Obee's Putting Improvement Thread

[getitdaily]

4 minutes ago, Obee said:

 

So great! When you say that, part way through your journey, "stroke got better, but putting got worse," what do you mean, exactly? What about your putting was worse? Missing short putts? Bad speed control? What?

 

In a nutshell, new stroke was in to square but old putter wanted to stay open to path. I was missing short putts that were previously going in.

 

I had a pxg operator. It's basically a spider tour with a milled face. Super high moi, very little toe hang.

 

I was using a wide blade to help encourage an inside to square path on my mat. I'd swap the operator in and make putts on my mat. 

 

But, as Bruce rearick notes, high moi mallets have a ton of weight toe side. They resist toe closure in the forward swing. That putter was awesome for my old stroke - out to in ever so slightly. Out to in with a putter that wants to stay open to path was really good. My issue was on long putts and the ball hopping off the face.

 

So the more I got my stroke inside to square, the more I would miss putts right. As the round closed, I was manipulating the face with my hands. Bruce rearick's work on path and the style of putter for that stroke/path type is really awesome stuff (burnt edges consulting).

 

 

[bortass]

My putting went off the deep end starting a couple of months ago. I started to miss a lot of short putts and my lag putting was also off, so I wasn't getting it inside 2 feet much. It got to the point where I dreaded anything in the 2 - 4 foot range. Give me a 5 or 6 footer since at least if I miss, I don't feel as bad... No confidence at all.

 

I made a couple simple changes and it seems to be making a difference. This probably will only relate to either higher HCP or lazy players. I never had much of a pre-putt routine before and I changed that.

 

Old way was simply, only mark and lift the ball if required; Pace off the putt; Figure out the break; Address ball and putt. This is why I mentioned lazy above. it's very minimalistic and not much focus was applied.

 

New way is mark and lift the ball; pace off the putt(normally before marking it); Determine the break and say it out loud to myself, though this is turning more into a voice in my head kinda thing; Place the ball and line it up with what I think the line is; Address ball and putt.

 

The new routine causes me to focus on the putt at hand much more. It's actually not a big difference time wise since I can do everything except address and putt the ball while others are doing their thing. This assumes that my ball is not in the way or I'm not playing with people that get bothered by a ball on the green while they putt. Regardless it's still fairly fast.

 

I have made one other change which is take my hips out of the putt. Someone suggested I watch the putting section in Monte's UTB and he covers it.

 

That's pretty much all I have done since I haven't been able to actually do any putting practice and I'm seeing results. For example, the two rounds this weekend. I picked up on one hole each round, so only putted on 17 holes.

One day my average first putt was almost 17 feet and I had 30 putts, the other I averaged 14 feet and had 32 putts. 

 

Compared to the round that broke the camels back a few weeks ago,( completed all 18 holes), my average first putt was 13 feet and I had 39 putts....

 

Still a long ways to go to really become a solid putter but maybe this will help someone else that's like me and didn't have much focus/routine to their putting. A fairly simple change can pay off and get things back on track.

[GolfTurkey]

I'm having a putting lesson with the guy who has helped my full swing a lot and if that doesn't work I'm flying to the US to see David Orr.

 

I am so baffled and frustrated that the part of my game that hasn't returned after hip surgery is putting.

[J295]

Will someone be kind enough to direct me to the link for keeping putting stats? I recall OBee had one earlier in the thread and it was updated, and I was hoping someone might have it at their fingertips and can share it now.   Thank you.  
 

And just to share fwiw ….   A while back I kept basic stats for 10 rounds and had average score of 78.5, overall GIR of 10, up and down 34%, 32 putts per round, par 3 GIR of 50%.  

 

 Had a playing lesson with our pro, good player with tour experience, and he noted (correctly) that lower hanging fruit for me is in short game and par three greens in regulation (50%)

 

Seeking score improvement (and sometimes catching lightning in a bottle) continues to be fun.  I’ve been more or less a six cap for 10 years and now at age 63 at a Pete Dye course.  

