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Putting Woe's

Posted by: user550058 | Thu 12th Sep 2013 11:50 | Last Reply

Does putting practice really help? Admittedly I have never been able to putt well and while I do practice other parts of my game with a modicum of success. My putting practice just will not come on the course…Now I’m not talking about reading lines here. Never been good at that and I don’t particularly let that bother me. Unless a break is obvious I just aim at the hole… It’s the stroke! I cannot get a consistent stroke…I have read all the books and tried some of the aids but when it comes to the weekend medal “treacle” and yet on the hall carpet things are not too bad… Yes I know it’s mainly in the mind but it has cost me a number of wins this year and keeps my H/C higher than it might be otherwise …All thoughts welcome.

Enjoy your golf

Enjoy your golf

re: Putting Woe's
user25808
Reply : Thu 12th Sep 2013 12:25

I only practice putting prior to a competition but generally speaking only to hopefully get the speed of the greens.

I never practice it at any other time. I'd like to think I'm quite a good putter and this is mainly due to having quite a few lessons when I first took up golf about 11 years ago.

I also don't think about a putt for too long

re: Putting Woe's
user43763
Reply : Thu 12th Sep 2013 13:15

When im putting badly, and when its bad its very bad, I usually find its my technique. I like to practice putt before I go out to ensure my technique is good and measure the speed of the green correctly. make sure when your putting before a comp, your tempo is critical. smooth transition on the way back and again on the way down. I find that when im putting badly is usually because im stabbing at the ball, I focus on a good strike from the middle of the face and I feel like my follow through is a bit like a cricket block. my left wrist points forward, flat, and never leaves this position. this allows me to keep the putter head quite close to the ground the whole stroke. so in summary, 1. good tempo 2.dont get wristy with it and 3. get a good strike (out the middle of the face) that's my putting in a nut shell

re: Putting Woe's
user530369
Reply : Thu 12th Sep 2013 21:44

I mark my golf balls (using a 'line 'em up' gizmo) with a long line and then a shorter line at 90 degrees to the longer one so I end up with a kind of cross hair on the ball. Naturally the long line is aimed at the target area but the important one is the shorter line which you can then use to ensure that your clubface is square to the target line. Whatever else is wrong or right with a putting stroke, if the face is not hitting the ball square then nothing is going to work. So while this is obviously not a panacea, it is a good place to start (and an easy way to identify your ball in the rough). Good luck.

re: Putting Woe's
user338942
Reply : Thu 12th Sep 2013 22:15

I also have a long line on the ball - great alignment aid along with my Odessy 2-ball. Keeps me to an average of 31-32 putts a round which is probably about right for a 10-13hcp

re: Putting Woe's
user99350
Reply : Thu 12th Sep 2013 22:28

Practice the wrong thing and that will only lead to confusion and lead you into a limbo of pot luck week in and week out. Two crucial points from Trevor and Alan in good tempo and hitting the ball square are key and a good starting point. I suffer from inconsistent putting and alternate between three v different putters, switching when my putting becomes a liability. One good exercise for me is to put a ball 1 cm from the toe and one ball 1 cm from the heel and practice my stroke ensuring I don't hit either ball on the follow through. This helps ensure you're hitting it sqaure more or less. Distance... well that's another thing. If you're not going to practice than mental attitude is of equal importance. Tim Hawkins mentioned on another post about believing he is going to get it in. Give it a go, you're not losing anything. I think positive mental attitude extends to all aspects of the game. Sergio Garcia said he honestly thinks the ball is going in from 150 yds. If it's good enough for Sergio, it's good enough for us.

re: Putting Woe's
user20126 [FORUM MODERATOR]
Reply : Sun 15th Sep 2013 13:06

Things to practice are your stroke and distance control.

I had a lesson on chipping and putting.

I was told to have the ball just forward of middle of my stance. Keep both elbows touching the side of you body and swing with the shoulders.

My golf balls have an inch long line on them to help me line up my putts.

Whenever I arrive at a course I take three balls onto the practice putting green and I find a hole which is on level ground. I then take a big stride and drop the balls there. This normally gives me a three foot putt. If I swing my putter back and stop the swing when the front face of the putter (the bit that impacts the ball) is level with my big to on my back (right) foot.

This will tell me if the greens are faster, slower or the same as my home course.

I then do the same thing but taking four big strides. This should leave me with putts of twelve feet. This time, my putter face travels to the back of my back (right) foot.

Again, this will give me some indication of how fast the greens are.

Once I've done this I then just pick some holes of different distances and putt away.

If you can work on your distance control then you shouldn't have any problems two putting on most greens.

How this helps.

Russ

re: Putting Woe's
user217280
Reply : Tue 17th Sep 2013 17:39

Putting has always been the poorest part of my game, and I have tried to practice, I have read books and tried different methods used mallet putters and even belly putters, but my putting was still poor, I remember years ago reading that one should hold the putter very lightly to feel the weight of the putter head, I used to do this but it just made me to wristy in the stroke, anyway I now don't bother practicing my stroke as such, I work on hitting the ball on my chosen line, I do this by picking a point about two inches or so in front of the ball on my intended line and I just hit the ball over that point, I grip the putter tighter so that stops me flipping the putter, I actually don't look at the ball just a point about 2 inches or so in front of the ball, I want to see my putter go over that point after I make contact and depending how far the putt is depends on how hard I hit it I dont think about technique at all, I just want to see my putter go over the point in front of my ball, I am not focussing on technique or the fact that the putt is for birdie or bogey, I just hit the ball over my mark. I can honestly say that I like putting for the first time I think ever, I feel I can hole anything and I am not worried any more about three putts, and although my putting is not brilliant, I feel I am no longer a poor putter, which is a good feeling, and it seems to be getting better, so its all good.


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