MY curiosity of those that "CANT" putt

[bladeplayer]

Just wondering, as iv'e heard a bit of it on here & came across it in the club aswell , those who say they cant putt or putting is hardest part of the game , how often do you practice putt ??

now i don't mean popping to the green before ya tee off & hitting 6 putts , i mean going to the greens and actually practice .. if you do practice & feel you still cant putt , what does your practice entail .. or what's the problem you see yourself having ..

Im just wondering & its probably easy for me to say as i do practice & 90% of the time id class my putting as good (someday's when its bad i accept its just a glitch) but shouldnt putting be one of the easier aspect for us amatuers ? the ball cant really get a bad bounce and has less distance to travel than nearly any other shot you will play ..

Im just wondering because i think its the easiest part of the game to improve on , probably because i did so myself through hard work ..

All thought would be glad to hear ..

p.s this is a Lee Westwood free zone

 

[Hobbit]

Many moons ago, probably about 25yrs, putting was the weakest part of my game. I put loads of time in practicing, and I mean loads - several 1 hour-ish sessions a week. I also find it the easiest part of the game but recognise it is only that because of the huge amount of work I put in.

 

[bladeplayer]

Many moons ago, probably about 25yrs, putting was the weakest part of my game. I put loads of time in practicing, and I mean loads - several 1 hour-ish sessions a week. I also find it the easiest part of the game but recognise it is only that because of the huge amount of work I put in.

totaly agree with that mate , im surprised how many people think putting is easy for the likes of you & me but dont realise what work went in to making it easier..

Just curious of peoples thoughts on it , if i had the facilities for putting as much work into my wedge play as i do my putting , i reckon i could be ok at this game

 

[Val]

It's an amazing thing putting, it can come and go as quick as the cold BUT it is probably the most easiest part of the game to practice and those who struggle SHOULD put the effort in as it makes so much different to your round.

I don't practice but have made a few tweaks to my putting set up over the last year and my putting is night and day away from what it was last year, I generally feel pretty confident on holing putts from 10' in, I don't hole them all but they are all generally close. Confidence is a big thing where putting is concerned.

I had a game down at West Kilbride with thecraw and scott1505 last night and Crawford commented that it was the best he'd ever seen me putt, holed a few good ones too help close the game out

 

[Akie]

I always found chipping to be the weak point of my game so spent a few one hour sessions practicing my technique around the practice green at my club, from there I'd chip a dozen balls on and then practice my putting. I'd say putting is the strongest part of my game but you should never turn down an opportunity to practice it.

I think its quite often taken for granted as rarely do you get the opportunity to practice putting at the driving range.

 

[fundy]

Im the reverse here really. Putting is the strongest part of my game, and I never practise maybe hit 5-10 putts max to gauge pace before most rounds and thats about it (apart from changing putter a few times a year lol)

Putting is very natural for me and the only part of the game I dont think about technique or try and change what I do naturally (maybe theres a lesson in there for the rest of my game lol)

 

[Fader]

Putting was a long time issue for me. I got my handicap down based purely on accuracy, wedge play and chipping.

Even when I shot my PB round I putted so poorly, been through over a dozen different putters in the coming up for 3 years i've been playing. Had a lesson but didn't make a big difference, in the end hours on the carpet at home and realising I perform much better with a Mallet type putter. I bought the Manta 6 weeks ago to go with all the work i've done and last few weeks my distance control and general stroke is so much more consistent.

 

[Birchy]

I honestly think most of it is down to confidence. Putting is a strong point for me and i barely practice it apart from 10 mins before i play each round.

Everytime i stand over a putt i believe im gonna hole it whether it be 1ft or 50ft, missing doesnt even enter my thoughts. I never ever say or think i will take 2 from here either.

 

[Foxholer]

Putting should be easy and it's something everybody is capable of doing to almost Pro standard!

If you have to spend a lot of time getting competent (as opposed to really good) then you are doing something wrong! Get it sorted.

Those who don't practice, however, are almost certainly not going to improve. the key is practicing the right things, not the wrong ones!

 

[cookelad]

I'm curious why people think they're bad putters! Is it because they don't hole 25 footers or enough 10 footers, or because they don't 2 putt from distance every time?

 

[CMAC]

36 + putts per round= bad putter

needs to be 30 and under to be classed a good putter, also no 3 putts would be a very good putter....

I am a bad putter and need more practice- real practice not the putting green practice as that really isn't difficult no matter what level you are.

 

[pendodave]

Good point re. what constitutes bad putting. Watching the best pga players on a sunday on sky gives a slightly false impression of what percentage of putts and from what distance constitutes 'good' putting.

I think that greens at the course you play at can have a significant effect. Those at my own course are OK, but not particularly smooth or quick (especially on sunday pm when I usually play) so getting a good roll can be tricky. I played a round at my dad's course a couple of weeks ago and was staggered by how smooth and even paced they were. Certainly made it easier to putt with confidence.