Edited August 27, 2022 by J295

[Obee]

46 minutes ago, J295 said:

Will someone be kind enough to direct me to the link for keeping putting stats? I recall OBee had one earlier in the thread and it was updated, and I was hoping someone might have it at their fingertips and can share it now.   Thank you.  
 

And just to share fwiw ….   A while back I kept basic stats for 10 rounds and had average score of 78.5, overall GIR of 10, up and down 34%, 32 putts per round, par 3 GIR of 50%.  

 

 Had a playing lesson with our pro, good player with tour experience, and he noted (correctly) that lower hanging fruit for me is in short game and par three greens in regulation (50%)

 

Seeking score improvement (and sometimes catching lightning in a bottle) continues to be fun.  I’ve been more or less a six cap for 10 years and now at age 63 at a Pete Dye course.  

<30 putts per round is definitely doable. It will take a combination of putting AND short game improvement. 

[Ty_Webb]

2 hours ago, GolfTurkey said:

I'm having a putting lesson with the guy who has helped my full swing a lot and if that doesn't work I'm flying to the US to see David Orr.

 

I am so baffled and frustrated that the part of my game that hasn't returned after hip surgery is putting.

 

Unless you're already going to the US, here's what I would suggest before you make that trip. First go see what your full swing guy has to say, then:

 

- Either put a line on the ball or buy one of those two-tone balls, line it up on your target line and hit some putts. See if the line wobbles. If it does, then you have a path issue. 

    - If you have a path issue, try doing what Obee did with his stance. If you're out to in, then close your stance and if you're in to out then open your stance

        - If that helps, then go with it

    - If you don't have a path issue, then you either have a green reading issue or a speed issue

    - Try doing a ladder drill. Put a coin at 10 feet and another at 20 feet. Hit a ball as close as you can to the 20 foot coin without going past it, then hit another but stopping short of the last ball and keep going until either you come up short of the 10 foot coin or you go past the previous ball. The number of balls you hit minus 1 is your score. I'd think that 9 is a really good score. 7 is decent and 5 is poor. 

        - If you have a speed problem, then practise the ladder drill. Once you pin that down, try it from 20 feet to 30 feet

        - If you don't have a path problem or a speed problem, then take an aimpoint class

 

If none of that helps, then go see David Orr

Edited August 27, 2022 by Ty_Webb

[Ty_Webb]

2 minutes ago, Obee said:

<30 putts per round is definitely doable. It will take a combination of putting AND short game improvement. 

 

This is why it's important to keep good stats. The best way to have a high putts/round stat and be a good putter is to have a good long game and a bad short game. You hit a lot of greens, but when you miss you wind up with long putts. You're not going to wind up with many first putts that are under 10 feet and even the best in the world won't average sub 30 putts without lots of short first putts. 

 

The best way to get a low putts/round stat is to have a poor long game and an excellent short game. You'll have lots of short first putts and should be able to average low. 

 

Neither has much to do with putting.

[GolfTurkey]

14 hours ago, Ty_Webb said:

 

Unless you're already going to the US, here's what I would suggest before you make that trip. First go see what your full swing guy has to say, then:

 

- Either put a line on the ball or buy one of those two-tone balls, line it up on your target line and hit some putts. See if the line wobbles. If it does, then you have a path issue. 

    - If you have a path issue, try doing what Obee did with his stance. If you're out to in, then close your stance and if you're in to out then open your stance

        - If that helps, then go with it

    - If you don't have a path issue, then you either have a green reading issue or a speed issue

    - Try doing a ladder drill. Put a coin at 10 feet and another at 20 feet. Hit a ball as close as you can to the 20 foot coin without going past it, then hit another but stopping short of the last ball and keep going until either you come up short of the 10 foot coin or you go past the previous ball. The number of balls you hit minus 1 is your score. I'd think that 9 is a really good score. 7 is decent and 5 is poor. 

