Putting is killing my game

Many people hold the putter far too tightly and don’t allow their natural skills to shine through . You should be holding the putter as lightly in your hands as possible.

Confidence is huge in putting. If you think you are going to miss you most likely will, if you think you are going to hole it, it improves your chances immeasurably. Change your grip, go to left hand below right and try that. I went to the claw grip many years ago after getting the yips, change it up and when you start holing a few putts confidence will come.

Not used putt-out as advised by previous poster but many I know love it.

I am no putting zen master but i find my best putting comes when the following happens:

- I hit the ball well off the putter. Many people do not pay attention to the contact here, but i find without it there is no consistency. Once I am lined up and have a thought on distance it is all I think about as I swing.
- I genuinely believe in the putt going in the hold or past it

Loads more of technical stuff like controlling the left wrist and swinging through have helped from time to time, but those have been my top 2 when I fall off the most. I have been experimenting with left hand low for short puts recently too, I do find it works for me.

Try rotella and practice

Lads to against the grain.

I think holding the putter as lightly as possible is one of those old wives (sexist) tales of golf at this stage.

It all depends on stroke and putting style grip etc.

One thing to do is try get super confident with putts inside 3ft. If you are confident of making putts from that distance then you can hit positive putts which will make it past the hole, knowing that you have a very good chance of making the putt back.

Was reading an article in GolfWrx that was interesting in the debate over Line vs Pace on putts.

A bit of paraphrasing here but it was basically about finding that tipping point where a putt goes from a realistically make-able putt to a target for a 2-putt.

The argument is that for a pro, they make about 50% of putts from 8ft, so from that distance they should be very focussed on line.

Similarly for an amateur, at your handicap level, the average distance where the make-rate is around 50% is 5ft. So from 5ft & in, your focus should be mainly on line.

But from distances longer than that, your primary focus should be on pace, more than line (not that you ignore line), to ensure that, at worst, you're leaving the putts dead & avoiding 3 putts.

I'm sure I'm getting plenty of details wrong, but that's the general gist of the article.

One thing from Rotella, as mentioned above, was an anecdote about Colin Montgomery (again, going from memory, so maybe a few slight incorrect details below).

Supposedly before he starts a round he makes 100 putts from 1ft. That way, he makes 100 putts in a row, with the sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup.

Its a confidence boosting thing.

See a lot of recommendations saying that, for your distance putting practice before a round, you shouldn't aim at a hole. The reason is that you're going to miss the vast majority of them which is not a feeling you want to bring on to the course. So throw down a different coloured ball, or some a tee, and aim for that instead for getting your pace putting practice in.

Putt looking at the hole instead of the ball...
I cant think of another sport where the object is at rest or attached to the person and yet you dont look at the target!?

Snooker/Pool/Billiards
Darts
Bowling
Baseball (Pitcher)
Frisbee
Cricket (bowler and batter)


The ball isnt going anywhere, you dont need to watch it.

Also, think I read somewhere that the average first putt distance for amateur golfers is somewhere around 22ft.

So when you're practicing, pace out a putt of roughly that length, uphill & downhill, and practice lagging to within a 2 feet of that distance (preferably within 2ft but past the mark, though short is OK to start with). Try get 10 in a row uphill & downhill within that mark before you go out.

Should give you confidence when you get those putts then on the course

Joeyjoejoe43 wrote: »

I especially like the idea of not putting at a hole on the practice green and instead practicing distance control to a tee or similar. That putting contraption also sounds like a good investment. I have a putting machine but it just shoots the ball back to you if you hole it, so this other one sounds much better.

I'll let ye know how my putting goes on Sunday.

I had the same one that spits the ball back but after 2-3 minutes I would get bored. I hate practicing putting to be honest.


The difference of the putt out is its really difficult, the hole your aiming for is about the size of a 2 euro and if the pace isn't right it won't stay in either. If you can consistently hit the smaller hole from 3ft a full size hole is easy. It's great for getting pace if you use it on the putting green but it works grand on a carpet.



I only change my stoke if I'm pulling or pushing the putts. Feel like the toe is touch the ground and not the heel to hit more right and toe up to hit more left. Basically changing the lie/face angle of the putter. I'd stand closer to the ball and grip down a bit when I go toe down.

Mac_Lad71 wrote: »

Putting is all about 'feel'....I struggled with my putting by being too technical.

I now look at the hole when I putt and it takes all the technical stuff out of my mind.

Managed 18 holes in a competition at the weekend without a 3 putt.

It takes a bit of practice but worth a try if your struggling.

Exactly.
If you can roll a ball to the hole better than you can putt it ask yourself why you don't watch your hand while you do it.
Look at the target and all the rest of it goes away very quickly.

My putting improved greatly when I thought of the stroke as a 'push' rather than a 'strike'.
I don't think it's illegal what I do, it's more in my head than anything visible.

Don't forget alignment.

You could make the perfect stroke but be aligned all wrong.
Develop a routine for makeable putts (i.e. the one's from 20 feet and in, anything longer and your focus is getting it within a couple of feet).

1. Get a ball marker with a solid line on it.
Something like this.


2. Determine the line for your putt and align the solid line of your marker to a piece of grass on your intended putting line e.g. centre cup, left edge, one ball left etc.

3. Align the line on your ball to the marker and take the marker away.


The benefit now is that you no longer need to worry about the line and your focus becomes solely about pace. You might miss the putt on a wrong line but you at least committed to a line. The above routine takes seconds and it helped my putting big time.

Don't feel put out (pardon the pun) about not making the 4 to 10 footers, I think even the Professional's miss half of their putt's from 8 feet for example.

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

Taking a penalty in football or sideline in hurling the ball is stationary but best advice here again is to look at the ball when striking it.

You don't look at your hand when throwing a dart because it's a throwing technique - same reason why you don't look at your arm when you're throwing a ball. When there's an impact with a third party (golf club) it's best to keep your eye on the ball/impact.

You are not reading my posts properly.

in all those sports either you or the ball is moving

When taking a penalty or a sideline *you* are moving.

If you are treating the putter as a third party that would explain putting issues.
Its an extension of your arm, thats why you dont need to look.

Have you ever tried hitting a putt looking at the hole? did you miss the ball?
If you did then you have issues with your stroke, you didnt miss because you werent looking at the ball.

I never practice putting and it shows but as similar high handicapper I got great advice from pro in lesson.

He said I was controlling putting distance by decelerating as i swung at it as needed. He said it was really hard to control pace like that and I was doing the same with my chipping apparently.

Instead he made me hit through it with much smaller takeaway and I instantly had better distance control.

I find it really hard to commit to on the course but when I do it really works for me.

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!