Lag putting help

[Evesdad]

My putting has been a week point for a while now and looking for help. I tend to pick a good line but the longer putts are just not getting close enough and leaving me with tricky 2nd putts. I putt better on the faster greens so is just me not giving it enough umph?? Ideas on a post card please as three putts are killing me.

 

[One Planer]

Bob's advise helped me with mine.

Do you take a long enough back swing?

I didn't.............. I do now

 

[Evesdad]

Probably not! Will try and check, checked the roll etc tonight and it's rolling we'll and like I said I tend to pick a decent line. I just don't get many one putts either it's 2 or three!

 

[One Planer]

The problem I had was all in the back swing.

I try and keep the same tempo of swing but vary the length depending on putt length.

So the longer the putt, the longer the back swing. I don't hit it harder , just take more of a back swing.

This is Bobs video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpSoNakV1to

Notice the swing keeps the same speed, only the length of the back swing changes.

Hope this helps :thup:

 

[Evesdad]

I had been trying that but maybe still hadn't gone back far enough. I putt better on faster greens so wondering if this has something to do with it as well as I don't have to go back as far.

 

[bobmac]

Try this.
On the short putts, have a very narrow stance. As the putt gets longer, widen the stance.
Obviously, don't get too wide. Then you can take your putter back as far as big toe on your back foot and that should help you 'feel' the distance until you get good at it. Then it comes naturally.
There is another answer of course.......your backswing is too long and you are slowing down into the ball?

 

[MashieNiblick]

I too often have a problem with this.

I wonder sometimes whether it is because I am not great at picking up the pace of the greens. Ours can vary considerably week to week which is possibly not surprising given the very variable weather we have. Somedays I seem to get the pace (or the pace just suits my eye/stroke) other days I'm hopeless and forever having to hole out from 4 feet.

Last time I played our greens were lush and soft and slow, today I expect them to be pretty quick. A few knocks on the practice green before a round doesn't really give me time to get a feel for what is needed that day.

I get a kind of yo-yo sutuation where at first I'm over compensating for the pace on that day then going too far the other way, then back again.

 

[Slicer30]

I was putting well this year, but had a nasty habit of 3 putting when reached the Green in regulation. So I knew it was in my head.

Bob Rotella covers this in his putting book and it helped me alot. His idea is that people who putt to make the longer putts will make less putts than people who try to avoid 3 putts.

He encourages you to line it up to make it, otherwise you are lining it up to miss? If it goes in great, if not then you start again and try to make the next one. He is confident that anyone who uses this idea will make less putts overall. you will make 3 putts, but you will make less than using the "putt to avoid 3 putts method".

Took me a while to beleive in it, but as late I have made less 3 putts and my putting average is better.

 

[jdchelsea]

Changing my grip to a reverse overlap grip with the club held more in the fingers really helped me.

 

[garyinderry]

ive only recently started to hold the putter with a ligher grip. seeing some decent results.

 

[North Mimms]

Try this.

There is another answer of course.......your backswing is too long and you are slowing down into the ball?

This tends to be my problem.
Then I realise that I need to keep through the stroke, and send the ball 6 feet past the hole!

 

[Evesdad]

Well at least I'm not the only one! I actually ordered the bob rotella book in the week so should be here soon. I have seen better results since I lightened my grip but the problem is always lurking about! Just had my second lesson today and made sure the next is a putting lesson! I think also that as said earlier I dont adapt quick enough to the changing greens and weather.

 

[Evesdad]

Sorry forgot to say thanks what you said makes sense in differing the stance and will def try that out next week!

 

[DaveM]

An other good tip when practising is to line up your put. Then take your put either looking at the hole or with your eyes shut. Both ways make you feel the put rather than looking down at the ball when you take your put. Ok I know it sounds daft but it does work most of the time.

 

[RGDave]

I too often have a problem with this.

I wonder sometimes whether it is because I am not great at picking up the pace of the greens. Ours can vary considerably week to week which is possibly not surprising given the very variable weather we have. Somedays I seem to get the pace (or the pace just suits my eye/stroke) other days I'm hopeless and forever having to hole out from 4 feet.

I am totally going with this post.

I rarely give the speed of a putt too much thought. I can't explain it, but I practise my stoke away from the ball *looking* at the hole and then re-create the stoke. In a way I feel I'm judging the pace in a sort of "unconscious" way, although clearly it's not unconscious. I'd say I'm more likely to be past than short, although today, that went totally out of the window.

Wet greens, not mowed for a while, sanded a week ago - lots of factors which messed me and most of my group up today.

My 3 putts (3) all came from exactly the same position, miles from the flag and the flag set close to the edge of the green, meaning past the hole could be off the green. Horrible.

Many years ago, an old pro (who used to play in my group) made us all judge the pace stepping back from the ball and swing, looking at the hole (at least 5 times or more). On the long putts, he'd advise us to get a bigger backswing on every swing until we were sure it was at least enough, maybe too much. Step up, don't mess around, check your alignment and then pull the trigger. Not too much time to get confused, and the last swing was the one to try a play....even if you get nervy and hit it less, it's usually enough.

 

[SocketRocket]

Why not practice long putts more? I know that sounds simplistic but spend more time on the practice gren and practice long puts until you work out a system.

 

[Simbo]

its the same as any other club, practice until you learn to "feel" how far you hit your putter over a given swing, like bob says the toes of your shoes serve as an excelent base, go onto the practice green and hit 20 balls, watching only the putter head going from toe to toe, dont even look at where the balls have went until you have hit them all, then measure how many steps the average of the 20 balls are, mines is about 10 feet, (3.5 normal paces) theres base point number one, swing the putter to the outside of your shoes and repeat, base point number 2. and so forth.
practice lag putting from around 35 feet .( around 14 normal paces) , this is a very common distance for average golfers to be hitting their first putt from, hit 20 and make sure they all pass the hole but no further than 3 feet, score yourself on it, keep doing it till you get better. then when you get on the green for real pace the putt out and correspond it with your practice.

a good putter is a match for anyone, a bad putter is a match for no-one

 

[Evesdad]

Just a quick update and thank you bob. Tried the widening off stance for longer and narrower for shorter putts yesterday which really helped! It's the first time I've had chance to try it out due to the weather. I just need to be a little more positive with the stroke, still a few short but all tap in range. I think my natural putting is for the ball to die at the hole so just need to give it a touch more.

So I'm not too bad a putter after all, only a couple were bad reads.

Thanks to bob and all who gave advise.