decelerate through the ball. When you do you will inevitably bring the putter face off line.

A drill for this is to try to make a straight downhill putt from 1.5 feet ensuring that you accelerate through the ball. The catch - the putt should die into the hole with it's last roll. Apparently this is one of the hardest drills to master - but practising it will get you drilling in your short putts when playing.

GreeBo

My pro is getting everyone to use the following drill.
Put a tee in the ground at 4 feet, 10 feet and 20 feet. Then hole out from each position with a single ball and then repeat 6 times. The par for this drill is 27 (down in 2 for each of the 20 and half the 10 footers, the other half and all the 4 footers should be down in 1) you then track this over time and give yourself a putting handicap.

Obviously this is not so much about technique as about realistic practice.

PARlance

GreeBo wrote: »

My pro is getting everyone to use the following drill.
Put a tee in the ground at 4 feet, 10 feet and 20 feet. Then hole out from each position with a single ball and then repeat 6 times. The par for this drill is 27 (down in 2 for each of the 20 and half the 10 footers, the other half and all the 4 footers should be down in 1) you then track this over time and give yourself a putting handicap.

Obviously this is not so much about technique as about realistic practice.

That's a though auld Par he's setting you there GreeBo.
Someone posted the PGA tour stats earlier from 10 feet. Only 36 out of 187 players were averaging 50% or better. (Maybe misreading info, apologies if so)
Will give that drill a go though, to Par 30.... Anything to get that extra bit of confidence, should be playing to about 18 handicap on that

GreeBo

ajcurry123 wrote: »

That's a though auld Par he's setting you there GreeBo.
Someone posted the PGA tour stats earlier from 10 feet. Only 36 out of 187 players were averaging 50% or better. (Maybe misreading info, apologies if so)
Will give that drill a go though, to Par 30.... Anything to get that extra bit of confidence, should be playing to about 18 handicap on that

Actually its not as tough as you would think (its still had mind you) but because you are taking the same 10 foot putt 6 times its not like taking 6 different 10 foot putts. Put it this way, I bet the stats for pros would be a lot higher from 10 feet if they were taking the same putt multiple times.

Also, the drill is more about tracking your performance than trying to hit 27.

J6P

I keep 2 knitting needles/twine in my bag and set it up like in the video below. Great for training your stroke to go straight back and through and amazing the amount of putts that go in with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aQ4__6o1Ws

blackwaterfish

danthefan wrote: »

Still missing some shorter putts in a disappointing fashion but I'm on the right track I think.

IMHO: Huge part of short putting is your mentality as you stand over the ball.

if youre feeling doubtful while standing over the ball then your chances arent good... and, the longer you stand over the ball feeling this way... your slim chances are getting ever smaller.

flipside, if your feeling confident youve increased your chances greatly.

simplistic i know. but simplicity is the friend of golf.

before you take a short putt, say to yourself "yes, i feel good. i feel confident" - and believe the ball will drop.
once youre standing over the ball keep your thoughts as simple and direct as possible.

dont think about technique. just try to feel comfortable. dont get distracted by others around you. dont think about how sh1t or embarrassed youll feel if this doesnt go in - that creates fear... and fear will sh1t all over your lovely, simple, positve thoughts... AND youre scorecard.

be positive, keep it simple, be arrogant about your abilites... but not careless.

and if you miss it?.... so f-ing what!... at least you gave yourself every chance to sink it - every level of golfer misses short putts. Be annoyed about it if you cant just let it pass, but dont let your annoyance overcome you.... DO NOT bring it to the next tee. brainwash yourself to start feeling confident again. - sounds a bit daft but mental control becomes easier with just a little practice.

ive found the above self belief stuff masively helpful to my putting in general and especially with short to mid-length putts. i do miss short ones still, but thankfully with little regularity, and only let them piss me off for say max 20 seconds.

danthefan

Yeah I think you're absolutely spot on, confidence has a massive amount to do with it.