how can i get the ball to the hole without racing it miles by? i cant seem to find a happy medium...any help?

I know what you mean Liam - hit it softly and the putt will be more affected by the contours of the green, be agressive and if it misses it goes miles past the hole - hate this game!

haha! that was me all over today. could of shaved about 5 strokes if i had hit it

Tell me about it! If I could putt with any consistency I'd be a single handicap player!

Focus on getting your approach shots closer. You are more likely to get one putts then. Only 18% of pros hole putts from 9 feet away.

Aim at the top of the flag on approach shots not the hole itself.

I take it we are talking about putting here?

You need to practice your putting stroke and work out how far the ball goes with certain lengths of backswing.

I find that if I take my normal putting stance and take the putter back to the big toe on my right foot (right handed player), and then make a smooth stroke through the ball it goes a couple of feet.  An ideal length for those short putts.

If I take the putter back until the face of the putter is level with the outside of my right foot and make a smooth stroke, the ball will travel about six feet.

Take my putter a couple of inches past the outside of my right foot and the ball will go around twelve feet.

Buy yourself one of those indoor putting mats, those with a mat about six feet in length.

Put a mark on the mat at two, three, four, five and six feet.  Practice putting from each mark.

The longer putts take a bit of working out!

Hope this helps.

Russ

Great idea Russell. I must admit putting is something i practice alot of at home, going through the same sort of idea as russell has said. putting from different distances. I normally place a five pence piece on the floor so im putting at a very small marker.

The putter is the most used club on the golf course, normally at least once a hole. So rather than going upto the driving range and smacking balls out on the range, why not spend an hour or two on the putting green.

Another thing i always do, is get to the course im playing at early to go onto the putting green area, because although not always the case, 9 out of 10 times it will give you a very good idea of how fast the greens are out on the course.

get yourself on the putting green and place a tee-peg about 6 inches past the hole, remove the flag and concentrate on getting the ball to the tee, if the weight is rright you will find the hole on a more regular basis, works for me

The practice putting green or the carpet is something that I have no faith in whatsoever.

The greens on the course are usually totally different to the practice green and are certainly different to my carpet, so why bother.

Have read how Russ putts I can see that I am in  the minority, as I would never employ backswing distance as something relevant to diistance. Like all my golf shots I apply the necessary weight that I feel is correct.

Very true John, what works for one may not work for another. Although as i mentioned in my previous post, the putter is the most used club on the course, unyet for most people when it comes down to practice it is the most overlooked.

No i agree the carpet isnt the same as a green, but a good tempo, rhythm and clean connection are something that is bound to knock shots off of your round. So any practice with your putter is good practice.

As i have said it may not work for some but it works very well for me.

Spend a day on my clubs greens, Darren, and I am sure you will think differently.

I take a look at the flag then hit the ball. If you threw the golf ball at the hole you wouldn't think how far to bring your arm back before releasing, you would just look at the hole and throw the ball naturally.

Well done, Adrian, an instinct for distance.

Im not quite sure what you really mean John, "spend a day on my clubs greens and im sure you will think differently" I dont use the same technique as Russell as in by a certain amount of back swing will hit the ball a certain distance. i normally judge the amount i have got to hit the ball with all my golf shots not just putting by eye. But in the case of putting i have spent hours indeed on the practice putting greens and my carpet at home so i have a natural thought and idea of how hard i need to putt to get the ball to the hole without leaving it to short or hitting it to far past.

The first post from Liam was for help with his putting as he cant find a happy medium between not hitting the ball far enough, or hitting it to far past.

Liam, as with most sports golf included, muscle memory plays a great part. So practice, practice, practice helps to make perfect.

Hi Liam

Putting is all in the mind, you cannot be nervous or you'll never get a feel for pace.

I play with the belief that getting the right PACE of a putt is the most important factor to me, accuracy comes second best because without the right pace your line is useless.

You cannot worry about seeing the occasional putt fly past the hole.

I find that if i hit it past the hole i watch the ball until it stops and no matter how far past it goes and this helps me pick the putting line back.  I do not mind hitting a couple of yards past the hole as i very rarely miss the next putt.  I always try to give my 1st putt every chance of dropping and i'd rather miss long than be short half a ball roll. 

Once i accepted the fact that hitting it past the cup was a part of the game I improved my reading of the green for line and pace and reduced my number of putts per round as i began to hit more 1 putts.  The softer you hit the ball the more break you get and this increases the chance for you ball to be effected by pitch marks, shoe imprints, spike marks, the cut of the grass and more.

