Becoming a better putter

[Voyager EMH]

I’ve no doubt you are right but … Like 99.99% of golfers I play golf for enjoyment, not for a job, and 3 hours in I would not be enjoying myself (and I’m one of those people who like practicing!). Why would I spend my leisure time doing something boring that I don’t enjoy? I’d guess the vast majority of people would fall into my camp .

In many other fine cognitive/motor skills (think learning a musical instrument) daily repetition even if for a much shorter time is more effective than less frequent big blocks of practice. Would this not be the same for golf anyway?

The OP expressed a wish to be much better at putting. ("Any advice to become a better lag putter, any drills to try?")
I suggested one 4-hour session for starters and regular 2-hour sessions. This would be similar to learning a musical instrument, although there are other ways.

In a 2-hour putting session, there can be time for little breaks. The main point is that the mind is focussed on learning and improving by doing for 2 hours.
This is clearly a way to make improvements.

Expecting improvements to occur with verbal instruction and demonstration and very little practice is fanciful thinking rather than practical thinking.

If you have no wish to learn "how to learn" and achieve a higher level of skill, then yes, play golf for enjoyment, and revel in your hit-and-hope putting - its still fun.

 

[3 jabber]

Stand over the ball and picture it in your mind running towards the hole. Then replicate that when you hit the putt.

 

[BobbyA]

Stand over the ball and picture it in your mind running towards the hole. Then replicate that when you hit the putt.

Not sure I can take advice from you considering the username

 

[Orikoru]

In a 4 hour round you are doing lots of things, chatting, walking different shots - how can you compare that to the repeated action of putting for 4 hours?

I think he's just being deliberately obtuse. I'm pretty sure it's been proven that people learn things better by doing little and often rather than one massive bulk. I doubt even Tiger in his prime managed 4 straight hours of putting practice.

If we even had a spare four hours we'd obviously be playing a round rather than practicing anyway. It's not like we're getting paid for this after all.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think he's just being deliberately obtuse. I'm pretty sure it's been proven that people learn things better by doing little and often rather than one massive bulk. I doubt even Tiger in his prime managed 4 straight hours of putting practice.

I am a dedicated practicer and even I wouldn't do 4 hours even with mini breaks in between. Hitting putt after putt from the same spot is great for block practice in holing out but that wouldn't be great over a period of time. I would simply take one ball and hit different length putts as the OP is struggling with distance control and learn how a ball is affected by uphill/downhill/sidehill breaks and what that does to the distance it goes, the length of stroke needed and then work on developing feeling from there. Hole every putt out and keep a record of how you get on from say 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 foot on different slopes. It will show in time whether the OP struggles more with speed on downhill/sidehill putts where the ball can be affected more by slope and whether they are actually making good reads to give the ball a chance of starting on a god line

 

[Orikoru]

I am a dedicated practicer and even I wouldn't do 4 hours even with mini breaks in between. Hitting putt after putt from the same spot is great for block practice in holing out but that wouldn't be great over a period of time. I would simply take one ball and hit different length putts as the OP is struggling with distance control and learn how a ball is affected by uphill/downhill/sidehill breaks and what that does to the distance it goes, the length of stroke needed and then work on developing feeling from there. Hole every putt out and keep a record of how you get on from say 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 foot on different slopes. It will show in time whether the OP struggles more with speed on downhill/sidehill putts where the ball can be affected more by slope and whether they are actually making good reads to give the ball a chance of starting on a god line

Yeah a bit of pace control clearly needed. I also only use one ball on the practice green. Too many people I see using two or three balls never bother to read the putt or use any of their own judgement - they just hit the first ball and see what it does to show them the line. Pointless because you never learn anything. I use one ball, and treat every practice putt with the same routine as I do on the course - then I actually have to read the break and slope.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I think he's just being deliberately obtuse. I'm pretty sure it's been proven that people learn things better by doing little and often rather than one massive bulk. I doubt even Tiger in his prime managed 4 straight hours of putting practice.

If we even had a spare four hours we'd obviously be playing a round rather than practicing anyway. It's not like we're getting paid for this after all.

2 hours twice a month is little and often.

A one-off 4 hour session to get the mind on the right track can pay dividends. Gets you over that initial psychological hurdle of what can and needs to be done.

I could go on and on stating my case of what I know about the process of learning "how to do" something and the learning of "how to learn".
It is something I've given much of my time to.
Usually had to read and/or do stuff for 2 hours at a time at least. Sometimes going over and over stuff several times to fully embed it into my brain.