 

[Rooter]

I am a bad putter and need more practice

having seen you putt, i have no idea what it makes me if you are a "bad" putter! i spend as much time as possible practicing putting, always spend at least 30 mins on the green after a range session. i am an inconsistent putter.. can take 28-30 other days is 36+ easy. I think personally if the an early 12 footer drops i will putt well as confidence is up. constant lip outs or close putts is massively frustrating, it feels like there is an outside force against you for the round!

 

[londonlewis]

Great thread!

I only started to invest time in my putting practice this year (actually I have been investing in chipping and pitching too) and I have to say that improving these areas for me have been the secret to shooting lower scores - no real secret but I always like to improve in the face of all the advertising and marketing out there telling me what I should be doing (i.e. how much I should be investing in nonsense golf products)

My putting style follows David Leadbetter's techniques which was on one of his DVD tutorials - it is on youtube
Pretty easy to follow and works very well.

Was disappointed yesterday though as I felt the greens were not consistend throughout the course. Majority of my putts would make it to the whole but 3 of the greens felt like they played significantly slower. Don't know if anyone else suffers from this problem at their course.

 

[One Planer]

Putting has alays been tyhe corner stone of my game.

I practice most nights (at home) knocking in 3ft, 6ft and 8ft putts.

I don't spend long doing it. Perhaps 30 minutes, but feel it really helps when on the course.

My putting at th minute is pretty good. I'm normally bang on for speed when outside my preferred distance(s) but often don't quite get the line.

This is where my next lot of work will be done, reading the correct line.

 

[tsped83]

I'm making a conscious effort to improve my putting at the moment by visiting the putting green a few times a week for 30 minute sessions, any greater length of time and I can get a little bored and lose concentration. Also keeping the same putter in the bag for more than 24 hours might help. The biggest thing for me when putting is CONFIDENCE. If you don't have it standing over a putt, you won't make it. It's something I lack on the green and I'm sure contributes to me putting like a moron.

 

[bobmac]

what constitutes bad putting

If you cant hole a straight, flat putt from 6ft on a good green, you're a bad putter

 

[mcbroon]

I'm curious why people think they're bad putters! Is it because they don't hole 25 footers or enough 10 footers, or because they don't 2 putt from distance every time?

I'll answer that, as I think I'm a poor putter. It's not just one issue.

I three putt too often i.e. sometimes as often as 5 times in a round. This was caused by poor distance control, either leaving them well short or racing them a long way past.
I don't hole enough from 12 feet and in, whether for par or birdie, and therefore my birdie conversion rate is terrible. This is really because I'm a tentative putter.

There are a couple of reasons for these problems. One is that I have been far too wrapped up in technique and as a result, lost any kind of 'feel'. The other is that I had got to a place where, rather than trying to hole putts, my mindset was always to not miss too badly, so that I would have a chance of holing the 2nd putt. I'm quite aware that this approach is utterly self-defeating but it's a hard mindset to get out of.

At my lowest point, I shot an 83 with 42 putts.

So I've resolved to myself to a) stop thinking technically and b) to be more positive with my putts. In the last couple of rounds, I've putted much better. Still averaging around 34 putts, which is still a bit too high, but the difference in the quality of the putts is marked. I've holed a couple of long ones, which is not like me, and made a couple of good birdies but the most pleasing thing is the number of putts that have hit the hole. With a little bit luck (or a little less pace) I'd have had another 4 or 5 birdies over the 2 rounds.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that in my view, poor putting is almost always a mental issue. In terms of technique, it's correct that it's the one part of the game that should be within everyone's capability to do to a reasonable level. It's just too easy to get wrapped up in negative thoughts and they are completely destructive.

 

[CMAC]

just called the best putter I know and asked how he putts (regularly under 30ppr and plays off 2).

nothing technical he said "I just pick the line, couple of practice putts looking at hole, then focus on the ball, hit it and listen for the drop"
key is very still head even after strike, your brain works out where and how hard the way a tennis player looks at the ball to strike after looking at where its to go.

simple............that's my evening sorted

 

[BrizoH71]

I class myself as a bad putter, and I'd say I average around 36 putts per round.

My close-up putting from 4ft and in is usually ok, but I have a real problem with judging feel and distance, and anything from 30-feet plus is likely to finish around 5-6ft (and sometimes more!) away in any direction from the hole. Its very rare that I get the ball past the hole and when I do, it's in or beyond that 5ft threshold.

When I played as a teenager, i developed Yips while using a conventional grip and so switched to putting cack-handed - I still do this today. Putting cack-handed helped back then, but I'm wondering if this is part of the problem now, and I'm experimenting with going back to a conventional putting grip. Mentally though, I haven't forgotten the bad effect putting conventionally had on my game back then...

I practice around 30 minutes each night on the hall carpet, using a coaster as a target, and trying just to get the ball up to and slightly beyond the target using a mixture of both hands/left only/right only grip and working on a smooth back-and-through stroke.