So Liam, you need to bite the bullet and try to hit the back of the cup more.  Get plenty of practice on the practice greens from set distances, possibly 3, 6, & 10 yds, Putt 10 balls at each distance and put a tee marker some 2 yds behind the hole, if you miss any putt your putt has to  finish between the Hole and your marker, if you fail to get any ball past the hole start again from the beginning.  Start at 3 yds and complete this before moving on to next distance.  When you have completed a set distance bring your marker a little closer to the hole, i would say you dont need to be any closer than 1 yd.  If you miss your putt you can either go and putt out or just leave it especially if you hit it near to your marker as a guide and see if you can get your next putt inside it nearer the hole. 

You will find you will bring your marker closer for your short putts very soon. 

When doing this you also need to focus on your putting stroke being smooth and repeatable with the right technique for yourself.  You need to remember to hold your final position after the stroke and watch the ball until it stops.  This allows your brain to give you your hand-eye co-ordination and feel for your putts. 

You will have to putt literally hundreds of balls to see marked improvement.

Concentration and focus over the ball throughout your stroke would help also.

I would also mention that if you are playing on greens through the year that differ greatly for pace and you have to hit some long putts, then you should consider having 2 different putters for Fast  and Slow greens.  I find that on Slow greens i cannot hit long uphill putts with my usual putting stroke when using my light putter.  In winter i use a heavier putter and this sometimes is not enough after the greens have been cored and sanded  for uphill putts as you have to hit these hard so they bounce up the hill to the hole over the uneven greens.

So using a putter that allows you to hit consistent pace is vital with your normal putting stroke.

I forgot to mention that you need progression in your putting practice, you start with a basic idea and as you progress you add to your practice routine, how you do this is down to you, but it will depend on your practice facilities.  Such progressions are, putting up, across or down slope from set distances, from off the green or off the fringe, again feel and compare the difference in your strokes required from different lengths of grass, i would always recommend you are always picking a putting line to hole each practice putt and not just focus on pace.  You want to be looking to learn from every putt.   

Always practice on your weak parts of your putting game, whether it is distance control or accuracy, long, medium or short putts.

Darren, fellow golfshakers who have come to my club to play with me are bet £1 that they cannot better 36 putts. This of course guarantees that they will take the bet because, as we have all read on here, everyone considers themselves to be a good putter. Both Russ M and Stuart G took 42 putts for their round, yet both were adamant that they were good putters.

Short tip Liam.  You may have heard about the dustbin lid method. This time imagine the dustbin lid is totally behind but touching the hole. You then aim to stop the ball in this imaginary bin lid. Also 5 mins on the putting green is good before tee off. I ussually go on the putting green until ive putted acouple of 10-12 footers then go to the 1st tee in a good frame of mind even if ive only had half a dozen putts.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

i dont agree with the backswing length method for putting. I found that method too hard to judge considering the swing is so short. also someone gave me an analogy that i thought was quite good - if someone told you to roll the ball with your hand you'd get pretty good at it.

I found dave stocktons unconscious putting book very good. Bascially you stand behind the ball pick your line then move to the low side of the hole. After that you move back behind the ball pick your line again and pick a spot on that line just in front of your ball. When you setup over the ball all you have to do is concentrate on weight and hitting the ball over that spot.

The conventional wisdom for a right-hander is that your right hand is the problem with distance or direction when your putting is off, but I disagree. If my putting isn't as good as normal I spend half-an-hour on the practice green, but not just before a round, and hit one ball around the green, all different lengths, using just my right hand. You'll be amazed how that improves your distance judgement (and stops you tweaking your putter face closed). Then put your left hand gently back on the grip, hit a few more and walk away.

If this seems counter-intuitive, think of any other game without a moving ball (bowls, snooker, even darts!) and imagine how insensitive your distance judgement would be if you had to use two hands!

By the way, the best tip of all is in the above - always take just one ball, preferably the one you intend to use next time out, onto the practice green. I can remember holing ten ten-footers in a row after I had missed the first three so what a waste of time that was!

Liam

Putting needs to be kept simple, do not over complicate it.

Practice the distances you are having difficulty with and try to improve your feel for the distance.  How you do this best is down what you enjoy doing best, but maintaining a good solid technique at all times is crucial. 

Consider whether it is your technique or putter that could be contributing to your problem.  I also found i tended to strike the ground behind the ball just before contact and this forced me to change my swing and ball position.  I putt right handed with my left hand low on the grip, and it works a treat until i  have to hit long putts, this forces me to revert to right hand down. 

Or could it be the difference in speed of the greens at your course?

When i had the same problem i had to force myself to deliberately hit my putts harder to go past the hole and then i started to take pace off my stroke.  This meant i needed a lighter softer putter with a face Insert when on fast summer greens. 

I always clean my ball on the greens for my 1st putt, and my putter face

You have to putt the work in to get a base to work from, so quality practice is always better than quantity.  Practice does not make perfection.   And to judge pace better you have to practice on a similar surface.  Practice at home on a carpet or putting mat is great for improving your swing technique, ball position, stance and alignment and for having the confidence to see your ball hit the back of the cup. 

Good luck with whatever you choose