        - If you have a speed problem, then practise the ladder drill. Once you pin that down, try it from 20 feet to 30 feet

        - If you don't have a path problem or a speed problem, then take an aimpoint class

 

If none of that helps, then go see David Orr

 

Line and speed problem at the moment. The putts just aren't coming off the putter the way I plan them.

 

Greens were fast yesterday so there was nowhere to hide. Missed a short par putt on the first then three-jacked 2, 3 and 4. 

[Ty_Webb]

7 hours ago, GolfTurkey said:

 

Line and speed problem at the moment. The putts just aren't coming off the putter the way I plan them.

 

Greens were fast yesterday so there was nowhere to hide. Missed a short par putt on the first then three-jacked 2, 3 and 4. 

In that case I’d suggest getting some impact tape and see how your impact is. Inconsistent speed could well be caused by inconsistent strike. Then get some putt dots and see how those work out. For line get a pelz putting tutor or similar and work with it. 
 

I don’t think technique matters all that much with putting. Not to make it functional anyway. You just have to figure out how to move it in a straight line consistently. Doing that is a matter of practice with feedback. 

[GolfTurkey]

Ugh, what a stupid problem I had (instructor picked it in about ten seconds). Was standing far too close to the ball which meant the putter tracked back too straight or even outside, which is a pull tendency. Then I offset that by aligning my hips and shoulders right. 
 

The only good thing is that it’s an easy fix as long as I’m disciplined about practising my setup and my stroke is ok - divide ball is rolling end over end.

[Obee]

Had 20 putts yesterday in 17 holes. Was playing a match and picked up on number 17 because I hit two balls in the water.

 

I had 21 putts in a round  way back when with to chip in and a holed bunker shot, but today was cooler. Really rolling it well right now. 

 

1) Chip to 3 feet make for par

2) Chip to 1 foot. Par

3) Bunker shot to 12 feet. Make for par

4) Two putts from 15 feet for par

5) One putt birdie from 18 feet.

6) Bunker shot to 4 feet. Bogey save

7) 9 foot birdie make

8 ) Chip to 6 inches. Bogey save

9) 2-putt from 24 feet

10) 22 foot birdie

11) Chip to a foot. Par. 
12) Bunker shot to 6 feet. Par

13) chip to 5 feet. Par

14) 2 putts from 18 feet. Bogey

15) Chip to 6 feet. Par

16) Chip to a foot. Par. 
17) DNF

18) Chip to a foot. Par.

 

That was fun. 

[GolfTurkey]

4 hours ago, Obee said:

Had 20 putts yesterday in 17 holes. Was playing a match and picked up on number 17 because I hit two balls in the water.

 

I had 21 putts in a round  way back when with to chip in and a holed bunker shot, but today was cooler. Really rolling it well right now. 

 

1) Chip to 3 feet make for par

2) Chip to 1 foot. Par

3) Bunker shot to 12 feet. Make for par

4) Two putts from 15 feet for par

5) One putt birdie from 18 feet.

6) Bunker shot to 4 feet. Bogey save

7) 9 foot birdie make

8 ) Chip to 6 inches. Bogey save

9) 2-putt from 24 feet

10) 22 foot birdie

11) Chip to a foot. Par. 
12) Bunker shot to 6 feet. Par

13) chip to 5 feet. Par

14) 2 putts from 18 feet. Bogey

15) Chip to 6 feet. Par

16) Chip to a foot. Par. 
17) DNF

18) Chip to a foot. Par.

 

That was fun. 

Good grief, I hope you contribute to your opponent’s therapy. 
 

[nitram]

23 hours ago, Obee said:

Had 20 putts yesterday in 17 holes. Was playing a match and picked up on number 17 because I hit two balls in the water.

 

I had 21 putts in a round  way back when with to chip in and a holed bunker shot, but today was cooler. Really rolling it well right now. 

 

1) Chip to 3 feet make for par

2) Chip to 1 foot. Par

3) Bunker shot to 12 feet. Make for par

4) Two putts from 15 feet for par

5) One putt birdie from 18 feet.

