Putting Woes

[mpare]

If anyone has any insights into how I might cure my three-putting problems, I'd love to hear from you. In the last month I have been averaging 6 three putts per round. Yesterday was the worst - 12 of them. It's gotten so bad, I'm afraid to pull the putter back. Curiously, the rest of my game has improved. Go figure.

[Colby]

You could always come back to Ottawa! I have not 3-putted in months!

Seriously though, find a copy of Pelz's Putting Bible and give it a read. I find that it always helps.

[sensfan63]

If anyone has any insights into how I might cure my three-putting problems, I'd love to hear from you. In the last month I have been averaging 6 three putts per round. Yesterday was the worst - 12 of them. It's gotten so bad, I'm afraid to pull the putter back. Curiously, the rest of my game has improved. Go figure.

mpare, are the hits solid or can you clearly feel that they're off-center?

I'm not sure if I have any short-term fixes. However, a stroke where the shoulders move "around" your torso instead of vertically is ideal. The right arm should clearly be below the left (just like at address in the full swing). And nothing says futile like attempting a "straight back straight thru" putting stroke. It's best to not manipulate the putterhead, but simply use your body to rotate.

I bet on short putts you are lifting your head prematurely, becaue you're so anxious. Try practicing some 4 footers where you don't see the ball go in the hole because you're keeping your head down.

[Sakuraba]

I was an admittedly awful putter for many years, until I put one of those jumbo grips on my putter. I got a very heavy putter.

Worth a shot as an experiment.

[nokids]

Mike, just think back to Ryder cup vs TO 2010, it was Saturday afternoon, Trillium Woods, green #17, you had to hole a 20 foot putt to beat El Hosel, and with a gallery watching, you sank it FTMFW!

[Sunny D]

If anyone has any insights into how I might cure my three-putting problems, I'd love to hear from you. In the last month I have been averaging 6 three putts per round. Yesterday was the worst - 12 of them. It's gotten so bad, I'm afraid to pull the putter back. Curiously, the rest of my game has improved. Go figure.

I hate to add fuel to this fire but I use the conventional grip for anything longer than 20 feet and the claw for distances inside 20. I don't know why but it works for me (probably the extra focus I give the grip and pressure). I do still occasionally 3 putt but not it's more like once every couple of rounds.

[gbower]

Mike I've been having the same problem and last Monday bought another putter and only had two 3 putts today and both were long tricky putts. When you find the real solution let me know.

[GarthM]

Sounds like your change purse is not getting enough competition for you to bear down and make those short ones! Come home and make some donations and your putting will come around soon enough!

As someone else mentioned, you are probably just missing the short ones, so keep your head down and listen for it to fall in.

[BC MIST]

However, a stroke where the shoulders move "around" your torso instead of vertically is ideal. The right arm should clearly be below the left (just like at address in the full swing). And nothing says futile like attempting a "straight back straight thru" putting stroke. It's best to not manipulate the putterhead, but simply use your body to rotate.

While the stroke you describe may be more natural, the fact that the putter face opens and closes and the shoulders go "around" the torso, IMO, requires perfect 'timing' to have a square face at impact.

Using the "straight back - straight through" stroke, yes, requires a slight amount of manipulation on the back stroke, but thereafter, it's a simple case of coming through down the line. This stroke has provided me with much more consistency that the arc stroke.

Having said the above and regardless of which stroke one chooses, a putter swing that is stroked and not hit, and has a gentle acceleration well through the ball, will yield better results. From my observation, most golfers follow the club head through allowing their shoulders and head to turn towards the hole, which is deadly. Stay still.

[mjf]

It's probably not this simple, but the key to good putting for me is as simple as "Keep your head down". Or, put another way, "Listen for the ball to go in the hole".

[mpare]

These are all great tips. My suspicion is that I have been peeking on my putts. As well, I have been jabbing at the ball rather than accelerating through it. This is especially problematic on long putts, and this course has huge greens with nasty undulations, which compounds the problem. Today I concentrated on keeping my eye on the ball and smoothly accelerating the putter. While the results were not perfect, I putted much better today. I suspect that the stroke and my confidence will be back in form by the Ryder Cup matches!

You're right about the lack of money games being a factor. A little cash on the line keeps me more focused. I know, Lyle, that I should always be focused but as I get older that becomes much more difficult to do.

[mpare]

I admit it. That was as pure a putt as I could have hoped to hit. It put a smile on my face.

