teach me to putt

[Nyper]

I am slowly coming to the realization that I can't putt. At all. It's pathetic.

It stems mostly from the fact that putting is the thing I practice the least. I have zero confidence in my putter.

I simply can't seem to get a pure roll on the ball. I didn't notice it as much until this weekend when I played with one guy in particular who puts a very pure roll on the ball. Almost every putt looks like it is going to go in. It made me realize just how pathetic my stroke is.

I can't get a feel for taking the clubhead back properly. I feel like it just wobbles back - inside or out. I don't have any clue how far to take it back, and half the time I just stab at it going forward. The other half I think "don't stab it!" and I just baby it 6ft on a 10ft putt.

Has anyone used one of those 'zen' putters? With the hole in the middle...

Anybody got any tips?

Recap of the rounds over the holidays:

Round 1 -- (par 72 course) 88. Very pathetic. Had about four 3-putts and just made bogey after bogey after bogey.

Round 2 -- (par 71 course) 81. Better, but not quite where I want to be. Missed most greens in regulation. Chip to 5 or 6 feet and rarely made the putt. Several bogeys.

Round 3 -- (par 71 course) 83. Had two 3-putts and missed a ton of putts from inside 10 feet.

I rarely make a putt past 4 feet, and it's killing my scores.

Yeah, I know - I could work on hitting the green in regulation and I'd could just 2-putt for par, but my iron plan is much better than my putting at the moment. Missing a green by just 3 or 4 feet shouldn't be any reason to bogey every single hole.

On another note, I have no confidence in my actual putter (the club). I don't feel like I get a pure roll any which way I strike it. I went to the nearest golf shop today and putted around with a few, but it's hard to tell anything on those fake greens that are fast as the top of a pool table. The only one that struck my fance was a Scotty Cameron Futura (not the phantom). It was used, and a fair price, but I figured it'd still be there tomorrow if I decide I want it.

 

[warbirdlover]

Alot of people don't buy Dave Pelz' ideas and I don't buy them all but I think he's on the right track. He has some shows on the Golf Channel site. Here's a link to HIS site which has lot's of good tips. (If someone else has a better "teacher" chime in).

http://www.pelzgolf.com/

Look at the lower righthand column for putting tips... He also has some videos in the "video vault" at the Golf Channel but you have to join and pay $30 to view those. (You've got to get your stroke down before you can tell if one putter is better then another).

 

[Stanters]

A drill that I was taught helps you to get the "feel" of the stroke well is this:

Put your right arm behind your back and hit a dozen or so putts with your left hand only. Then swap hands - left now behind your back - and hit some more putts.
This should give an idea of the mechanics of the individual hands/arms and when you bring both hands back to the putter and make your stroke you should feel how they work together better.
It's not easy to explain but give it a try and you will know what I mean (probably).

Also try the claw grip (a la DiMarco) for a few putts, I'm not suggesting that you should change permanently to this but it will give you the feel of a "locked" left wrist (if you are RH) and will help you getting too wristy on your stroke.

Finding a putter that you like is an eternal mystery for most of us, you just need to try a few - simple as. I wouldn't go spending too much right now on one, try and experiment with say an Anser style and a mallett and see if either suits you more and then have a look at buying one.

And visualise the path of the ball, see it going into the hole. Try practising by looking at the hole rather than the ball. It helps develop distance control and feel.

There are a million tips but these are a start. Confidence is so key in putting and can never be taught but concentration, visualisation and a repetitive routine can help focus the mind rather than frighten it to death.

I really wish you luck because it's no fun putting poorly. Hope the advice bears some fruit.

 

[Mors Ab Alto]

A drill that I was taught helps you to get the "feel" of the stroke well is this:

Put your right arm behind your back and hit a dozen or so putts with your left hand only. Then swap hands - left now behind your back - and hit some more putts.quote]

I've done this drill before, and it explains why you can swat a 15 foot putt for 8 without even looking at the hole and drain it. Or is that because the golf gods are sadisticly vendictive peckers?!?!
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Distance control is key. It doesn't do a lot of good to be right on line if you're too short or too long. Besides, I'd rather be 2 feet off line than 6 feet short/long. There are 2 things I have done that have dramatically improved my putting, :

- First, I pace off every putt so I KNOW how far it is to the hole. This, coupled with practicing distance control, has made it so even if I miss, I don't have much work left for a 2 putt. I have a weird way of gauging how hard I have to hit the putt, and I won't tell you because it may screw you up more than help. But, if you really want to know, ust let me know.

- Secondly, I hold the putter extremely lightly, with just my fingertips. I learned that this enables the putter face to open and shut (pendulum) much more easily. My old grip was too tight (even though I didn't think it was) and kept the putter face open, which is why most of misses were right.