6) Bunker shot to 4 feet. Bogey save

7) 9 foot birdie make

8 ) Chip to 6 inches. Bogey save

9) 2-putt from 24 feet

10) 22 foot birdie

11) Chip to a foot. Par. 
12) Bunker shot to 6 feet. Par

13) chip to 5 feet. Par

14) 2 putts from 18 feet. Bogey

15) Chip to 6 feet. Par

16) Chip to a foot. Par. 
17) DNF

18) Chip to a foot. Par.

 

That was fun. 

That's getting it done Dave!

 

Keep grinding brother.

[Obee]

Looking for a Strokes Gained Putting guru versus Tour number. What kind of day was this, strokes gained-wise. This was from my Match-Play Club Championship round on Monday. Played 21 holes all square, then lost on the 22nd hole. It felt like I putted well, but when I look back, I didn't really make anything long. Just wondering what that would have looked like.

 

Also curious about my strokes gained on approach.

 

Putting:

• 4 feet - Make
• 9 feet - Miss
  • 1 foot Make
• 12 feet - Miss
  • 4-inches - Make
• 45 - feet - Miss
  • 2 feet - Make
• 7 feet - Make
• 70 feet - Miss
  • 2 feet - Make
• 3 feet - Make
• 9 feet - Make
• 5 feet - Make
• 6 feet - Make
• 16 feet - Make
• 17 feet - Miss
  • 9 feet - Make
• 22 feet - Miss
  • 2 feet Make
• 15 feet - Miss
• 1 foot - Make
• 2 feet - Make
• 9 feet - Make
• 5 feet - Make
• 10 feet - Make
• 10 feet - Miss
  • 1 foot - Make
• 9 feet - Make
• 5 feet - Make
• 16 feet - Miss
  • 1 foot- Make

Approach (MG = Missed Green, otherwise, GIR)

• 147y MG 30'
• 92y 9'
• 138y 14'
• 139y 45'
• 141y 7'
• 200y 70'
• 212y MG 42'
• 194y 9'
• 151y MG 35'
• 161y 40'
• 157y 16'
• 164y 17'
• 191y 22'
• 64y 15'
• 221y MG 45'
• 189y 9'
• 70y 5'
• 95y 10'
• 151y 9'
• 128y 5'
• 138y MG 18'

 

 

[Ty_Webb]

• 4 feet - Make +0.147
• 9 feet - Miss -0.426
  • 1 foot Make +0.001
• 12 feet - Miss -0.295
  • 4-inches - Make 0
• 45 - feet - Miss +0.085
  • 2 feet - Make +0.009
• 7 feet - Make +0.443
• 70 feet - Miss +0.284
  • 2 feet - Make +0.009
• 3 feet - Make +0.053
• 9 feet - Make +0.575
• 5 feet - Make +0.256
• 6 feet - Make +0.357
• 16 feet - Make +0.811
• 17 feet - Miss -0.745
  • 9 feet - Make +0.575
• 22 feet - Miss -0.106
  • 2 feet Make +0.009
• 15 feet - Miss -0.211
• 1 foot - Make +0.001
• 2 feet - Make +0.009
• 9 feet - Make +0.575
• 5 feet - Make +0.256
• 10 feet - Make +0.626
• 10 feet - Miss -0.375
  • 1 foot - Make +0.001
• 9 feet - Make +0.575
• 5 feet - Make +0.256
• 16 feet - Miss -0.190
  • 1 foot- Make +0.001

Total +3.566

 

Better than average for anyone on tour, now or ever. 22 holes, so +2.918 per round. Lucas Herbert led the PGA Tour in 2022 with +0.853 per round. Jason Day in 2016 was +1.130 and that's the only time anyone has managed over +1.000 for a year since they started recording this in 2004. 

 

You do have a little ways to go to match the best single round on the PGA Tour - that was JJ Henry apparently. JJ Henry - most unlikely putting round +8.36 for the round.

