Putting is killing my game

spacecoyote

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Have you any tips for getting better at reading putts?

My main difficulty on the green is with actually reading the putt properly. I used to play a lot of pitch and putt as a kid and was excellent at reading greens, but that skill appears to have left me!

I've heard people say things like... imagine if you poured a bucket of water on the green towards the hole, and try picture what way the water would flow.

You wouldn't want to go overboard with it, but taking a look at a putt from behind/the sides can reveal a lot.

For me though, I get my best reads from directly behind the putt. Line up your putt with the ball logo & hit a committed putt on that line. I find I sometimes confuse myself by rethinking when I stand up to the putt.

GreeBo

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Have you any tips for getting better at reading putts?

My main difficulty on the green is with actually reading the putt properly. I used to play a lot of pitch and putt as a kid and was excellent at reading greens, but that skill appears to have left me!

You could try aim-point but risk annoying everyone else on the course.

Take some putts on the practice green and then look along the putt afterwards and see can you see why it broke that way?

How do you try to read them today?

GreeBo

Keano wrote: »

Do you putt not looking at the ball ever?

Is that a question to me?
If so, yes I do.

GreeBo

plumber77 wrote: »

Do many pros putt like that? What about the old head still and listen for the ball falling into the cup theory.

Spieth does it on shorter putts (where its arguably harder to stay down and not look at the hole since you can actually see the hole in your peripheral vision.)

Why do you think your head would be moving just because you are looking at the hole? Its easier to stay still since there is nothing to distract you, there is no desire to look up since you are already looking at the target.

plumber77

GreeBo wrote: »

Spieth does it on shorter putts (where its arguably harder to stay down and not look at the hole since you can actually see the hole in your peripheral vision.)

Why do you think your head would be moving just because you are looking at the hole? Its easier to stay still since there is nothing to distract you, there is no desire to look up since you are already looking at the target.

My point is that if that was the best way to do it; surely we would see a lot more pros use a similar technique.

GreeBo

plumber77 wrote: »

My point is that if that was the best way to do it; surely we would see a lot more pros use a similar technique.

They said that about right hand lower and 2 ball putters in the beginning too...

If you practice as much as a Pro would then you might not benefit as much, but as a casual, amateur I bet you will putt better looking at the hole, given a few rounds of getting used to it.

plumber77

GreeBo wrote: »

They said that about right hand lower and 2 ball putters in the beginning too...

If you practice as much as a Pro would then you might not benefit as much, but as a casual, amateur I bet you will putt better looking at the hole, given a few rounds of getting used to it.

Must give it a try out of curiosity

Mac_Lad71

plumber77 wrote: »

Must give it a try out of curiosity

Ive been using that method for a while now and it has definitely improved my putting.

The thing I found when I started was I had a tendency to hit putts too hard but with a bit of practice I improved.

I love the fact that when I get on the green I have no mechanical thoughts at all just roll the ball to the hole.

davegilly

On the whole looking at the ball/not looking debate. Below is from a teaching pro on the PGA tour. Take particular note of his last sentence!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwp5DU8nhDF/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1xgbf783w018d

dan_ep82

I done it for over a year. Works quite well especially on short or very long putts.

I had an issue where if I wasnt feeling it I could duff it especially around fringes. Hitting it too hard would creep up now and again. Found it hard on faster greens.

GreeBo

davegilly wrote: »

On the whole looking at the ball/not looking debate. Below is from a teaching pro on the PGA tour. Take particular note of his last sentence!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwp5DU8nhDF/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1xgbf783w018d

"Keep your eyes on the ball" is as valuable as "Keep your head down".

You want no movement, it doesn't matter where your eyes are.

GreeBo

dan_ep82 wrote: »

I done it for over a year. Works quite well especially on short or very long putts.

I had an issue where if I wasnt feeling it I could duff it especially around fringes. Hitting it too hard would creep up now and again. Found it hard on faster greens.

I find it excellent for pace putting (and short putts too tbh)
My reasoning is that most of the advice I read on long putting is to get a picture of where you want to hit it in your head, and then without much delay, make your stroke thinking about that picture.

But the easiest way to have a picture in your head is to be looking at the picture, why try to remember what you can just look at and judge? Then just make a stroke based on what your eyes are seeing, just like if you were rolling the ball with your hand, it would be much harder to do this looking down at the ground (for me anyway)

FixdePitchmark

I don't think looking at the hole is good advice for our level or unless you did it from day 1.

