When it only goes half right!

[FATC1TY]

Okay, been a while since I've complained..

Went out today with a buddy, played 18. Aside from the wheels falling off, and then me deciding to just try a bunch of junk out..

The front nine was "solid". I felt my ball-striking was getting better than it has in a while, so I pulled out the blades. The fairways were plush, the rough was nasty, and the greens were soft and receptive to high towering shots with spin.

I decided to for-go hitting on the range, and instead chipped and putted. Everything seemed normal, and I was ready to roll.

First hole was a gorgeous drive.. 373 yard par 4, straight as an arrow. GPS says 95 yards to the middle of the green after drive. I chunk my SW, short to the bunker, splash out, and 2 putt for a bogey.

I brush it off, and move on.

Here's my front 9 stats.

8 of 9 GIR.. Missed the first green, ONLY.

5 of 7 Fairways... I was destroying fairways with my driver. I could work the ball, but had 2 drives that I pulled left just in the first cut, and still managed to get the GIR.

My driving on the front nine was exceptional. I put the ball where I called it, and smashed some out there longer than I have before. I played the same worn out Bridgestone B330-S 18 holes last week, and made it 10 holes today before hill today took the ball to the cart path and into the woods.

Short game was okay.. It left me on the back nine, and I was only decent off the tee.

My putting was GARBAGE.

Shot a 45...
A 45, with 8 of 9 GIR. Granted, I was pulling alot of my shots left, but they were hitting the green, some close, others were lengthy.

While I could argue this place has some of the toughest greens, and I've never really had success in reading them. I was burning them by the lip on half of them, and leaving them zipping by, and down the hill. I had 1, almost circle the lip, and shoot off, and roll another 4 feet from the hole. I was yippin' the short ones, puckering my ass on the tap in's even!

I had no confidence over the putter, what so ever. I couldn't get a read right. If I got the line right, the putt was so hard it hit the hole and rocketed off, or I would leave it so short, I'd still have a 7 footer to recover and clean up.

I guess I'm not asking for help, but maybe something.

It was just a shame.. To be striking the ball so well, or atleast for me. Taking nice divots, spinning the ball well, working it around doglegs. I get on the dance floor, and I would have been better just hitting it like a pool ball!

[SilverUberXeno]

Gotta be able to close the deal.

I putted with a blade putter for a long time. LOVE the look of it, but never made ANYTHING with it. I got a 2-ball, and I'm putting better than I ever have. I played 9 last week, and missed6 or 7 putts by a total of 4 inches. On the practice green, I can't say I've ever seen so many putts fall. I was showing my friend why a slight forward press is better than his leaning the putter shaft AWAY from the target, and canned one from 25 feet.

You have to KNOW you can start your putts on the right line. Get a putting mat, or put on your carpet, and work on it until you can hit putts straight. Reading greens doesn't do you any good if you can't hit the ball where you want it to go. Once you're hitting the ball straight with the putter, however you manage to do it, THEN get on the practice green.

[FATC1TY]

See.. Here is the problem.

On the practice green, I normally start really short.. 2-3 footers... I do three balls. I putt and normally sink them. Then I back up, and do 5-7 footers.. Work those in, usually worst case, 2 putt one of them, sink the other two.

Then I do long putts, like 20-40 foot. Lag those three in. Normally, unless I just miss-read, I'm within the 1-3 foot range, and usually sink atleast 1 of them during my warm up from that distance. I finish out each putt.

Then I take two tee's.. Place them about the width of the putter, and I get to a flat area, and putt straight 4 foot putts, and get my speed, and control down.

I normally do pretty well on the practice green. Confident, that if I don't drain it, I'm atleast leaving myself tap ins. When I get out on the greens, I just lose ANY bit of control I had.. My speed is erratic, and it's like I don't make the adjustments in speed until I'm already 12 putts in, and 5 holes down.

It just really irked me today, because I had a fantastic day of ball striking. Never hit so many greens.. Found just about all the fairways. We zipped through the course today, never looking for lost balls. It was point and shoot, until we got on the green and I was chasing my ball all over the damn place.

Ironically, I think my putt found out last night I put some bids on eBay for some putters. They were cheap, and a good deal, although they were too rich for my blood, I think it got offended and decided to show me the worst day of putting.