It has been 4 rounds since my last 3 putt. Damn, I just jinxed myself!

 

[SiberianDVM]

I can't putt for shit either, except on my living room carpet, so take this for what it's worth:
try the claw
try a belly putter
try a belly putter WITH the claw
hit short putts firm
hit long putts with JUST the right speed to die 17" past the hole

 

[benk]

dsaf

I REALLY would recommend anything by Stan Utley [ and not by Dave Pelz ]. His philosophy is very very good, and much more aplicable than pelz.

I can say though, that if you wanna improve your putting very quickly, do these 2 things. One, get a pre-shot routine. Focusing on the routine will take your mind off of making putts. The other is to imagine a spot where the putt is going to start to break, [ in other words, spot putting, and the other way is to imagine the whole line, but I spot putt personally and it has really helped me ], and hit the putt firm enough to where it will start to break at that spot.You might be saying "well, I don't even know if my feel is good enough to get the ball to break at that spot." You'd be surprised how easy it is. Just focus on that spot, and making a good stroke to hit the ball to that spot, and you'd be very surprised how many drop.

 

[Adam Pettman]

John Daly once said on the Golf channel "Putting is easy when you don't care" so just relax and if you do practice don't make it to serious, me and a freind practice by messing around on the practice putting green. The more putt's you hit the better you will be able to judge your distance control or atleast thats what i was taught.

 

[gwlee7]

A very simple way to improve your putting is to make all types of putting practice a game of some kind where you can keep score. The best for me is to find a straight five foot putt and then see how many I can make in a row. I have to make 12 in a row before I can quit and my personal best is 32. I rarely face a "short" putt on the course that I don't think I can sink. Seeing tons of five footers go in does loads to increase confidence in putting.

 

[Eracer]

I am slowly coming to the realization that I can't putt. At all. It's pathetic.

It stems mostly from the fact that putting is the thing I practice the least. I have zero confidence in my putter.

I simply can't seem to get a pure roll on the ball. I didn't notice it as much until this weekend when I played with one guy in particular who puts a very pure roll on the ball. Almost every putt looks like it is going to go in. It made me realize just how pathetic my stroke is.

I can't get a feel for taking the clubhead back properly. I feel like it just wobbles back - inside or out. I don't have any clue how far to take it back, and half the time I just stab at it going forward. The other half I think "don't stab it!" and I just baby it 6ft on a 10ft putt.

Has anyone used one of those 'zen' putters? With the hole in the middle...

Anybody got any tips?

Recap of the rounds over the holidays:

Round 1 -- (par 72 course) 88. Very pathetic. Had about four 3-putts and just made bogey after bogey after bogey.

Round 2 -- (par 71 course) 81. Better, but not quite where I want to be. Missed most greens in regulation. Chip to 5 or 6 feet and rarely made the putt. Several bogeys.

Round 3 -- (par 71 course) 83. Had two 3-putts and missed a ton of putts from inside 10 feet.

I rarely make a putt past 4 feet, and it's killing my scores.

Yeah, I know - I could work on hitting the green in regulation and I'd could just 2-putt for par, but my iron plan is much better than my putting at the moment. Missing a green by just 3 or 4 feet shouldn't be any reason to bogey every single hole.

On another note, I have no confidence in my actual putter (the club). I don't feel like I get a pure roll any which way I strike it. I went to the nearest golf shop today and putted around with a few, but it's hard to tell anything on those fake greens that are fast as the top of a pool table. The only one that struck my fance was a Scotty Cameron Futura (not the phantom). It was used, and a fair price, but I figured it'd still be there tomorrow if I decide I want it.

Part of putting confidence is putter confidence. You have to like your putter. I have the Cameron Futura Mallet (and about 20 others that sit in a closet). The Cameron Mallet is a great tool.

I would suggest two things.

1. Get fitted for a putter. You will never be comfortable with a putter that doesn't fit you.

2. Practice more. And practice drills that lessen the "sphincter factor". Putt to a two-foot square box. Lag to a circle. Putt with your eyes closed. Do anything you can to switch focus away from being precise. Oddly enough, precision will improve.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

I can't get a feel for taking the clubhead back properly. I feel like it just wobbles back - inside or out. I don't have any clue how far to take it back, and half the time I just stab at it going forward. The other half I think "don't stab it!" and I just baby it 6ft on a 10ft putt.