Good face contact is not as guarantee and is critical to a good putt.

The hole isn't going to move .

You have looked at hole to align.

It was made popular by spieth . But he is a total freak / outlier and doing it from day 1 . He has also put 1000s of hours into it. We don't have that time.

But whatever works.

SEORG

My approach to putting:
Figure out the low side of the putt.
Do a 360 of the hole & find where a straight uphill putt to the hole will come from, this helps me assess the break if there is one..
I'll always read the putt from the low side & behind the ball.
When over the ball it's all about the pace of the putt, my line/target is decided.
I make 2 practice strokes looking at the hole then take my putt looking at the ball.

For practice at home I use a puttout matt and training aid. Also a blast golf swing analyzer which is excellent for helping with tempo.

I don't think there is any one solution to being a good putter. Knowing what type of stroke you have (straight back & trough or an arc stroke) and match your putter type to that stroke certainly helps. I know that a toe hang putter suits my stroke better than a face balanced putter.

Joeyjoejoe43

I played 18 holes this morning to practice and try out some of the methods mentioned in the thread to date.

Went around in 89 strokes and started and finished with the same ball. It was nice and quite so I was able to drop some balls at 60 and 80 yards and try some different approach methods.. Got some great practice in. On the second hole I missed a hole in one by inches! Plug mark 2 foot on front of hole and ball finished 2 foot behind flag.. it would have rolled right by hole!

But anyway back to the putting, I scattered some balls around some greens to try out some of the methods and I must say the looking at the hole method is a revelation for long putts with very little break.. I was knocking most to a couple of feet and wasn't conflicted by line at all as I wasn't looking down..

I did notice downhill putts and ones with break were not great with this method and also 8 to 10 footers weren't great, but the shorter 5 footers and rakers were a great improvement and that's my first time ever trying that method!

Joeyjoejoe43

dan_ep82 wrote: »

Puttout for practice. Fantastic training aid.

Whats your miss? Short,long,left,right?

That's the thing. My misses were not consistent. They could be any of the above, but more inclined to be shirt than long.

GreeBo

Joeyjoejoe43 wrote: »

I played 18 holes this morning to practice and try out some of the methods mentioned in the thread to date.

Went around in 89 strokes and started and finished with the same ball. It was nice and quite so I was able to drop some balls at 60 and 80 yards and try some different approach methods.. Got some great practice in. On the second hole I missed a hole in one by inches! Plug mark 2 foot on front of hole and ball finished 2 foot behind flag.. it would have rolled right by hole!

But anyway back to the putting, I scattered some balls around some greens to try out some of the methods and I must say the looking at the hole method is a revelation for long putts with very little break.. I was knocking most to a couple of feet and wasn't conflicted by line at all as I wasn't looking down..

I did notice downhill putts and ones with break were not great with this method and also 8 to 10 footers weren't great, but the shorter 5 footers and rakers were a great improvement and that's my first time ever trying that method!

Important to note that you should only look at the hole if the putt is straight, you basically look at where you are aiming (that might be a spot 2 feet right and 2 feet short on a right to left down hiller) and dont always just look at the hole.

This technique is so good that if you are looking at the hole, thats where the ball will start and with that pace...even if you wanted to hit it left and softer/harder.
Which explains your poor results with downhill and/or breaking putts.
So figure out your "ghost" hole and look at that while you make the stroke.

For the shorter putts you need to make sure you are aligned correctly, as you will find that you hit the ball where you are pointing now, so if your aim is off on an 8ft putt you will miss it.

Joeyjoejoe43

GreeBo wrote: »

Important to note that you should only look at the hole if the putt is straight, you basically look at where you are aiming (that might be a spot 2 feet right and 2 feet short on a right to left down hiller) and dont always just look at the hole.

This technique is so good that if you are looking at the hole, thats where the ball will start and with that pace...even if you wanted to hit it left and softer/harder.
Which explains your poor results with downhill and/or breaking putts.
So figure out your "ghost" hole and look at that while you make the stroke.

For the shorter putts you need to make sure you are aligned correctly, as you will find that you hit the ball where you are pointing now, so if your aim is off on an 8ft putt you will miss it.

Ah of course!! Man I feel stupid now!! Ha ha.. can't wait to give this a go again.. I can't believe how close I'm getting the lag putts from 30 or 40 feet with this method!

mike12

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Have you any tips for getting better at reading putts?