 

Bottom line - this was a very good putting day.

[nitram]

Thanks Ty!!

 

Did you figure each of these from the chart or do you have an app/program to do this??

[Obee]

Really appreciate everyone here. Thank you. Obviously I don't shoot 66 every day, but it's nice to see how a round like that stacks up strokes gained wise. I know I lose strokes off the tee, so fun to see where those other strokes come from....

[Ty_Webb]

2 hours ago, nitram said:

Thanks Ty!!

 

Did you figure each of these from the chart or do you have an app/program to do this??

There is a long and short answer to this one. The short answer is I figured each one out from the chart. It's pretty easy to do in my head - faster than putting them into an app.

 

For my stats tracking, I use the DECADE app. Before I did that I had a spreadsheet that I put together myself that measures strokes gained for every shot hit. For this one today I opened up my old spreadsheet because it has the baseline numbers in it. I like my spreadsheet, but it's somewhat cumbersome and I realized that it doesn't have a bunch of stuff that could be useful like providing data on tendencies to miss short, left, right or long. Then I thought about how much more effort it would take to make my spreadsheet do that and it was a lot. So I didn't. If I was better at macro-type stuff I might try to prepare an input screen where I could put yardages and have drop downs for tee, fairway, green, rough, recovery and then radio buttons for short left right long, but I don't know how to do that, so DECADE it was. Plus DECADE allows me to compare my results with PGA Tour, top college, mid-college and possibly some others as well. I sometimes think about Arccos or something like it, but I have backweights in my clubs so I can't install the things on the end of my grips. Haven't found a way round that yet.

[Obee]

19 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

There is a long and short answer to this one. The short answer is I figured each one out from the chart. It's pretty easy to do in my head - faster than putting them into an app.

 

For my stats tracking, I use the DECADE app. Before I did that I had a spreadsheet that I put together myself that measures strokes gained for every shot hit. For this one today I opened up my old spreadsheet because it has the baseline numbers in it. I like my spreadsheet, but it's somewhat cumbersome and I realized that it doesn't have a bunch of stuff that could be useful like providing data on tendencies to miss short, left, right or long. Then I thought about how much more effort it would take to make my spreadsheet do that and it was a lot. So I didn't. If I was better at macro-type stuff I might try to prepare an input screen where I could put yardages and have drop downs for tee, fairway, green, rough, recovery and then radio buttons for short left right long, but I don't know how to do that, so DECADE it was. Plus DECADE allows me to compare my results with PGA Tour, top college, mid-college and possibly some others as well. I sometimes think about Arccos or something like it, but I have backweights in my clubs so I can't install the things on the end of my grips. Haven't found a way round that yet.

 

So ... What you're really saying is that you don't really like golf much and you don't take it very seriously....

[Ty_Webb]

5 hours ago, Obee said:

 

So ... What you're really saying is that you don't really like golf much and you don't take it very seriously....

 

That's a slightly shorter way to say it, but yes, the message is pretty much there 🙂 

[iceman1118]

OK boys it is definitely time for me to join this thread. Been lurking long enough and I have been down every road possible. So now it is time for regular contribution on this thread and basically need all the help I can get. To give you guys a quick example of where I am at, I have played to a 2 handicap for just over 2 years now. Very steady ball striking overall. Putting is an absolute disaster for me. For example, last week I played two courses I have never played before. Monday was a shortish track, 6800 yards. Shot 81 with 39 putts. Horrible. I had 2 3 putts inside 10 feet. Tuesday was a bit of a bear, 7400 yards. Shot 86 with 36 putts. 3 3 putts on this one. Friday at my home course (7100 from the back tees), I shot 78 with 36 putts. I had 5 birdie putts inside 10 feet and didn't make any of them. And all were absolutely putts that have a chance to go in. So I am at my end of the line.

