Looking at the hole when putting

[turkish]

So tried this out last night on short putts of 5 feet and less with relative success....

But tried it on a putt with a lot of break and was woefully off- should I be doing this on those type of putts?

I know it's to free up the mind but with a big break I felt it kind of messed with my mind?

 

[IanG]

So tried this out last night on short putts of 3 feet and less with relative success....

But tried it on a putt with a lot of break and was woefully off- should I be doing this on those type of putts?

I know it's to free up the mind but with a big break I felt it kind of messed with my mind?

I played around with this a bit on the putting green the other night. I found it surprisingly helpful on long (20 yard+) putts in getting the weight right. It was as if by staring at the ball your body forgot how far away the hole was, staring at the hole kept that image front and centre. It has to be said the line was a bit dodgy , I guess as the strike was probably off. Interesting, but I won't be changing in a real game.

For short putts ( <4ft) with little or no break I found it helped too, balls were struck with a little more purpose at the hole. On slidey breaking putts it didn't work as I kept steering the ball at the hole.

Don't know if it will be used on the course, but at least it breaks up the putting practice time a little.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I don't do this but, intuitively, it seems a bit daft to do it on anything other than a straight putt.

 

[turkish]

Yeah that's what I was thinking- slight brain fart on the big break putt. Its kinda scary doing it when you're not used to it but might actually try it in medals on straight putts

 

[Sybez]

Look at the point you want to hit the putt. if that's the back of the hole, left, right side then fine. Or 2" to the side, should still work out.... that's Speith's method anyway...

 

[jak kez 187]

I had success with the exact opposite.

I line up the ball and leave the putter head about half an inch/an inch behind the ball, and then keep looking down at that gap until my stroke is fully complete.
Helped me a lot as my putting was terrible and has improved quite a bit.

 

[bobmac]

The reason Jordan Speith is a great putter is not because he looks at the hole when he putts, it&#39;s because he&#39;s a great putter.
His lower half is rock solid during the stroke (as are all good putters), he return the putter face to the ball pointing where he wants the ball to go and there is no flicking of the wrists.

If you want to improve your putting, get a mate to film your putting stroke ON THE COURSE WHEN YOU&#39;RE NOT LOOKING and then compare it to the guys on tour.

Yes, there are many ways to putt but the GOOD putters tend to do all the basics the same way.

Is Jordan Speith a good putter? Undoubtedly. But he is a good putter despite looking at the hole, not because of it.

Not forgetting he is putting on the best greens in the world most of the time.

 

[turkish]

I wholeheartedly agree with you Bob but the whole reason I started trying it was becuase I was missing a lot of very short putts under 5 feet straight putts, taking too long over the ball, 2nd guessing reads etc and when I was trying it on the straight ones it was freeing up the mind which is the reason he does it is it not?

 

[bobmac]

but the whole reason I started trying it was becuase I was missing a lot of very short putts under 5 feet straight putts,

If you&#39;re missing these, you have a problem with your technique. Either your swing path is wrong or your putter face isn&#39;t square.......assuming you are aiming straight.
As I said, film your stroke and find out which is the culprit and then practice to improve it.
There is no real sustitute for improving a fault than good practice

 

[Daveh922]

For the short putts of 5ft or less I use this however for long putts (20ft+) over uneven surfaces I tend to just imagine a 3ft hoop around the pin and aim to get inside this - if you haven't tried it I suggest you should and see how it works for you.. ive always found it to work out quite well

 

[woody69]

For the short putts of 5ft or less I use this however for long putts (20ft+) over uneven surfaces I tend to just imagine a 3ft hoop around the pin and aim to get inside this - if you haven't tried it I suggest you should and see how it works for you.. ive always found it to work out quite well

I've heard this spouted quite a lot and I just don't agree. If you can imagine getting inside a 3ft loop / dustbin lid, why can't you just imagine holing it?

 

[Daveh922]

I can see why you would think that however for me personally speaking it is all in the mind.. I find it much easier aiming for something with a much larger surface area and in turn this tends to get me to where I need to be.. don't get me wrong I'd much rather be aiming for the hole and nailing it however at my level just now I am happy enough using this method.

 

[dougajmcdonald]

Although I don't use the 3 foot hoop method, I can see why this would help but I suspect it's mainly psychological.

If hitting it into a larger visualised target takes the mental pressure off and makes people happier to make a smooth stoke, then it won't hurt to use it.

Separately if it helps manage expectations regarding holing longer putts and leads to a better mentality on the next putt/tee, then it can certainly help out.

 

[IanG]

Slight variation which I have found helpful on the course is on long putts to take my practice swing while looking at the hole. This gives me a good feel/visualization of how hard I need to hit the ball. Then back to as normal looking at the ball for the actual stroke itself. YMMV

 

[woody69]

Slight variation which I have found helpful on the course is on long putts to take my practice swing while looking at the hole. This gives me a good feel/visualization of how hard I need to hit the ball. Then back to as normal looking at the ball for the actual stroke itself. YMMV

I always do that as part of my routine. Stand behind the ball looking down the line at the hole with a few practice swings to get an idea of feel, then step up, stance, align, look down at spot 1 cm behind the ball and play. Works quite well for me. Have changed to left hand down grip though so might try a look at the hole for the putts of 3 feet or less