If I feel my putting is "off" I will spend at least 40 minutes putting AFTER a round. (As long as I have the time). I go home with more confidence about my putting.

J

Post in thread 'Midlands forum link?'

Sep 8, 2022

Good day and received an absolute putting masterclass! Great to meet you all and glad you enjoyed and played some semblance of golf.
Happy to host at my new club next year and attend any that I can manage.

• Jamesbrown

• 

 

[Neilds]

2 hours twice a month is little and often.

A one-off 4 hour session to get the mind on the right track can pay dividends. Gets you over that initial psychological hurdle of what can and needs to be done.

I could go on and on stating my case of what I know about the process of learning "how to do" something and the learning of "how to learn".
It is something I've given much of my time to.
Usually had to read and/or do stuff for 2 hours at a time at least. Sometimes going over and over stuff several times to fully embed it into my brain.

If I feel my putting is "off" I will spend at least 40 minutes putting AFTER a round. (As long as I have the time). I go home with more confidence about my putting.

J

Post in thread 'Midlands forum link?'

Sep 8, 2022

Good day and received an absolute putting masterclass! Great to meet you all and glad you enjoyed and played some semblance of golf.
Happy to host at my new club next year and attend any that I can manage.

• Jamesbrown

• 

You know how you learn to do things, this will not be the same for everyone. If it works for you, great but you need to accept that for a lot on here it just seems ridiculous. We all learn things differently and at different speeds.

 

[Voyager EMH]

You know how you learn to do things, this will not be the same for everyone. If it works for you, great but you need to accept that for a lot on here it just seems ridiculous. We all learn things differently and at different speeds.

I disagree mostly.
There are some people who are "wired" differently, but for the vast majority the learning process is far more similar than different.
I don't believe that I "need" to accept what you are saying. I understand what you are saying.

Those wishing to disagree with what I say are free to do so.

Putting is a fairly simple physical action-thing to do.
Becoming very proficient can not be done with little time, effort or practice. It takes a lot of time, effort and practice to become proficient and skilful.
I find it ridiculous that people find this ridiculous.

 

[Orikoru]

I disagree mostly.
There are some people who are "wired" differently, but for the vast majority the learning process is far more similar than different.
I don't believe that I "need" to accept what you are saying. I understand what you are saying.

Those wishing to disagree with what I say are free to do so.

Putting is a fairly simple physical action-thing to do.
Becoming very proficient can not be done with little time, effort or practice. It takes a lot of time, effort and practice to become proficient and skilful.
I find it ridiculous that people find this ridiculous.

You can't seriously be so insular as to not understand you are vastly in the minority on this? Practicing something past the 45-60 minute mark is just going to bring diminished returns as your focus diminishes. For most people. I guess you are different as you will just do what you're programmed to do.

 

[BobbyA]

You can't seriously be so insular as to not understand you are vastly in the minority on this? Practicing something past the 45-60 minute mark is just going to bring diminished returns as your focus diminishes. For most people. I guess you are different as you will just do what you're programmed to do.

I agree with the bit in bold, after a certain time frame what your are learning will diminish, especially staying on one green. surely after 4 hours you will know the speed perfectly, will know the breaks to different holes so of course you will be putting better. But I don't think this translates to being a better putter.

I would say for MOST people doing 40 minutes or so practice more often will yield better results. as I said earlier I've been going to the range once per week over the winter and I will dedicate this time to the practice green going forward.

 

[3 jabber]

Not sure I can take advice from you considering the username

I refer you to the 'changing forum name' thread.....used to be called 4 jabber

 

[Voyager EMH]

I agree with the bit in bold, after a certain time frame what your are learning will diminish, especially staying on one green. surely after 4 hours you will know the speed perfectly, will know the breaks to different holes so of course you will be putting better. But I don't think this translates to being a better putter.

I would say for MOST people doing 40 minutes or so practice more often will yield better results. as I said earlier I've been going to the range once per week over the winter and I will dedicate this time to the practice green going forward.

How about working on increasing that time frame so that you can be better at improving your putting?
Accepting that you have a fixed limit that can not be changed or extended will hold you back.