 

I have been through it all. Putter fittings (different results each time). Lessons. Utley and Stockton's books. Rotella stuff. Directed Force putters. I even dabbled in Mike Adams and the Bioswing Dynamics a bit (he teaches about an hour from me during the summer and I was very curious). Worked ok, didn't truly get along with it. But the lessons with Adams led me to Bruce Rearick. Excellent guy. A ton of info on his site. I even spoke to him on the phone a handful of times and we talked quite extensively. However, he is on the trail hand grip Mike Adams craze and like I said earlier, that just didn't work too well for me. (I am a side cover golfer if anyone is interested). 

 

So living in the northeast I have roughly 7 weeks of golf left. So I am not entering submission and work on the stroke all winter stage. 

 

Here are a few things I have noticed ABOUT ME: 

 

I tend to grip the putter in the fingers like I would for a full swing. It is a terrible habit. I need to understand gripping the putter in the palms of the hands is the way to go.

 

My green reading is average. I tend to scare the hole a lot.

 

My speed is absolute garbage. So I have started ladder drills at my club's putting green. It is helping a bit, but again, I just started this.

 

My setup is fairly standard. I like a wider base, helps quiet my hips. I use a standard reverse overlap grip. Like I said earlier, when speaking to Rearick and dabbling in the side cover thing, my right hand was weaker on the club and I had a slightly closed stance. For some reason this led to a lot of pulls for me. He suggested the saw grip. It was just ok for me. I am not certain I gave it enough time. The best thing I got out of my talks with Bruce was understanding how to see where I perceive the putt to be straight. So I have definitely worked out aim and alignment. 

 

I definitely plan on ranting in here a bit, especially with my season coming to a close. 

 

But here is my big question for everyone. I think I know the answer, but I am throwing this out there anyway. Is golf and putting two separate games? Or are all the principles the same? I always thought they were the same game. But I am starting to think not. My reasoning stems from now truly understanding gripping the putter in the palms. Full swing I want the club in my fingers so I can hinge and unhinge. Putting with the putter in the palms, there is no hinge. Right or wrong? So does this automatically make two totally separate movements, swings, strokes, or whatever we want to call it?

 

(I am warning all of you this could get deep).

 

 

[Ty_Webb]

1 hour ago, iceman1118 said:

OK boys it is definitely time for me to join this thread. Been lurking long enough and I have been down every road possible. So now it is time for regular contribution on this thread and basically need all the help I can get. To give you guys a quick example of where I am at, I have played to a 2 handicap for just over 2 years now. Very steady ball striking overall. Putting is an absolute disaster for me. For example, last week I played two courses I have never played before. Monday was a shortish track, 6800 yards. Shot 81 with 39 putts. Horrible. I had 2 3 putts inside 10 feet. Tuesday was a bit of a bear, 7400 yards. Shot 86 with 36 putts. 3 3 putts on this one. Friday at my home course (7100 from the back tees), I shot 78 with 36 putts. I had 5 birdie putts inside 10 feet and didn't make any of them. And all were absolutely putts that have a chance to go in. So I am at my end of the line.

 

I have been through it all. Putter fittings (different results each time). Lessons. Utley and Stockton's books. Rotella stuff. Directed Force putters. I even dabbled in Mike Adams and the Bioswing Dynamics a bit (he teaches about an hour from me during the summer and I was very curious). Worked ok, didn't truly get along with it. But the lessons with Adams led me to Bruce Rearick. Excellent guy. A ton of info on his site. I even spoke to him on the phone a handful of times and we talked quite extensively. However, he is on the trail hand grip Mike Adams craze and like I said earlier, that just didn't work too well for me. (I am a side cover golfer if anyone is interested). 

 

So living in the northeast I have roughly 7 weeks of golf left. So I am not entering submission and work on the stroke all winter stage. 

 

Here are a few things I have noticed ABOUT ME: 

 

I tend to grip the putter in the fingers like I would for a full swing. It is a terrible habit. I need to understand gripping the putter in the palms of the hands is the way to go.

 

My green reading is average. I tend to scare the hole a lot.