I'll just make it short and simple based on this comment, and start with fundamentals. Putt with your shoulders (shoulder rotation), it sounds like you are using your hands, and wrists. Don't strangle the club, just hold it tight enough to make sure it stays in place and on line, let your shoulders do the work, your arms, hands, and wrists will stay in the same position during the entire stroke (or at least should feel that way). Concentrating on your shoulders also makes it hard to jab at the ball. Next to your head they are the farthest thing from the ball, and makes it really hard to have jabby strokes. So as long as your head is not getting in the way it should eliminate alot of what you mention. Work on getting a comfortable repeatable stroke and speed may fall into place once you have confidence in your stroke.

The only other recomendation if you do not already do it that will help steady the club is to move your lower index finger down the club a good part of the way, and not up against your middle finger.

 

[demon]

I have always been a very good putter but I just try to imagine me throwing the ball underhand along the line I want to the hole then when I take my practice swings I try to incorporate that feel into my stroke. It works for me and I havent had a three putt in three rounds.

 

[Earl]

Hey Nyper,
I had the same problem a few years ago...hit the ball great and 3 putted everywhere. The assistant pro at my course gave me these 2 tips, and they helped a ton:

1. Stand over a putt and have somebody drop a ball from between your eyes. It should land on top of the ball you're lining up or slightly behind it. If it drops too close to you or on the other side of the ball, you're not seeing the line properly. If it drops in front of the ball, you're hitting it on the downstroke and making the ball skid off the club face.

2. Use the length of your take away to control the speed of the putt, and make your follow thru 2x the length of your take away. For example, on a 6 foot putt, take the putter back 6 inches and then smoothly follow thru 12. After trying this, you might find that 4" and 8" works better for a 6 footer, but the idea is to take the guessing out of it by having a distance gauge. The second thing this does is make you "stroke" the putt instead of "hitting" it by following thru smoothly and twice as far.

Personally, I think "great" putters are born and the rest of us have to learn to be "good" putters. I hope these tips help you as much as they helped me.

Later,
Earl

 

[Mors Ab Alto]

2. Use the length of your take away to control the speed of the putt, and make your follow thru 2x the length of your take away. For example, on a 6 foot putt, take the putter back 6 inches and then smoothly follow thru 12. After trying this, you might find that 4" and 8" works better for a 6 footer, but the idea is to take the guessing out of it by having a distance gauge. The second thing this does is make you "stroke" the putt instead of "hitting" it by following thru smoothly and twice as far.

This is how I gauge distance, except I have thrown in something extra. I have always measured my short shots (putts , chips and pitches) in paces, not yards (my strides are shorter than 3 feet). It took some practice, but what I do is for putts of 4 paces (10') or less is I stand with my feet together and take the putter back no further than the edge of my right foot (the actual length of the putt determines exactly how close to my right foot I take it). Then, for every 2 paces, I widen my stance a certain amount.

It's kind of hard to explain, but I've been doing it for about 3 years now and I can say without feeling cocky that I am the best putter in my regular group. That doesn't mean I make a lot more putts, just that my misses are much more manageable. No 3 putts for me. It's a very mechanical approach, and I like to think of myself as a feel player, but it has yet to let me down.

There are 2 draw backs:

- When the greens change (slower/faster), I have to make sure I go to the practice green to get a feel for speed.

- For putts of 20 paces (50') or more, it's hard to judge speed. I think that's true for any putting style. That's why I try to make sure I don't have 50' putts.

 

[Nyper]

Wow. Thanks for all the tips guys. I broke out the putter last night and practiced on the carpet for a good while. I just put some dimes in random spots and putted at them. Did I mention I hate putting on carpet?

A few people suggested that maybe I am using my wrists too much. I can understand why you'd think that. However, I putt cross-handed with sort of a weird interlocking grip & I'm pretty confident in saying I don't use my wrists much at all.

This cross-handed weird interlocking grip could be part of my problems. However, right now that is what's comfortable to me since it's what I've used for about the past 7 years.

Let me try & explain this grip so somebody else can say "holy crap, this guy IS screwed up!".

If you're right handed like me... put your left hand on the bottom of the putter. If you're at work like me & don't have a putter, just grab a pencil and pretend. Now, interlock your first two fingers on your right hand with your last two fingers on your left hand. Yes, TWO fingers on each hand.. not just one.

In other words... you're index (pointer) finger on your right hand slides between your middle finger and ring finger on your left hand.

Then your middle finger on your right hand slides between your ring finger and pinky finger on your left hand.

This really helped me to eliminate my wrist action a few years ago.. but not I have lost all feel for distance.

 

[Jules150]

In my opinion putting is all about confidence, if you dont believe you can make it you wont. I can think of times where i was putting bad and i saw somebody sink a difficult putt similar to mine and i just believed i could do it because i saw it, then i did it. Before you do anything you got to think positive and visualize the ball going into the hole.