19 of my strokes, were driver, irons, or wedges..... You do the math and figure out how many putts I had.

[SilverUberXeno]

I think that your practice is too far removed from actual putting situations. Unless you're working on mechanics or something specific outside of actually MAKING PUTTS, you shouldn't really be doing the same thing again and again. If you're working on confidence, go ahead and take 20 putts from 3 feet. If you're working on distance control, hit 10 lags in a row. If you're working on mechanics, use your tees. But iif you want to practice MAKING PUTTS, you need to put yourself in more real-life situations.

Drop 3 balls in one place and chip/pitch to 3 targets. Try to make THOSE. I think you're better off giving yourself some different looks in succession, as opposed to giving yourself the same putts over and over again. And LEARN from your misses. If you miss something high, sit back down and re-read it, and try to see whatever it was you missed the first time. That's how you improve your reads.

But again, make sure your mechanics are natural. Make sure your grip isn't causing you to push/pull naturally. Putt at a quarter on your carpet and make sure you can putt the ball straight.

[jaydeeiii54]

I was fortunate enough to hear the phrase "this game is not a science", while playing a round in which my shortgame was saving me. I respect the individual and his game enough to feel i should listen. I shot 73 at Greensboro National earlier that day and was p/o'd because i had it to 1-under thru eleven. I wasnt hitting the ball well this round but my putter was hot and birdied two of the last three to finish 1 over. I went out today with my dad and was hitting greens but couldn't buy a birdie. I was was 1-over thru 11. I made a tough l to r 12 footer for birdie on 12. I bogeyed 13 from the trap and parred 14. I felt like to get the round back it would start here. My dad was putting and playing great, so i had to catch up. I hit my drive great with about 165 left into the par 5. I had the wind at my back, so i went with the 8 iron and hit it about 18 ft past with a severe downhill putt left, EAGLE. I birdied 16, saved a hell of a par on 17 with the lob, and stuck it a foot for birdie on 18.
68 - me and pops
hadn't seen the sixties but twice this year, both within the last month, but i used to cringe at those slick downhill l to r putts!!
Basically, the wedge and putter are helping me out!!! Practice your short game, no science involved in that!!!
Don't get me wrong, im hitting my driver very well, but we all miss greens!!! Tone the swing on the range and spend twice that time on the short game area!!!

Handicap dropped back under 3 since fall '08 and got my scoring average to 74.7
It had got to as high as 4.3 with a 76.7 scoring average this past April
Some good rounds on high rated courses can do wonders for the handicap!!!

Even If im gonna be half right, let the short game be my half!!!
I aim to hit at least 13 greens with under 30 putts, this is not far from scratch.

[FATC1TY]

Originally Posted by SilverUberXeno

I think that your practice is too far removed from actual putting situations. Unless you're working on mechanics or something specific outside of actually MAKING PUTTS, you shouldn't really be doing the same thing again and again. If you're working on confidence, go ahead and take 20 putts from 3 feet. If you're working on distance control, hit 10 lags in a row. If you're working on mechanics, use your tees. But iif you want to practice MAKING PUTTS, you need to put yourself in more real-life situations.

Drop 3 balls in one place and chip/pitch to 3 targets. Try to make THOSE. I think you're better off giving yourself some different looks in succession, as opposed to giving yourself the same putts over and over again. And LEARN from your misses. If you miss something high, sit back down and re-read it, and try to see whatever it was you missed the first time. That's how you improve your reads.

But again, make sure your mechanics are natural. Make sure your grip isn't causing you to push/pull naturally. Putt at a quarter on your carpet and make sure you can putt the ball straight.

Makes sense.. I don't do that enough really.. Once a week I'll chip a few on the green and practice putting them to different holes.

And, I can't practice at home. I have no carpet in my house, just stained concrete floors.

I guess I don't know what I need. I have no confidence in my putting. After one of the BEST ball striking rounds I could remember, I threw it away.. It would be one thing if I was leaving myself 40 footers.. But I wasn't.. I yipped 3 birdie putts on the front nine, all were under 7 foot.. I never give myself real chances like that, and when I got them, I blew them.