 

My speed is absolute garbage. So I have started ladder drills at my club's putting green. It is helping a bit, but again, I just started this.

 

My setup is fairly standard. I like a wider base, helps quiet my hips. I use a standard reverse overlap grip. Like I said earlier, when speaking to Rearick and dabbling in the side cover thing, my right hand was weaker on the club and I had a slightly closed stance. For some reason this led to a lot of pulls for me. He suggested the saw grip. It was just ok for me. I am not certain I gave it enough time. The best thing I got out of my talks with Bruce was understanding how to see where I perceive the putt to be straight. So I have definitely worked out aim and alignment. 

 

I definitely plan on ranting in here a bit, especially with my season coming to a close. 

 

But here is my big question for everyone. I think I know the answer, but I am throwing this out there anyway. Is golf and putting two separate games? Or are all the principles the same? I always thought they were the same game. But I am starting to think not. My reasoning stems from now truly understanding gripping the putter in the palms. Full swing I want the club in my fingers so I can hinge and unhinge. Putting with the putter in the palms, there is no hinge. Right or wrong? So does this automatically make two totally separate movements, swings, strokes, or whatever we want to call it?

 

(I am warning all of you this could get deep).

 

 

 

3 putts inside 10 feet hurts. I'd guess that's either combined poor speed and line or some kind of "hit it firm and straight" mindset that's running 3-4 feet by and you're missing the returns. Other than that it sounds like you have more of an issue with speed than line. Two things with speed. One is it's hard to get better at it without practising it, and two, it's hard to be good at it if your path is not straight. The line drill that Obee talks about is good for that. Put a line on the ball, aim it straight where you're going and hit putts. If the line wobbles then your path isn't square. You can still putt well with the path not square, but it's a little harder. If it is wobbling and you can figure out how to fix it, then do that and then hammer those speed drills.

[D0ch0l1d4y]

9 hours ago, iceman1118 said:

Is golf and putting two separate games?

The short answer is yes.

 

A marginally longer answer is there are multiple games within the "golf" set, and multiple games within the "putting" set.

 

1 hour ago, Ty_Webb said:

Put a line on the ball

 

Srixon Divide balls are even better. Ty is absolutely correct that you need to ensure the line wobbles as little as possible. As the great @Obee preaches - a putt that rolls end-over-end with no wobble is the result of an on-target path and solid contact - which ensures consistent energy transfer from the putter to the ball. Once that is consistent - speed control follows. Once you have speed control consistently under...well...control - reading greens becomes more consistent because you know the speed the ball will be approaching the hole is consistent.

 

Consistent.

 

[iceman1118]

4 hours ago, Ty_Webb said:

 

3 putts inside 10 feet hurts. I'd guess that's either combined poor speed and line or some kind of "hit it firm and straight" mindset that's running 3-4 feet by and you're missing the returns. Other than that it sounds like you have more of an issue with speed than line. Two things with speed. One is it's hard to get better at it without practising it, and two, it's hard to be good at it if your path is not straight. The line drill that Obee talks about is good for that. Put a line on the ball, aim it straight where you're going and hit putts. If the line wobbles then your path isn't square. You can still putt well with the path not square, but it's a little harder. If it is wobbling and you can figure out how to fix it, then do that and then hammer those speed drills.

All of my problems are with speed. I have definitely deduced through numerous fittings and lessons on a face balanced mallet being a good fit for me. No two ways about it. I do use a line on the ball and 99 out of 100 there is no wobble on the ball, from 5 feet or 50 feet. My problem is and always will be speed. I have a die it in the hole mentality ( which could be a huge problem) but I very rarely make things easy on the greens. I am very good at leaving a 30 footer 6 feet short and blowing the 7 footer 4 feet by. 
 

I have also attempted to not use the line at all. Sometimes I think the line makes me focus way too much on line and not enough on speed. And I think that’s reversed, I think speed is way more important than line. But when I go no line, I have a huge tendency to aim right. Putter, body, etc. So it is hard to not use the line because I know I at least am aimed competently. 

