Your Best Putting Techniques

[arcaign]

As putting is in my opinion the most crucial part of the game (and the most frustrating... Isn't that right 3 putt for a boggie!) I was curious as to what sort of tips or tricks or practice techniques you all can share.

[NoBack]

As putting is in my opinion the most crucial part of the game (and the most frustrating... Isn't that right 3 putt for a boggie!) I was curious as to what sort of tips or tricks or practice techniques you all can share.

No tricks allowed on this forum

but as for tips .......... practice a five foot putt and keep your head down until you HEAR it go in

[Kilroy]

100% of short putts don't go in.

[Hearzy]

One thing i read in golf digest, makes sense, and i put it to use the last couple times.... Think of the best putts you have made as your going up. It will put you in the right frame of mind

[BC MIST]

As putting is in my opinion the most crucial part of the game (and the most frustrating... Isn't that right 3 putt for a boggie!) I was curious as to what sort of tips or tricks or practice techniques you all can share.

1. Without delaying play, look at short putts from both sides of the hole.
2. Short putts should be hit firmly, eliminating much of any break.
3. STAY STILL!!!

If you have access to impact labels, hit several putts to see how close you make contact at the centre of the putter face. If you are not with 1/4"or less on either side, adjust your stroke until you are. Impact point errors cause many more misses that club face angle or club head path errors. Using a high MOI, face balanced putter is also beneficial.

[ironmaster15213]

I don't practice short putts into a hole, I'll take another ball and starting from about 2 feet I'll just putt into that ball, hitting it everytime. I'll start backing up to 3,4,5,6 feet and much farther always hitting the ball. The reason that I do this is because of the mental side of putting, if you miss a few short putts to a hole you will start to second guessing yourself and get negative thoughts where as if you miss a ball your mind is more willing to accept that miss cause the ball is smaller than the hole to your minds eye. In reality a hole is not much larger than the area that can be used to hit a ball on the left and right side, it's just a matter of perception. If you back up to 30 feet and you hit that ball a couple of times your confidence will sky rocket and you'll have new confidence in your abilities to aim correctly and judge the weight of the putt accurately.

[stevek]

As I play a different course almost every game the thing I find the hardest to judge is speed. Putting at least a couple of 5-10' strokes on a practice green before starting is helpful.

I find visualizing each putt and aiming for a point perhaps 6-12" in front of the putt is a must.

[mberube]

1. Without delaying play, look at short putts from both sides of the hole.
2. Short putts should be hit firmly, eliminating much of any break.
3. STAY STILL!!!

If you have access to impact labels, hit several putts to see how close you make contact at the centre of the putter face. If you are not with 1/4"or less on either side, adjust your stroke until you are. Impact point errors cause many more misses that club face angle or club head path errors. Using a high MOI, face balanced putter is also beneficial.

If you don’t have impact tape use 2 tee’s to setup a gate. Set the 2 tee’s so that your putter heads clears the gate with ¼ inch gape. Set this up to a 5 foot putt and make as many in a row that you can then try to beat your record.

Start with a straight putt and when it gets easy try it on breaking putts. The hard part here is to swing towards the target and not to the hole. Matching the speed to the line is also a challenge.

Mike

[mike k]

Take 6 balls and 3 tees or large coins to the putting green.
From your putting position,
Coin #1: 10 feet
Coin #2: 20 feet
Coin #3: 30 feet
Putt Ball 1 to Coin 1, Ball 2 to coin 2, etc. (never 2 in a row to same target)
Putt all balls back to starting position. Repeat 6 times
Concentrate on distance only.

(Not that I actually DO this often, but when I do, my putt count for my game is lower).

[leftylucas]

I use different backswing lengths to get my distance down. I have a larger mallet style putter head. When I get to the course I go on the putting practice green and putt to the edge of the green and measure out with my steps how far the putts travelled for each of the four backswings.

The first BS is where I see the back of my putter come to the inside of my back foot, the second is where the face comes to the front of my back foot, the back of the putter to the back of the foot, then the face even with the back foot. With these BS it gives me a good idea of the speed of the greens and gives me condidence that the ball will get to the hole. Once I decide which BS to use I simply set up to my line and concentrate solely on the stroke knowing that my distance will be pretty good.

[jonf]

100% of short putts don't go in.

How true this is. 100% of the putts I take within 4 feet don't go in.

[jonf]

1. Without delaying play, look at short putts from both sides of the hole.
2. Short putts should be hit firmly, eliminating much of any break.
3. STAY STILL!!!

What qualifies as a short putt? Personally, i hate standing over short putts trying to compensate for break, and prefer the idea of just hitting it more firmly (especially as my putts are more often end up going long rather than not making it to the hole). But, at what distance does it become unwise to just hit it through the break? I guess it depends on how much break there is.

[Fallys0820]

I putt better when I keep my head still and will usually count to 2 or 3 before I look up to see where the ball is. If the putt is 5ft or less, I'll just listen for it to go in the bottom.

When I don't keep my head down, I pull a lot of putts.

[BC MIST]

What qualifies as a short putt?