I found putting to be very similar to snooker and darts. I found that I could do those for 1 or 2 hours with no diminishment, if I decided to and/or wanted to.
The "deciding to" and "wanting to" is important.
30 minutes once a week was not going to produce much improvement, if I wanted to noticeably improve my level of skill.
I never did it regularly enough, so I never became very good at snooker and darts.

Lee Trevino was asked to comment on holing long putts and chipping-in had an element of luck.
"I find the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get", was his comment.

 

[Orikoru]

How about working on increasing that time frame so that you can be better at improving your putting?
Accepting that you have a fixed limit that can not be changed or extended will hold you back.

I found putting to be very similar to snooker and darts. I found that I could do those for 1 or 2 hours with no diminishment, if I decided to and/or wanted to.
The "deciding to" and "wanting to" is important.
30 minutes once a week was not going to produce much improvement, if I wanted to noticeably improve my level of skill.
I never did it regularly enough, so I never became very good at snooker and darts.

Lee Trevino was asked to comment on holing long putts and chipping-in had an element of luck.
"I find the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get", was his comment.

That's not a direct comparison - you are playing the game of snooker or the game of darts in those scenarios. A better comparison to doing two hours of putting would be playing snooker but with only the black on the table, and trying to pot it from it's spot for two hours. Or just trying to hit double 16 on the dartboard for two hours. Taking one small element of the game and doing it to death reduces the fun element of the game.

On a related note, the best putting practice I ever do is when I have another person with me, and we do a putting competition. 9 or 18 'holes' on the practice green, and see who wins. The competitive element makes it enjoyable and suddenly it is something that I can do for an hour or even two if the other person is willing. (Three of us actually did this for two hours several weeks ago when the course was shut for fog after we finished the front nine. And I putted really well for the three weeks following on from that!)

 

[rulie]

That's not a direct comparison - you are playing the game of snooker or the game of darts in those scenarios. A better comparison to doing two hours of putting would be playing snooker but with only the black on the table, and trying to pot it from it's spot for two hours. Or just trying to hit double 16 on the dartboard for two hours. Taking one small element of the game and doing it to death reduces the fun element of the game.

On a related note, the best putting practice I ever do is when I have another person with me, and we do a putting competition. 9 or 18 'holes' on the practice green, and see who wins. The competitive element makes it enjoyable and suddenly it is something that I can do for an hour or even two if the other person is willing. (Three of us actually did this for two hours several weeks ago when the course was shut for fog after we finished the front nine. And I putted really well for the three weeks following on from that!)

A group (or sub-group) of us used to putt around the putting green for $0.25 a hole. Made the "practice" a little more purposeful and fun.

 

[Voyager EMH]

That's not a direct comparison - you are playing the game of snooker or the game of darts in those scenarios. A better comparison to doing two hours of putting would be playing snooker but with only the black on the table, and trying to pot it from it's spot for two hours. Or just trying to hit double 16 on the dartboard for two hours. Taking one small element of the game and doing it to death reduces the fun element of the game.

On a related note, the best putting practice I ever do is when I have another person with me, and we do a putting competition. 9 or 18 'holes' on the practice green, and see who wins. The competitive element makes it enjoyable and suddenly it is something that I can do for an hour or even two if the other person is willing. (Three of us actually did this for two hours several weeks ago when the course was shut for fog after we finished the front nine. And I putted really well for the three weeks following on from that!)

I completely disagree with this.
Practicing snooker would mean practicing a great variety of shots. Practicing putting means practicing a great variety of putts.
Practicing darts means practicing a great variety of darts around the board.
There are far more similarities than differences in practicing these skills.

The difference between someone who is very good and someone who is adequate to poor can often be the amount of practice undertaken.

Your competition element is very good understanding and experience.
This is what we did as juniors. Seven or eight of us. Sheet of paper. Names across the top and down the side. Everyone plays against everyone else. League table produced.
Do this 2 or 3 times. Hours of continuous putting.

I put my putting ability level down to this type of practice to a large extent. I understand the great benefit of long sessions of practice when to comes to things like putting.
I've also studied the process of "learning".
Learning "about" something can be quite different from learning "to do" something very well. The latter can seem a bit mindless when it comes to "boring" repetition.
But that is what is required to really make a lasting noticeable improvement. Embracing the mindlessness and becoming a putting machine that is controlled by the brain.
Then you put this into competitive play on the course and you are like the best dart and snooker players in the world with your putting.

Or just play for fun with little practice. Enjoy the fresh air and exercise. Nothing wrong with that.