My main difficulty on the green is with actually reading the putt properly. I used to play a lot of pitch and putt as a kid and was excellent at reading greens, but that skill appears to have left me!

Try Aimpoint it is simple to learn and easy to use.

mike12

GreeBo wrote: »

You could try aim-point but risk annoying everyone else on the course.

Take some putts on the practice green and then look along the putt afterwards and see can you see why it broke that way?

How do you try to read them today?

Aimpoint is quicker than the guys doing a 360 of the putt.

GreeBo

mike12 wrote: »

Aimpoint is quicker than the guys doing a 360 of the putt.

Possibly but i wouldn't advise that either.

Anytime i play with an aim pointer they are usually preventing me from playing when I'm ready because they are performing a seance around the hole...:rolleyes:

BigChap1759

For what it’s worth,a couple of things that significantly improved my putting we’re moving to a superstroke grip(now use the5 jumbo size ala Paul Dunne) and becoming a “spot putter” whereby you see your line from behind and then pick a spot 4” or so ahead of the ball and just concentrate on putting the ball over that spot

Joeyjoejoe43

Ok. So I tried out the looking at the hole method on Sunday in the medal, and it didn't go well, especially the longer putts amd those with breaks. After 3 putting the 10th, I went back to the normal method amd sank a 20 foot birdie on the next hole!! It was usefull to try and I think it helped to get my distance control going better.

I don't think I'll be doing it again in a competition, but I've picked up some great tips from the thread, so thanks all.

GreeBo

Joeyjoejoe43 wrote: »

Ok. So I tried out the looking at the hole method on Sunday in the medal, and it didn't go well, especially the longer putts amd those with breaks. After 3 putting the 10th, I went back to the normal method amd sank a 20 foot birdie on the next hole!! It was usefull to try and I think it helped to get my distance control going better.

I don't think I'll be doing it again in a competition, but I've picked up some great tips from the thread, so thanks all.

Did you remember to look at the target and not the hole on the putts with break?

Its going to be hard the first time you do it with a card in your hand as you will be nervous about making a tit of yourself (which is natural) but if it works on the putting green it works on the course...if you let it.

Joeyjoejoe43

GreeBo wrote: »

Did you remember to look at the target and not the hole on the putts with break?

Its going to be hard the first time you do it with a card in your hand as you will be nervous about making a tit of yourself (which is natural) but if it works on the putting green it works on the course...if you let it.

I did look at the point where I was aiming and not the hole for those ones...

And, you're right, there was an element of feeling like a tit to it! Also, the one round I practiced it, was nice and dry, whereas the medal was with wet greens which were harder to judge for pace.

I def think it is a good training aid to help with distance control and also if I have the yips during a round for 4 foot and in, it's something I can change to in order to try and counter the yips..

Seve OB

It's possibly the easiest place on the course for beginners and higher handicaps to pick up shots, so practice is well worth it. For mid to low handicappers, poor putting will very easily see you throw away shots, so practice is essential.

1 simple tip to start, imagine the hole is 6-12 inches past where the actual hole is. Ie you have to hit the ball at least as far as the hole for it to drop, just getting there is not enough, hitting it past the hole at least gives you that opportunity.

Putting is so unique, what suits one guy will not necessarily suit another lad, even if the rest of their game might be similar. Don't worry to much about the putter you have, cheap ones can be just as effective as the most expensive ones, but you need to have a putter in your hand that you feel comfortable with, right down to the style of grip on it.

Find a putting style you are comfortable with. I started doing a really wide stance and nearly sitting back like P Harrington many years ago. It worked and I have tweaked it over the years and I'm still always tweaking it. I tuck my right arm in close to me as I find it tends to keep my line straighter.

I think essentially there are 2 types of putting stroke. The pendulum method (straight back and straight through) and the swing door method (imagine a saloon door opening and closing through all the way to the other side). In my opinion the pendulum method is by far the easiest, swinging the club just leaves so much opportunity to hit the ball off line.

