long fairway splitting drive or holing a putt for birdie?

[RGDave]

Example: Was playing at Woodlands GC in Bristol - Drove the green on the last (about 300 yards) and 4 putted for bogey :-(

I rarely 4 putt. What make me SO mad about doing it is that it nearly always takes the same pattern, and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed what it is, and if it's the same as me.

/You mess up the first putt big time,(e.g. leave it way short or hit it way long)
/you are so annoyed at the first putt, you convince yourself you've got to make the next one and then race it by....
/you brain goes into overload and then you tense over the next putt and hit a shocker

Something in my experienced (but flawed) golf mind tells me this;

If you have messed up big time, consider the next putt as if it was your first . Even on the biggest, hardest greens on the world (excluding Augusta OR lightening fast downhill green) if you are less than 10 foot from the pin, it ought to be easy to 2-putt, you just roll it up to the hole without any expectation and tap it in.

I you/I am more than 10 foot after the disaster first putt, we probably need to take up darts or something.


It's the same with chipping......trying to do something clever with a chip can lead to a duff or completely rubbish shot. That then compounds itself with another duff or 3 putt.

Getting down in 3 is so easy a child could do it.....just have a quick look at the chip, and hit it. As long as you let your body and mind carry out the action naturally, it'll be close enough for a 99.99% 2 - putt. Try and be clever, and it can easily be 3 putts or worse.

My personal rule is NEVER, EVER leave an excessively downhill chip short. Leave a wicked one 2 foot short, tap it the gentlest possible, miss, and be off the green the other side.....If I'm going to be off the green, I'd rather be there in one shot and have an uphill 2-putt to consider.

 

[bobmac]

You cant birdie the hole from the tee, but you CAN ruin the card. Drive for me (and a good putt)

 

[Aztecs27]

Example: Was playing at Woodlands GC in Bristol - Drove the green on the last (about 300 yards) and 4 putted for bogey :-(

I rarely 4 putt. What make me SO mad about doing it is that it nearly always takes the same pattern, and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed what it is, and if it's the same as me.

/You mess up the first putt big time,(e.g. leave it way short or hit it way long)
/you are so annoyed at the first putt, you convince yourself you've got to make the next one and then race it by....
/you brain goes into overload and then you tense over the next putt and hit a shocker

Something in my experienced (but flawed) golf mind tells me this;

If you have messed up big time, consider the next putt as if it was your first . Even on the biggest, hardest greens on the world (excluding Augusta OR lightening fast downhill green) if you are less than 10 foot from the pin, it ought to be easy to 2-putt, you just roll it up to the hole without any expectation and tap it in.

I you/I am more than 10 foot after the disaster first putt, we probably need to take up darts or something.


It's the same with chipping......trying to do something clever with a chip can lead to a duff or completely rubbish shot. That then compounds itself with another duff or 3 putt.

Getting down in 3 is so easy a child could do it.....just have a quick look at the chip, and hit it. As long as you let your body and mind carry out the action naturally, it'll be close enough for a 99.99% 2 - putt. Try and be clever, and it can easily be 3 putts or worse.

My personal rule is NEVER, EVER leave an excessively downhill chip short. Leave a wicked one 2 foot short, tap it the gentlest possible, miss, and be off the green the other side.....If I'm going to be off the green, I'd rather be there in one shot and have an uphill 2-putt to consider.

This is my life in golf personified! Scarily accurate to what I do and exactly how I think.

I rarely 4 putt but I do 3 putt more regularly than I'd like. I've been better recently, but my putting action is awful (too much movement) and something I'm constantly working on. It's been better recently but still not as consistent as I'd like.

 

[Mightymoose]

As soon as I get either, I'll let you know!

 

[Imurg]

Birdie putt, a fairway splitting drive doesn't get the ball in the hole.

Sums it up completely.

 

[TonyN]

Birdie putt every time for sure. That gets rid of a bogie. You dont score for hitting fairways. Most of time at my place, the ggod dries are in the first cut. I know when I have driven well.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

/You mess up the first putt big time,(e.g. leave it way short or hit it way long)
/you are so annoyed at the first putt, you convince yourself you've got to make the next one and then race it by....
/you brain goes into overload and then you tense over the next putt and hit a shocker

Sounds like someone's thinking too hard about putting. A clear mind is the only way to putt.

Never try to force the ball in the hole.
Never tell yourself you have to make any putt.

The bottom line is, the harder you try, the more likely you are to fail. All you can do is put a good stroke on it and see what happens. Some days they'll drop, some days they won't but you won't 4 putt. Try reading "Putting out of your mind" by Bob Rotella. It's changed the way I think about putting and I'm a better putter for it

 

[Adrena1in]

I rarely 4 putt. What make me SO mad about doing it is that it nearly always takes the same pattern, and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed what it is, and if it's the same as me.

Haven't 4-putted many times, but when I do it's normally because I'm not paying attention and am losing my rag a bit. Happened at East Horton the other day. Had taken me six shots to reach the green, and first putt ended up maybe 3-feet away. Rolled the ball past the hole about 2 feet. Stepped up and hit it without really thinking and rolled it past 2-feet again. Made sure I got the 4th, (despite Midnight giggling in the background!)

 

[Region3]

I 5 putted once in a medal, including a waft at thin air trying to tap it in

That was funny

 

[StrangelyBrown]

As much as I love hitting a massive drive down the middle it means nothing without the putt

I'm with Fred on this one.

 

[Ken_A]

The sweet Iron to 2' for me - or the bounce and stop wedge - aaahh love them.

 

[birdieman]

Birdie putt is great, doesn't matter how far the putt, when you make birdie for the next few minutes all is right with the world!