[iceman1118]

2 hours ago, D0ch0l1d4y said:

The short answer is yes.

 

A marginally longer answer is there are multiple games within the "golf" set, and multiple games within the "putting" set.

 

 

Srixon Divide balls are even better. Ty is absolutely correct that you need to ensure the line wobbles as little as possible. As the great @Obee preaches - a putt that rolls end-over-end with no wobble is the result of an on-target path and solid contact - which ensures consistent energy transfer from the putter to the ball. Once that is consistent - speed control follows. Once you have speed control consistently under...well...control - reading greens becomes more consistent because you know the speed the ball will be approaching the hole is consistent.

 

Consistent.

 

I like the part about multiple games with the game. I generally try to keep things very consistent in my game. Driver all the way down to a little green side chip. And I think overall I need to treat putting like a different game all together. I use a fairly strong grip when I am holding a club, but putter is neutral down my palms. It has to be different.  
 

Green reading is an excellent point as well. I tend to over read the break most times. I very rarely under read anything. I think this has a lot to do with my die it in the hole mentality. And I think a lot of that is fear as well. Always trying to make sure I don’t botch the putt too badly so I can give myself a chance on the comebacker. Not ideal at all. 

[Obee]

4 hours ago, D0ch0l1d4y said:

The short answer is yes.

 

A marginally longer answer is there are multiple games within the "golf" set, and multiple games within the "putting" set.

 

 

Srixon Divide balls are even better. Ty is absolutely correct that you need to ensure the line wobbles as little as possible. As the great @Obee preaches - a putt that rolls end-over-end with no wobble is the result of an on-target path and solid contact - which ensures consistent energy transfer from the putter to the ball. Once that is consistent - speed control follows. Once you have speed control consistently under...well...control - reading greens becomes more consistent because you know the speed the ball will be approaching the hole is consistent.

 

Consistent.

 

Yes. YES! YES!!!! 🙂

[Obee]

1 hour ago, iceman1118 said:

I like the part about multiple games with the game. I generally try to keep things very consistent in my game. Driver all the way down to a little green side chip. And I think overall I need to treat putting like a different game all together. I use a fairly strong grip when I am holding a club, but putter is neutral down my palms. It has to be different.  
 

Green reading is an excellent point as well. I tend to over read the break most times. I very rarely under read anything. I think this has a lot to do with my die it in the hole mentality. And I think a lot of that is fear as well. Always trying to make sure I don’t botch the putt too badly so I can give myself a chance on the comebacker. Not ideal at all. 

Not ideal, no.

 

I can tell you unequivocally that once I became consistent with my roll, I hit far more putts past the hole than I used to. I still leave putts short for sure everyone should) but I probably get the ball to the hole 2/3 of the time instead of 25% of the time when I thought of myself as a "die it at the hole guy."

 

And I am only talking about putts inside 20 feet. You get outside of that, it almost flip-flops and you leave more putts slightly short then you get past.

[Curmudg3on]

2 hours ago, iceman1118 said:

I have also attempted to not use the line at all. Sometimes I think the line makes me focus way too much on line and not enough on speed. And I think that’s reversed, I think speed is way more important than line. 

 

+1

[Obee]

1 hour ago, DennyJones said:

 

+1

 

Everyone is different. For those of us who simply can't see a straight putt as straight, the line really helps us "orient" ourselves. The line was the beginning of great putting for me for sure. Understand, though, that for some it is a distraction or not at all a help.

[GolfTurkey]

I'm getting my alignment sorted and putting much better for it. My office has laminate flooring and mirrored cupboard doors.

 

I put a Srixon Divide ball down on a line the flooring next to the end of a board, and then use the perpendicular line of the end of the board to line the putter face square.

 

I check that everything looks in order in the mirror and then it's a case of trying to roll the ball straight down the line without any wobble.

Edited September 14, 2022 by GolfTurkey