Lag putting tips and tricks

[Youngun5]

lag putting is officially the weakness of my game, right now i don't worry about it b/c the greens around here are crap. but once spring rolls around i'm gonna have the touch of a blacksmith, what do you guys do to keep long putts within a makeable distance on the second.

already tried looking at the hole while i putt, no good at all so don't suggest that

thanks

 

[gwlee7]

I am not trying to be funny here. I honestly try to make my first putt so I don't have to worry about the second putt. Every time I try to "just get it close" I end up leaving the putt way short or blow it way by the hole.

My first attempts on long putts are always closer to the hole if I try to make it.

 

[APowell1990]

Most of the time I hardly ever study the break on really long putts. I just hit it hard enough to get to the hole and if it goes in great. Your best bet is to know exactly how the ball is going to roll on the greens. If you travel around, I would suggest taking my advice. I will play break on the putts, but I will not be concerned about it. I am usually a good lag putter and I prefer to putt from a ways off the green rather than chip.

 

[Youngun5]

I am not trying to be funny here. I honestly try to make my first putt so I don't have to worry about the second putt. Every time I try to "just get it close" I end up leaving the putt way short or blow it way by the hole.

My first attempts on long putts are always closer to the hole if I try to make it.

kinda like my being funny by saying that i honestly try to hole the shot from the fairway so i don't have to worry about putting... which is so true odly enough
happy gilmore " wow that was so much easier than putting, maybe i should try to get the ball in one shot everytime"

the way i was hitting iron shots today i won't have to worry about lag putting anyway... but really, um i think what i may do is add some lead tape to my putter because it feels very light since i've started working out and that could help my distance control now that i could actually tell there's a putterhead at the end of the shaft.

i also need to put a bigger emphasis on getting the speed right, a slightly inaccurate putt with the right distance would probably be better off than an accurate one that is 10 feet too long or short

thanks for your input guys

 

[jppe]

I played with Gil Mogan in a ProAm recently and he gave us a putting tip for longer putts. He said it was much more important to get the speed correct than the line. He said that if the speed was close you'll make a lot more 2 putts. Of course that was right after I blew a 35 footer WELL past the hole..........but he is right.

 

[nsherman2006]

I also support the idea that speed is more important than line, and thats why i'm a pretty good putter(albeit my club ho issues). The way i think about it, if you take a circle with a radius of 5 feet around the hole, the place where you have the most room for directional error is if the putt is exactly hole-high. I also feel directional mistakes are rarely more severe than distance mistakes, so get the ball rolling consistently off the face and you'll 2-putt more often

 

[Rockford35]

Any pro that is a good putter will emphasize speed over line every time. And pretty much everyone here has touched on that here as well.

For me, i check the uphill/downhill factor, and use that to judge my speed. If the ball ends up 12 inches left or right, that's better than 8 feet by.

Practice is also key. Getting a feel for the grass is essential, as it changes weekly. One day can have you barely touching balls while the next has you wondering if you should tee the bloody thing up.

Speed kills. But it also can be your friend.

R35

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

I have a very unconventional lag putt technique that I created myself after hours of experimentation. My distance used to be "Short and awful". I putt the ball even with my front toe, most of my weight to the front. Kinda like a chip~putt stroke except the ball is by the front toe instead of back.

It works well for me, and gives me fantastic distance control. Never seen anyone else anywhere use anything similar, but then again, I don't think I have played with anyone who is better on lag putts, and I used to be one of the worst on Lags. May be worth a shot.

 

[dave.]

What is a 'lag putt'?

Why would you want to miss? why would anyone not want to aim at the hole and try and hole every putt? Do archers jusr aim in the general direction of the target and hope it hits?

personally,i find the concept of this very strange,i try and hole every putt,and finding the feel to get the ball into the hole is hard enough,without seemingly trying to judge it to 'almost' get there

if you have a problem with this,i suggest you might be trying to hard,you are suppressing your natural instincts.Example,when you want to throw some waste into a basket,you just do it.Same applies with putting,trust yourtself.You have the ability to hole every putt,just let go.I recommend Rotella if you haven't guessed.

 

[Big Brother Dunk]

Simply do what Mrs. Hogan told Ben when he was have some putting problems, "hit it closer to the hole."

Seriously, here's a drill that might work: Stick some tees in a practice green in a three-foot circle around the hole. Practice hitting putts of at least 20 feet into the circle. Hopefully you'll get a better feeling for how hard you need to stroke the ball to get there.

 

[ManchesterGolfer]

I try to hole every putt, but on long putts I have a routine to try to get a feel for how hard/long i have to make the stroke. I stand about 2 feet behind the ball my feet close together and look at the hole whilst constantly moving the putter back and forth getting a feel of the size of stroke I have to make. I find standing behind the ball doing this also helps seeing the line. Then when I'm ready I address the ball and without thinking about it putt that same length stroke on the ball (don't know why but on long putts I find a narrower stance than normal helps). Hope this helps you out mate, although putting is a very personalised thing, hence belly putters, broom handles, cack handed and all kind of shaped heads. Guess you just have to try different things and see what works out for you. Good luck.

 

[BStone]

I focus on speed and tend to over read the break if anything, the way I look at it if I miss on the high side it at least had a shot of going in, if I miss on the low side there was never a chance. This isn't saying that I don't try and make the putt, just that I want to give it the best chance possible to fall in the side door.

 

[DaveE]

This is gonna sound kinda lame but it works for me.

Ever notice how easy it is to make a putt when you try a do-over after missing? It's because all the tension is gone and you putt with your instincts.

Whenever I'm having trouble with distance I go through the motions of the putt and then mentally go through the motions of missing it. You know, the "good job dumbass it's not that hard", and then I hit the putt as if it was my do-over. Less tension & a better result almost every time.

Sounds stupid I know, but it works.

 

[ualtim]

Sounds stupid I know, but it works.

As long as it works, its a good thing. I was reading something recently about Jason Gore's Sports Psychologist who taught Jason to say "F#@% it" everytime he hit a bad shot and let the tension go so that it would not affect his next shot. Apparently, that worked very well for Jason last year. The sport psych guy also worked with Ben Crane, but Crane was too religious to use the phrase. The psych guy said it was too bad, because if Crane would do it he would win more tournements.

There is alot to be said for finding a way to remove tension from your body prior to making a shot. Whatever way you do it, it can only help.

 

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I just imagine that my Visa Check Card just got stolen.