My God my putting

[explore]

Hi my god my putting really sks i went out 2 days of playing. my drives are good my second shot are OK cant get it to the green in 2 but my putting this is killing my game i practice on the practice green with 3 ball always hitting them from the same distance until i make my way around the cup.

But when its time to play i get on the green a 2 or 3 puts its really frustrating and destroying my game big time.
what can i do to fix this its crazy today i really notice this its not my game its my putting its embarrassing.

[1972Apex]

Well my suggestion, as always, is to get a new putter

[explore]

its my second one this yes i have spyder from Taylor made and just got a new red hot by odyssey

[nokids]

what can i do to fix this

i'd like to know as well.

[jvincent]

Are your misses because you hit the ball offline or do you have poor distance control?

Most bad putters that I see have very poor distance control so even if they aim correctly they still have trouble.

[explore]

its both distance control and bad alignment.
I'm trying not to over think it front nine played a 47 2 par and the rest are 2 and 3 puts
i gave up after that when home it was to frustrating.
i look at these indoor putting mats but its not the something.

[jvincent]

Work on your distance control first. Once you get that sorted out worry about alignment. The two are obviously related but if you get the distance part under control you'll be able to work on the aim with more confidence.

[mpare]

When practicing before the round, only practice with one ball. That will force you to focus that much better. When you hit three, you can blow the first two and redeem yourself with the third.

Your swing mechanics could be faulty. Have a good putter check you out. Assuming that your mechanics are not off, then try to putt without dwelling on mechanics. Just hit the ball as a kid would. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[explore]

As the season ends what can i do to practice i cant play like this next year, sure I'll be taking courses November 3 till April 1 once a week should i get some long carpet to put a straight line even though its not the same feeling.

[jvincent]

A carpet is OK, but instead of putting all the balls from the same spot, space them out by 3 or 4 feet.

Putt a short one first, then move back, then move back again. This will help train your distance control.

[Kilroy]

As said before always use "one ball" ie: same make and model or the practice may be less useful.

[nokids]

its both distance control and bad alignment.
I'm trying not to over think it front nine played a 47 2 par and the rest are 2 and 3 puts
i gave up after that when home it was to frustrating.
i look at these indoor putting mats but its not the something.

maybe your putting is not to blame, but your approach shot isn't close enough. i had the best score of my life last weekend because my iron shots were dead-on. i birdied 3 times, 34 putts = 1.89 putts per hole.

[bobblehead]

Check out this thread...it may give you ideas.

http://forum.OttawaGolf.com/showthre...7&referrerid=0

[explore]

My approach shots are not dead on, they leave me with a 10 to 15 foot putt
i then tell my self bring it up as close as possible to make par.NOT

[jonf]

i then tell my self bring it up as close as possible to make par.NOT

Well, there's part of your problem. %100 of short putts don't go in. I also think that when you focus on keeping the putt short/not bombing it past the hole, it results in a tentative stroke, and often leaves a lengthy second putt.

As jvincent said, probably the biggest thing you should focus on is distance control. Try to hit every putt 12-18 inches past the hole (12 if you feel uncomfortable over an 18 inch putt).

[leftylucas]

This is a good drill for distance control and can be used to test your stroke on each course you play on. Use 3 balls and hit them one after the other on a fairly straight and level area of the putting green.

Set-up to the ball, take the putter 1/2 way back toward the inside of your back foot and then putt the ball making sure you make your usual smooth stroke. Without moving your stance take the next 2 balls and repeat the same stroke. Turn and count off the number of steps to the balls. They should be very close to each other, if not start over until they are. You can then repeat the drill but this time have the putter go back to the inside of your back foot and count off. Repeat again now with the back of the putter to the back of your back foot and finally the inside of the putter to the outside of your back foot . if you can putt somewhat consistently you will have 4-5 different distances that you can count on for speed on the course just by relying on the length of the backswing. This drill also helps groove your tempo.

[explore]

I can try this drill leftylucas
I'm trying to understand what you mean

[leftylucas]

You are simply taking longer to longer backswings with your putter and then measuring how far each of these travels. When you set-up to putt the putter is close to the middle of your stance. So the first backswing will go back toward your back foot and stop halfway there then you putt your ball, no real delay. Just a regular putting stroke. This stroke may result in the ball going 5 steps. The next backswing where the back of your putter reaches near the inside of your rear foot may go 7 steps. Where your backswing goes to where the backside of your putter is parallel to the outside of your back foot may go 9steps and so on, I hope this helps.

[goochy]

My approach shots are not dead on, they leave me with a 10 to 15 foot putt
i then tell my self bring it up as close as possible to make par.NOT

I don't know where you are approaching from but if you are leaving your approach shots 10-15ft from the pin consistantly then that is simply fantastic. It won't get much better than that.

The PGA average from just 100yds is 20'7" !!!

I believe from that range you should ALWAYS be 2 putting max, and occassionally 1 putting

[explore]

leftylucas I think I understand. goochy if I get 20' from the pin it will take me 3 putts to put it away. Like I said my last game I wanted to see where I was going wrong and it wasn't my iron my approaches are nice I can get it there in 2 or 3.
Ok look at this example par 3 173 yards ball landed 3 or 4 feet from the green
take out a 52 degree volkey pin high took the shot it was short 15 feet big mistake walk away with a 5 killer right there. They all say the same thing to me, Ken your putting, it sucks you have to fix it. I know I have to fix it but how.
They say make an imaginary line stuff like that I cant see it. So I look at the hole and see if I can just get it there sink it for bogey I don't even try to make birdie if I get there in 1 or 2. You know what I mean.

[Goshawk]

If I may, I'd suggest a very good read during the off-season. The Art of Putting by Stan Utley is an excellent book. It has given me a lot of very good drills for not only distance control, but directional control and feeling what the putterhead is doing during the stroke. Well worth the price.

[explore]

Thanks for the information Goshawk I'll look into this book. I already have 3 books to read why not a forth .