For me, up to 5'. My mindset says that I can make all 2' putts, so my weight is based on hitting it that far past, if I were to miss.

Having said that, if I have a downhill/sidehilll putt, I will gamble somewhat and tend to hit the ball quite firmly, and if missed, I'm likely to be 10'+ past.

[Goshawk]

I teach my short practice putting on the flattest part of the green as possible. I don't use the "cup", I suggest using a dime (I guarantee if you can hit the dime, it will fall in a cup!). Place a dime on the green and, using 6 balls arranged in a circle, start 2 feet away and roll all 6 across the dime. If you miss one, start over. After making all 6, move to 3 feet and do it again, eventually moving back to 6 or 7 feet (depending on your concentration level). You could finish this drill in 20 minutes, or it may take an hour, so patience is needed.

[mjf]

Keep your head still / don't look up until well after the ball has been struck.

[fundonny]

When you miss, don't take your eyes off the ball until it stops rolling, no matter how upset you are at the miss. You need to know the read for the next putt to save your par/bogey.

[XTOUR]

keep'em coming!!!!! I need all the help I can or i'm going to have to change my name to 3putt

[Indio]

keep'em coming!!!!! I need all the help I can or i'm going to have to change my name to 3putt

[mpare]

For putts inside 5 or 6 feet, try putting with your eyes closed. I'm serious. If your mechanics are solid, then you should trust your stroke to do the job. More putts are missed because the golfer tries to manipulate the putterhead during the stroke. It's relatively impossible to do that with your eyes closed.

Lest you think this is a crazy theory, let me assure you that I used to putt that way. In fact, I did so in the NB and NS Amateurs to great success. The rest of my game was abysmal, but that's another matter. Last week I started to stroke the short putts that way again and there were no more pulls and pushes.

Give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[mberube]

One other thing I would suggest. Don’t put so much pressure on making the putt. So many good puts don’t go in and lots of bad putts go in. It’s part of the game. Concentrate on making a good stroke to two feet past your target without pressure. Disappointment and frustration is a big part of unsuccessful putting.

Putting seems so easy but it’s hard. There are so many factors like line, speed, imperfections, wind…all these things can make you miss a perfectly stroked putt. Choosing a line and making a perfect stroke is the only thing that is under your control. My signature bellow says it all.

[jens]

If you have carpet at home, hit putts for 10-15 mins at home to a small target (dime). All putts can be broken down into straight lines, you need to get the first one right!

[Gapwedge]

Practice putting with this. The face is a mere 1/4" wide. Immediate feedback if you miss the putt.
________
Mazda B-Series (North America)

[mberube]

Practice putting with this. The face is a mere 1/4" wide. Immediate feedback if you miss the putt.

I have tried that. Momentus sold one of those in the past. I tried it and it’s awesome. Great putting aid.

[HTN2]

Hold your putter with the absolute lightest grip you can possibly imagine.

Take the putter from the ball as slowly and as low to the green as possible, and start it back to the ball the same way.

LOOK AT THE HOLE. Hold your gaze steadily on the hole for at least a full second, before you start your putt, hold your gaze on a specific part of the ball, for a full second at least. Continue to look at the ball as you putt.

The last two points may seem fairly simplistic, but take note of where your gaze is when you're practicing, you'll likely notice that actually looking ONLY at the hole and the ball is quite difficult. You need to fix your gaze for a period of time to give your brain time to process the info...

I have been a TERRIBLE putter in the past, but these simple things greatly improve my putting without fail.

Do these things while also taking 4 balls, dropping them about 4 feet apart starting from about 4 feet out from the hole and continuing on a line out, try to actually make each putt...

[bobblehead]

Came across this putting tip in the latest Golf Digest...been using it the few rounds and I think it has helped.

http://www.golfdigest.com/instructio...dbetterputting

[dbleber]

Best putting tip that worked for me was changing my grip to the Tiger Shark. It allows me to have a lighter grip pressure and keep my palms facing each other. I also try to never look at the hole once I'm over the ball. I line up my line on the ball, take a few feel practice strokes while looking at the hole, address the ball and go. Putting has improved big time with this method.

[Big Johnny69]

Three best tips I can give for putting:

1) Always play for a little more break than you see. If you never start it high enough, the ball will never go in.

2) Use the alignment aid/name on the ball to mark you line. Then use the sightline on your putter to line up with the aid/name.

3) Use a shorter backswing and accelerate through the ball. Too often I see players with big, long backswings and as they approach the ball they slow down because they think they are going to hit the ball too hard. Best drill for this is to try the push drill. Try to sink a 3-4 footer without using a back swing. This will help you to accelerate through the ball.

[LobWedge]

Stop thinking!
Just do it!

[Gobble_It]

I swear by this tip for short putts (<6 ft) and it really works for me . I think what it does is to help calming the nerves and removing the many thoughts associated with puttings..aka..just dunk them in.

It builds the confidence and I sank more of these short ones than ever.

Came across this putting tip in the latest Golf Digest...been using it the few rounds and I think it has helped.

http://www.golfdigest.com/instructio...dbetterputting