Mike, just think back to Ryder cup vs TO 2010, it was Saturday afternoon, Trillium Woods, green #17, you had to hole a 20 foot putt to beat El Hosel, and with a gallery watching, you sank it FTMFW!

[Kilroy]

I'll take 3 putting over not putting at all this time of year Mike!

[mpare]

I agree with you wholeheartedly.

I'll take 3 putting over not putting at all this time of year Mike!

[XTOUR]

While the stroke you describe may be more natural, the fact that the putter face opens and closes and the shoulders go "around" the torso, IMO, requires perfect 'timing' to have a square face at impact.

Using the "straight back - straight through" stroke, yes, requires a slight amount of manipulation on the back stroke, but thereafter, it's a simple case of coming through down the line. This stroke has provided me with much more consistency that the arc stroke.

Having said the above and regardless of which stroke one chooses, a putter swing that is stroked and not hit, and has a gentle acceleration well through the ball, will yield better results. From my observation, most golfers follow the club head through allowing their shoulders and head to turn towards the hole, which is deadly. Stay still.

Would the style of putter have a greater influence on the straight back and forth? I was just recently told to change from a toe weighted to a face balanced because of my straight back and forth style stroke.

[adam]

If I'm having an especially bad day on the greens I try to channel my inner Happy Gilmour or Carl Spackler . . A little comedy can loosen me up just enough to make that 6 footer.

[BC MIST]

Would the style of putter have a greater influence on the straight back and forth? I was just recently told to change from a toe weighted to a face balanced because of my straight back and forth style stroke.

I cannot recall if Pelz recommends a face balanced putter, but that style would definitely make the SBST stroke easier. For whatever reason, I find a face balanced blade putter is easier to work with than a face balanced, Two Ball type one.

[XTOUR]

The reason i asked is because I seem to miss my putts to the right (left handed) and is a result of the toe closing on me. I've tried an old heavy putter which is face balanced on the putting green in my basement and the ball rolls much straighter and better.

[mpare]

My recollection is that a face balanced putter is recommended for SBST putting style.

Would the style of putter have a greater influence on the straight back and forth? I was just recently told to change from a toe weighted to a face balanced because of my straight back and forth style stroke.

I cannot recall if Pelz recommends a face balanced putter, but that style would definitely make the SBST stroke easier. For whatever reason, I find a face balanced blade putter is easier to work with than a face balanced, Two Ball type one.

[BC MIST]

I know, Lyle, that I should always be focused but as I get older that becomes much more difficult to do.

I believe very strongly that one needs to DEFOCUS when playing a shot, not focus. Focusing is obviously essential when you plan your shot but when you are about to make the stroke, what are you focusing on? The line? The weight? Your stroke? The hole? The tempo? The result? All of these may have a negative affect on the stroke because they are conscious, anxiety inducing thoughts and all should be considered in the planning stage, not the playing stage.

So what should you be focusing on when you stroke the putt? Anything other than what I listed above, and the like.

[shaner85]

I have problems mostly with leaving putts short due to peeking. I have my Daytona Rossa putter and I use the SBST putting because I like it for some reason.

Having said that, I came across an article in one of the Golf Mags (not too long ago, less than a year) about improving putting and what I took from it and still use (with some success from my perspective) was that after you make contact with the ball you keep everything moving (shoulders, arms and club) toward the hole and hold the finish of the putting stroke.

I find that the deliberate motion of keeping the club head in the air and holding it just for that extra second after the follow through keeps me from peeking at the ball a little too early and it helps me to get the first job done (the stroke). The distances got a lot better and if I did lag it, I have only a couple of feet left.

Not sure if this is of any value, but I found it really helped me make good putting strokes and is repeatable (another problem of mine...LOL..)

[sensfan63]

While the stroke you describe may be more natural, the fact that the putter face opens and closes and the shoulders go "around" the torso, IMO, requires perfect 'timing' to have a square face at impact.

Using the "straight back - straight through" stroke, yes, requires a slight amount of manipulation on the back stroke, but thereafter, it's a simple case of coming through down the line. This stroke has provided me with much more consistency that the arc stroke.

Having said the above and regardless of which stroke one chooses, a putter swing that is stroked and not hit, and has a gentle acceleration well through the ball, will yield better results. From my observation, most golfers follow the club head through allowing their shoulders and head to turn towards the hole, which is deadly. Stay still.

It doesn't really close, though.

Try this - this is what I'm trying to do with my putting:

Take a Putting Arc (I doubt you have one because it's the most horrible invention of all time, but doubtless one of your friends has one). Hold it by one of the ends and let it hang vertically. Take a ball and let it go from the top of the arc. What happens as it falls? Does it follow the arc to the bottom?

