Look at the hole when putting

[HomerJSimpson]

Given up on this having tried it on the practice green and on the course. I am far more confident in my ability by reading the putt, picking a start point and making sure the ball goes over that. I am putting pretty well and the new putter has reinvigorated confidence. I did find looking at the hole worked up to a point but I never really felt comfy with it. I'm sure if I persisted that would have improved but I don't think it's a priority and I'd rather work on my reads and holing out from 2-6 feet

 

[Canfordhacker]

I started this during the autumn, and have continued with it for all but the long range ones. I've holed a lot more 10 footers, and lag putting much better. I think the brain responds to seeing the target in terms of the weight of putt, and it gives me confidence.

 

[Slab]

Still doing this myself too, in addition to the gains I've posted about already another big advantage is when putting from off the green (especially to a raised green)
Having real-time info on big slopes and or the ratio of fringe/green surfaces is much easier looking at the target

 

[Orikoru]

Had about 15 mins on the putting green today as we were early for our tee time. So I tried this looking at the hole malarky, but found it led to me hitting almost all the putts too hard and being 3 or 4 feet past if they weren't dead on line to the hole. Not really sure why. Also I could feel the poor contact on some where I hit it with the toe end of the putter rather than the middle. So needless to say I didn't take it out on the course.

 

[Slab]

Had about 15 mins on the putting green today as we were early for our tee time. So I tried this looking at the hole malarky, but found it led to me hitting almost all the putts too hard and being 3 or 4 feet past if they weren't dead on line to the hole. Not really sure why. Also I could feel the poor contact on some where I hit it with the toe end of the putter rather than the middle. So needless to say I didn't take it out on the course.

Not an expert but there may be a separate issue with your putting stroke if it comes off the toe (after you've taken stance and lined up)

 

[Wolf]

Given up on this having tried it on the practice green and on the course. I am far more confident in my ability by reading the putt, picking a start point and making sure the ball goes over that. I am putting pretty well and the new putter has reinvigorated confidence. I did find looking at the hole worked up to a point but I never really felt comfy with it. I'm sure if I persisted that would have improved but I don't think it's a priority and I'd rather work on my reads and holing out from 2-6 feet

Exactly as Homer has said above.

I gave it a go when I first started playing again in November and persisted for about a month, I just never felt comfortable with it.

Instead have reverted back to my routine I had as a junior, read the putt from behind ball, make 2 practice swings for feel from next to ball whilst looking at my aim point, address the ball quick glance back at aim point look back at ball and pull the trigger. It also takes me a lot less time to do than looking at the hole as I felt I froze a little trying to convince myself to putt. Plus I felt it stopped me starting them online as I was to focused on the hole and not the actual line of the putt.

 

[Jacko_G]

Had about 15 mins on the putting green today as we were early for our tee time. So I tried this looking at the hole malarky, but found it led to me hitting almost all the putts too hard and being 3 or 4 feet past if they weren't dead on line to the hole. Not really sure why. Also I could feel the poor contact on some where I hit it with the toe end of the putter rather than the middle. So needless to say I didn't take it out on the course.

I'd suggest that the positives from that experiment are that it's highlighted you need to work on both your feel and your stroke.

May be worth exploring further. Maybe as I said earlier in the thread just putting with your eyes closed, working on feel will improve your distance control. Or even better combine it with a certain V-Easy for feel and technique.

 

[Slab]

There's another putting thread on the go just now but rather than take it away I'll just update this one

I'm still using this method (see what I did there) and it now feels very natural to be looking at the target, to the point it feels weird if I putt looking at the ball (which I only ever do if the putt is from fluffy lie off the green and contact could be effected from a normal stroke)

I'm sure I already said its not a magic spell that'll cure all but for me it has lots of merit in getting the correct pace

When I watch the pros they typically start their back-swing within a second or so of last looking at the hole but I (and plenty others I've seen) couldn't/didn't pull the trigger for several seconds meaning the memory of what distance I was putting to has started to fade (even worse when any up/down slope was involved. Now I see the slope gradient and distance info right up to and beyond the point of impact

If you want to try something different to resolve a pace issue give it a go, if your pace is fine but you putt offline then this wont help

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Exactly as Homer has said above.

I gave it a go when I first started playing again in November and persisted for about a month, I just never felt comfortable with it.

Instead have reverted back to my routine I had as a junior, read the putt from behind ball, make 2 practice swings for feel from next to ball whilst looking at my aim point, address the ball quick glance back at aim point look back at ball and pull the trigger. It also takes me a lot less time to do than looking at the hole as I felt I froze a little trying to convince myself to putt. Plus I felt it stopped me starting them online as I was to focused on the hole and not the actual line of the putt.

Just re-read some of the previous replies and I think you hit the nail on the head. I think I'm struggling with my putting to the point where I know distance control is off and I'm struggling on 2-3 footers so I almost freeze now and rather than pick a definite line and let it flow, just try to nudge it next to the hole. Line suffers and still capable of leaving it that 2 foot short or long. Going back to my old routine at the weekend too and then hitting the practice green next week. Definitely didn't get on with the looking at the hole though and won't be resurrecting that

 

[Slab]

Just re-read some of the previous replies and I think you hit the nail on the head. I think I'm struggling with my putting to the point where I know distance control is off and I'm struggling on 2-3 footers so I almost freeze now and rather than pick a definite line and let it flow, just try to nudge it next to the hole. Line suffers and still capable of leaving it that 2 foot short or long. Going back to my old routine at the weekend too and then hitting the practice green next week. Definitely didn't get on with the looking at the hole though and won't be resurrecting that

