I hit it a long way but I can't putt

[londonlewis]

Over the last few months I have spoken to a few people and played with a couple as well who make this comment

'oh yeah, I tend to out drive everyone I play with but my issue is I can't putt'

one guy even followed it up with

'yeah my mate is joining us, he plays off 10, only pokes it down the fairway but plods his way round to a good score'

I can't help but smile at these comments and wonder if these individuals believe they are better than the other golfers because they hit it a long way. It's not the size that matters mate, it's what you do with it ... that's what she said!

 

[patricks148]

well as the saying goes " Drive for show, putt for Dough" never a truer statement.

I drive the ball well, not miles, but hit the fairway more often than not, my mate misses a fair few, but boy can he putt.

Guess which one of us have the lower handicap???

 

[bladeplayer]

well as the saying goes " Drive for show, putt for Dough" never a truer statement.

.I drive the ball well, not miles, but hit the fairway more often than not, my mate misses a fair few, but boy can he putt.

Guess which one of us have the lower handicap???

Personaly im Not a big believer of this Patrick , i think the lowest handicap will not be the one who is best at any single part but be the one who averages best on them all , driving , irons, pitching/chipping & putting .. no point be a great putter if your 3 of the tee & putting for bogey or worse alot ..


I can drive well (longish) would class myself as a good putter .. my 100 in game is whats killing me .. we dont have a good practice area to work on it .. i know if i wana get lower i need to maintain the driving & putting but vastly improve my weak parts ..

 

[hovis]

I dont agree with drive for show. Depending on the course but I play with a guy off 2. As a 16 handicap I find as many fairways as him (well, almost) but his drives are so long he's making birdies all the time because he is getting it close with his second wedge shot. Mean while i'm slapping a full 7 iron in. I'd take a extra 30 yards any day

 

[Mr A]

Obviously to be a good player you need to be good at everything. But I would take being a great putter over being a great driver every single time.

 

[Val]

Short game including putting is where it counts and i'll give 2 examples

Tiger Woods

Lee Westwood

Lee is without doubt one of the best drivers in the game with a solid long game, short game is a suspect.

Tiger is woefull off the tee at times but for me has the best short game in the world, people talk about Mickelson but for me its Tiger (and im no Tiger lover by any means).

 

[patricks148]

Short game including putting is where it counts and i'll give 2 examples

Tiger Woods

Lee Westwood

Lee is without doubt one of the best drivers in the game with a solid long game, short game is a suspect.

Tiger is woefull off the tee at times but for me has the best short game in the world, people talk about Mickelson but for me its Tiger (and im no Tiger lover by any means).

Nicely put Martin illustrates my point really.

The lowest Handicap golfer ive ever played with was at an open in very testing conditions, CSS 76 (par 70) was Reduction only for the day he is off +3. shot level par/

Did he drive the ball miles? No.

Hit laser like iron shots? No

Did he get up and down every time and save lots of shots buy good putting? Hell yes.

 

[duncan mackie]

Over the last few months I have spoken to a few people and played with a couple as well who make this comment

'oh yeah, I tend to out drive everyone I play with but my issue is I can't putt'

one guy even followed it up with

'yeah my mate is joining us, he plays off 10, only pokes it down the fairway but plods his way round to a good score'

I can't help but smile at these comments and wonder if these individuals believe they are better than the other golfers because they hit it a long way. It's not the size that matters mate, it's what you do with it ... that's what she said!

strangely I don't see it the same way at all - ultimately we are as good as the handicap we hold; the end.....but that doesn't mean that a little embelishment isn't appropriate from time to time. on the other hand, ask that question of many in the bar and it will take 10 minutes and a repeat of the question to get an actual number!

 

[Stuey01]

The insecurity of the short-knocker... Everyone knows its how many that counts, no need to bleat on about it.
The length of your drive is not proportional to the length of your wang.

 

[patricks148]

Depends on if your short off the tee and big in the trouser dept

 

[stevie_r]

The insecurity of the short-knocker... Everyone knows its how many that counts, no need to bleat on about it.
The length of your drive is not proportional to the length of your wang.

Thankfully.

 

[Birchy]

You need to be decent at everything to be a very good player.

I do have a little chortle though when i see somebody bomb it past me then 3 putt from about 15ft while i roll it in the middle first time :rofl:

 

[ColchesterFC]

I do have a little chortle though when i see somebody bomb it past me then 3 putt from about 15ft while i roll it in the middle first time :rofl:

Nowt wrong with three putting from that distance. Last weekend I 3 putted from 8ft, 12ft and 14ft and once even managed to 4 putt from 6ft. I recently put my last two years worth of golf rounds into Golf Shake as I felt my 18 handicap (unofficial) was too low for my ability. It calculated that from my rounds played my handicap would be 18.1 but what was most disturbing is that I am 3 putting 20% of holes. Or to put it another way I'm throwing away on average 3.5 shots per round.

 

[bobmac]

Last weekend I 3 putted from 8ft, 12ft and 14ft and once even managed to 4 putt from 6ft.

Are you doing anything to improve your putting?

 

[Birchy]

Nowt wrong with three putting from that distance. Last weekend I 3 putted from 8ft, 12ft and 14ft and once even managed to 4 putt from 6ft. I recently put my last two years worth of golf rounds into Golf Shake as I felt my 18 handicap (unofficial) was too low for my ability. It calculated that from my rounds played my handicap would be 18.1 but what was most disturbing is that I am 3 putting 20% of holes. Or to put it another way I'm throwing away on average 3.5 shots per round.

There is something wrong if you are 3 putting regularly from them distances. Quick way to make your scores better would be to sort that out.

 

[stevek1969]

I don't hit it a long way and i can't putt,take i'm humped then

Did drive thru the first green at Crail last night 322 yards not a bad wee dunt.

 

[ColchesterFC]

Are you doing anything to improve your putting?

My next lesson with my pro is going to be a putting lesson. Working offshore 6 months of the year I don't get a lot of time to practise so mainly just hit the course. My biggest problem is that I can't read greens and I'm not sure if that can be taught. I know the basics like looking for big slopes and the general lay of the land but often find myself hitting it 2ft outside the right edge as I think it's going to break a lot to the left and watching with dismay as it goes further right. In fact during our matchplay comp last week I 3 putted on 5 occasions when a 2 putt would've won the hole and 3 putted 3 times when a 2 putt would've halved the hole. No wonder I lost 2 and 1 and 6 and 5.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I am short off the tee (Average 235 yards) and I'm trying to get it in play as often as I can. To compensate I am making putting and holing out from 3-6 feet a big feature. If I can start making them it makes up for other short comings such as an ailing short game. This is the other area I am really working hard to improve and if I can get my chipping up to scratch then that and the ability to hole out regularly will save 3-4 shots per round