[jeffc]

Mike. you are golfing too much. Please come back to Canada and trade places to me. I'll be sure to find your putting stroke down there.

[mpare]

This is my last full week here, and my wife and I are not looking forward to heading north. Who in their right mind wants to exchange warmth, sun and golf for a parka and a snow shovel? No one save perhaps a Leafs fan. When Teresa and I come back here again next year you should sneak into our car. You'd love the Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club. It deserves the 4.5 stars rating it received from Golf Digest.

Mike. you are golfing too much. Please come back to Canada and trade places to me. I'll be sure to find your putting stroke down there.

[gbower]

You're going to have to add that extra month in next year Mike. We're definitely in for 3 again next year especially if the weather is anything like we're getting now. It was 84f here today and talked to Lyle back home and -20c doesn't interest me anymore.

[mpare]

You're right, of course, Lyle. When Teresa has caddied for me she has said on more than one occasion that I would play much better with a lobotomy. Just make up your mind what you want to do and hit it. No fuss. No bother. In fact, when I am playing very well, it's as though my mind is blank when I'm swinging. That isn't often the case now, as I confess to using the course as my practice range. As a result, I tend to think through what it is I want to do with my body before swinging away.

I believe very strongly that one needs to DEFOCUS when playing a shot, not focus. Focusing is obviously essential when you plan your shot but when you are about to make the stroke, what are you focusing on? The line? The weight? Your stroke? The hole? The tempo? The result? All of these may have a negative affect on the stroke because they are conscious, anxiety inducing thoughts and all should be considered in the planning stage, not the playing stage.

So what should you be focusing on when you stroke the putt? Anything other than what I listed above, and the like.

[BC MIST]

Try this - this is what I'm trying to do with my putting:

Take a Putting Arc (I doubt you have one because it's the most horrible invention of all time, but doubtless one of your friends has one). Hold it by one of the ends and let it hang vertically. Take a ball and let it go from the top of the arc. What happens as it falls? Does it follow the arc to the bottom?

Tacked a 4" X 1" board to a 2" X 4" and aligned it inside and parallel to my putting line. The lower part of the putter shaft rested lightly against the thin board to ensure that the shaft went back parallel to the putting line. While the putter went back straight, the putter head rotated a little open and "inside" on the back stroke, and then closed and came "inside" on the through stroke. Almost all putts were bang on the target line. After using a SBST stroke for a long time, was quite impressed with the results.

[kilmidyke]

I also struggle with putting. The more i try and think about what I am doing, the worse my putting usually gets and I end up trying too hard and choking the grip or just giving up and not trying at all. It has been pretty bad really. So, I just bought a used Momentus Inside Down The Line short track to try and help me with the perennial putting woes.

So far so good. I guess I am a tactile learner, I need to feel it and that is what this IDTL seems to give me. This little track actually felt quite natural to use straight away, which is unusual for any training aid I think. This method/feel is what I think I have been trying to do the whole time without actually knowing it. All I really want to do is groove a natural stroke so that i dont have to think about it. Just pick a line and trust that I can get it close or better yet hole it and that is all any of us are trying to do. Eliminate the 3 putts and we are scoring pretty darned well.

I dont really ever buy into the hype about training aids but this one seems to really work and honestly it doesnt seem to make any diffrence what style of putter you use. Lets face it, I have a few putters, and I've tried pretty much all of them with this and they all produce the same result. A dead straight roll with very little hop off the face. Well nearly all, the centre shafted face balanced need to be more SBST, but even they still fall a little to the inside at the very end of the backswing so me and the ball have to be moved forward in relation to the track if you know what I mean. I'm not saying it's for everyone but so far it seems to be working well in the house....of course that may well change out in the real world on the short grass.

Infomercials!!.......dont even get me started on the slap chop! linguini, martini, bikini....you're gonna love my nuts! lmao

[LobWedge]

Michael, repeat after me. "I will not 3-putt today."

Screw mechanics, you've been playing great golf your whole life. Trust your first instinct. You control the ball, not the other way around. Let gravity do the rest.

[mpare]

I have a new putter with which I have been practicing my old, freer stroke. Three putting will not be an issue this summer. Wax on. Wax off.

Michael, repeat after me. "I will not 3-putt today."

Screw mechanics, you've been playing great golf your whole life. Trust your first instinct. You control the ball, not the other way around. Let gravity do the rest.