Judging pace is simply a question of practice and hitting hundreds and thousands of putts. Lag putting, you need to "feel the pace". Lets face it, any putt we amateurs hold outside of about 10 foot is a bonus. What we really need to be doing is make sure we get our first putt close enough to drop the second one. I like to think I'm pretty good at lag putting. When I practice on a putting green I hit lots of long putts, I aim for holes and my target is to get within a large tyre size circumference around it (my dad used to sell cars and always had a spare wheel or 2 knocking around the garden ) Look, you don't need to make any of these putts, just practice as much as you can with the aim to getting the ball close to the hole. Eventually practice will pay off and some will drop.

Now line. Forget about reading putts for a minute, I'm talking about hitting the correct line, so you know where you want to hit it, if it goes that direction and misses the hole, then it is a perfect putt. You have just misread the line. Walk away feeling confident. Say to yourself that I hit a good putt there. If you walk away upset/mad that you read the line wrong and hit a bad putt then chances are your next shot will be poor, but confidence going into the next shot will give you much more of a chance to execute it well (more head games, but it works). What I try and do and we've all seen Tiger do it on full shots, is pull out of the shot if I have pulled the trigger wrong. I can't always do it, but it is an easier thing to do on the green than with a driver in hand. What do I mean? Well, I putt using the pendulum method, straight back, straight through. But if I don't bring my putter straight back, well then the follow through won't be right so I'm already fighting to save the shot. If I can stop... I do.

Finally reading the putts. It's probably the hardest thing to do. Again like getting the feel for pace, the more putts you hit, the more you will get the feel for the borrows and breaks. All greens will act differently based on the grass, the soil, how they are cut, the length of grass, sanding, forking etc etc....(of course all this also affects the pace). I tend to look from behind the ball at the hole and also the other way around. Also as you are walking around have a look from the sides. If it is tricky and plenty of break, I might walk halfway down the line and have a little practice putt. Sometimes actually standing over the putt will give you a feel for the line also. You don't necessarily need to line up right behind the ball or hole, but maybe from a distance. You could be walking down the fairway and start lining it up as you approach the green. I find a very easy way to see how a putt is going to break is from far back, ignore the putt but look at the green, find the high points and the low points, now look at your ball and the hole and see where they fit in relation to those points.

So essentially I would break down putting into 4 categories.
1. Style, how you set yourself up for address and how you execute the shot.
2. Pace, the only thing you can do here to get the feel for how hard to hit the putt is to hit thousands of putts on different greens.
3. Alignment, if you hit it where you aimed, then it's a good shot.
4. Reading the line, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

So for me I feel that putts inside 2ft should be made every single time, no exception
Flat putts with little to no break of 2-5 feet should be made more often than not, I'd be looking to an 80% return (don't always get it, but it should be doable)
Same 2-5ft distance if there is tricky break, I won't beat myself up for missing them. Possibly the hardest putt is about 4ft downhill with lots of break. making half these is good, very good.
from 5 to 10 foot, I want to be at the very least threatening the hole. I would expect to make most of the flatter ones, but main thing is to give the putt the chance to drop.
Anything over 10 foot.... just get it close

Edit
Oh last tip, watch all other putts closely before taking your own. And not just putts, but chips and bunkers shots will all give you an idea of how fast the green rolls and where the borrow is.

Seve OB

on looking at the hole
I look at the ball for the strike. but before I hit it, I will look at the hole and swing back and forward 5 or 6 times to get a feel for the pace

benny79

Best tip I was ever given was to do your practice swings looking at the hole 2 or 3 feel as if your rolling the ball to the hole with your hand. Then line your putter up behind your ball, trace the line from the hole to the ball as soon as you get to the ball pull the trigger!

Plus tell yourself you are a good putter and invest in a good putting mat and practice!

con___manx1

I always try pick a mark on the green that close to my ball for long puts maybe a few feet away. If my ball rolls over that mark it should b on the right line. Its just about pace after that. I use the pendulum method with the ball slightly forward in my stance.

Irishdaywalker

Putting for me is strange . . . one day everything is rolling in, or nicely lagged from distance! For me, its nearly 100% confidence, when I am playing a round and I feel I am putting well then I can't wait to get onto the greens, but on the flipside if it's not going great there is near dread at the thought of a 2 footer !

I try to keep the putter head as low to the ground as possible when bringing the putter back - straight back and through.

Mentally if anything I feel the putter wont go off line, and more tendency to hit it out of the middle of the club.

Always try to make sure I get it past the hole, no chance of falling if short, at least if it runs past the hole you can see how it breaks on the way back (if any).

But I would'nt be one for giving putting advise! but on my day (like anyone) it can be decent!