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leaving it short

Posted by: user437159 | Sat 28th Jan 2012 18:25 | Last Reply

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

re: leaving it short
user437159
Reply : Sat 28th Jan 2012 18:56

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

re: leaving it short
user64715
Reply : Sun 29th Jan 2012 08:03

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.

re: leaving it short
user386708
Reply : Sun 29th Jan 2012 09:15

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

re: leaving it short
user20126 [FORUM MODERATOR]
Reply : Sun 29th Jan 2012 17:57

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

re: leaving it short
user249902
Reply : Mon 30th Jan 2012 17:08

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

re: leaving it short
user52922
Reply : Mon 30th Jan 2012 18:54

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.


Last edit : Mon 30th Jan 2012 21:07
re: leaving it short
user52922
Reply : Mon 30th Jan 2012 21:08

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

re: leaving it short
user106712
Reply : Mon 30th Jan 2012 22:28

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.

re: leaving it short
user52922
Reply : Mon 30th Jan 2012 22:38

Well done, Adrian, an instinct for distance.

re: leaving it short
user52922
Reply : Tue 31st Jan 2012 11:55

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.

re: leaving it short
user16106
Reply : Tue 31st Jan 2012 12:22

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.

re: leaving it short
user321680
Reply : Tue 31st Jan 2012 13:24

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.


Last edit : Tue 31st Jan 2012 13:48
re: leaving it short
user8399
Reply : Tue 31st Jan 2012 23:21

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!


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