Not going to suggest looking at the hole because I know you tried it but if I may I'll mention one of the changes I noticed in my swing when practicing 3 footers and maybe it'll strike a cord

When i look at the hole on short putts I felt first then noticed, the length of my back-swing on short putts was dramatically shorter than it was when I putted looking at the ball. Unconsciously I was trying to use a smooth swing that was actually way too long for the distance the ball needed to travel so the putter head was then so slow it wasn't under proper control, we all know the putter head only needs to come back a couple of inches for a short putt but my problem was using a 'long and slow' because a short back-swing felt a bit too stabby to me (leading to a pull on the putt)

With taking my eyes off the ball I automatically started to use a much shorter back-swing with a higher clubhead speed, so I still had a smooth arc

When you next vid yourself have a look at your swing speed and length of back-swing on these 3 footers, maybe a tweak or an adjustment on one or both might help

 

[Jacko_G]

I'd actually drifted away from this method - probably due to laziness on my behalf. Got back into the swing of it today and actually holed my longest ever putt of approximately 45 feet while looking at the hole.

Holed out well today and rolled in a couple of 10-15 footers which was pleasing on cored greens.

Laziness is something that has crept into my game in general over the last year, not focusing properly, not using my laser and guessing distance, not lining up properly etc etc.

I need to give myself a boot up the backside.

 

[Slab]

I'd actually drifted away from this method - probably due to laziness on my behalf. Got back into the swing of it today and actually holed my longest ever putt of approximately 45 feet while looking at the hole.

Holed out well today and rolled in a couple of 10-15 footers which was pleasing on cored greens.

Laziness is something that has crept into my game in general over the last year, not focusing properly, not using my laser and guessing distance, not lining up properly etc etc.

I need to give myself a boot up the backside.

Yeah for me whether its being lazy or over confident I've found that recently I had lengthened the distance of putts where i looked at the hole (used to be all the shortish putts I'd look at the ball anyway but the longer it got the more important/benefit I found in looking at the hole)
It was probably just that I wrongly thought that since my long putting was "better" why not revert to looking at the ball & ignoring that my long putts were better precisely because I wasn't looking at the ball

 

[Swango1980]

I tried it on practice green several times over last couple of years, and a couple of times on course. Even for long range putts. Its remarkable how well it works. No silly tugs from close range and good distance control once you get used to it.

For some reason, I've not had the balls to stick with it in comps.

However, if you are going through a really bad patch on the greens, I thoroughly recommend trying it. You've nothing really to lose. Quite exciting not seeing ball as you hit it, and then coming into your vision as it approaches the hole.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Spot just in front of the ball is a good compromise for folks wanting to try out the theory.

Get a good pre putt routine over the ball that looks at the target, looks at the spot to roll over and then hit the ball.

Get all your alignment sorted before over the ball, once over the ball your only concern is how hard you hit it.

 

[chrisd]

Without me having to go back over 70+ posts, can anyone tell me how long it took to feel comfortable with the change to looking at the hole, did you stick to it and for roughly what distance of putt you do it?

 

[Slab]

Without me having to go back over 70+ posts, can anyone tell me how long it took to feel comfortable with the change to looking at the hole, did you stick to it and for roughly what distance of putt you do it?

A lot less time that it takes to get used to doing any new thing without looking, i.e changing channels on a new remote, switching on Aircon in a new car etc, because your club (and for the most part your stroke) aren’t changing at all, this just gives (me) better pace by giving me a better swing speed & finishing position on long putts because the distance-to-target info is as fresh as it gets

I typically don’t use it for 6ft and under but it’s not a hard and fast rule (even on a long putt if I’m on a poor lie or I feel the strike is really crucial because of fringe etc I’ll still look at the ball

On the practice green you'll be comfortable in minutes, on course is another matter

 

[Kennysarmy]

Go radical, watch the putter head through the stroke!

 

[patricks148]

Without me having to go back over 70+ posts, can anyone tell me how long it took to feel comfortable with the change to looking at the hole, did you stick to it and for roughly what distance of putt you do it?

I look at the hole for long puts say over 10 ft, far better Distance control i've found, took a couple of games i think.

but in saying that i can tinker quite easily without anf trouble, grip stance and set up with no problem

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

On a similar theme - at the moment I am almost not looking at the ball after i have addressed it when I play my irons. This is to help me stop hitting LLs. It is weird but I can do it. So can imagine you could putt not looking at the ball.

 

[Canfordhacker]

Without me having to go back over 70+ posts, can anyone tell me how long it took to feel comfortable with the change to looking at the hole, did you stick to it and for roughly what distance of putt you do it?

I adopted this on a whim 18 months ago whilst away on a golf trip, and by the time I got home it was feeling comfortable. I have just been away for 4 months and consequently not played golf at all, and was really pleased that when I played last week for first time, it felt absolutely natural. I have always used a line on the ball method for putts, and this gives me the confidence that I am correctly aligned no matter the break, and it then becomes (for me at least) much more a subconscious/reaction/feel thing - that's how far the hole is, that's where the ball needs to get to. The improvement in distance control has been marked for me. So yes, I have stuck with it. The only times I don't use it is when putting from fringe grass (as I want to focus on contact with the ball) or massively long ones where a longer backstroke may lead to a mis strike - though these are rare. The hardest thing for me during the initial period was the really short ones where my brain sometimes couldn't decide if it was looking at the ball or hole - it needed concentration, but soon it all felt very natural.

If I'm playing with somebody new, often on the back nine they will make a comment - it takes them a while to realise that's what I am doing!

Good luck!