Putting lessons - Are they worth it?

[One Planer]

As per thread title really.

I've booked in for one tonight and I'm curious to hear you views on them.

Has anybody had one and found it beneficial, or on the flip side, found it a waste of time?

I'm hitting my woods and irons pretty well at the minute so don't really want to tinker here to much, apart from what I'm already working on.

My winter work this year is based around putting and the transition in my golf swing when starting back down, so it's not like putting isn't on my radar for improvement.

When it comes to putting, I'm not too bad. My issue follows from my iron/wedge play. I'll often hit the ball to distance where making the putt is a 'possaiblity' but I never, or rarely seem at capitalise on a good approach. Where birdie is a real possibility, I'll, more often than not, walk off with par. Similarly when I miss a green, I'll get a chip inside 6ft, giving me a chance of saving par, but often fail and walk off with bogie :angry:

On the plus side (It's not all doom and gloom :smirk: ), I haven't 3-putted in my last 2 rounds as I generally lag the ball pretty close from distance.

Any help, as always, appreciated :thup:

 

[Rooter]

yes yes yes and yes! I obviously need to put into practice what i got taught, but fundamentally my putting has improved massively already since my lesson. i think my last round i had about 32 putts and only 1 3 stab on a green that was impossible to read.

Need to work hard through winter on what i have learned, but i am expecting my handicap to come down from 3 things next season.

1. Putting (work on what DH showed me)
2. Wedge play (after reading the Pelz book, i am going to put his clock system into play)
3. Keeping the ball in play (various, but in brief i have worked hard on reducing my backswing, in turn improving my hip turn and weight shift)

 

[Region3]

It's a terrible idea.

All that will happen is you will knock a couple of shots off your scores, the handicap comes down, then you have to give even more shots away in competitions.

 

[One Planer]

yes yes yes and yes! I obviously need to put into practice what i got taught, but fundamentally my putting has improved massively already since my lesson. i think my last round i had about 32 putts and only 1 3 stab on a green that was impossible to read.

Need to work hard through winter on what i have learned, but i am expecting my handicap to come down from 3 things next season.

1. Putting (work on what DH showed me)
2. Wedge play (after reading the Pelz book, i am going to put his clock system into play)
3. Keeping the ball in play (various, but in brief i have worked hard on reducing my backswing, in turn improving my hip turn and weight shift)

Well that's a positive then

As I say my putting is't bad per say. I just dont convert as many birdie chances as I'd like, when they are a real possibility.

I'm not sure whether it's alignment, something in my set-up, stroke, or A.N.Other issue casuing it, but I'm keen to find out and correct it.

At a works social during the summer, two of our four ball commented on my game saying the only thing holding me back is my putting, and I believe they're right. I'm generally low 30's myself per round and broke 30 putts quite regular last year so I know it's in there, it's just a case of coaxing it out.

 

[One Planer]

It's a terrible idea.

All that will happen is you will knock a couple of shots off your scores, the handicap comes down, then you have to give even more shots away in competitions.

:rofl:

A point very well made Gary :clap:

 

[Rooter]

Well that's a positive then

As I say my putting is't bad per say. I just dont convert as many birdie chances as I'd like, when they are a real possibility.

I'm not sure whether it's alignment, something in my set-up, stroke, or A.N.Other issue casuing it, but I'm keen to find out and correct it.

At a works social during the summer, two of our four ball commented on my game saying the only thing holding me back is my putting, and I believe they're right. I'm generally low 30's myself per round and broke 30 putts quite regular last year so I know it's in there, it's just a case of coaxing it out.

I wouldn't have said my putting was "bad" either before, but now i am confident of holing putts that would have been 50/50 before. a few key things in my opinion (well DH's!)

Aim correctly (sounds obvious, but my stance was bad and i was adjusting my stroke due to this, so the drop the ball from your eye trick)
repeatable smooth stroke that is straight back and straight through
keep body movement minimal, i was looking up too early lifting my left shoulder

 

[StrangelyBrown]

I've had a couple, the first of which showed that my grip was causing a lot of my distance control problems. The second confirmed that what I'm doing in my putting stroke is correct, and all I need to do is to trust it.

I think they're worth their weight in gold :thup:

 

[chrisd]

I didn't have a lesson as such, but was struggling with putts a while back and our asst pro watched. He said that my grip which was essentially my regular irons grip made the right hand too strong and that, looking from side view the grip caused my arms to become not parallel to the putting line. He suggested that I grip with my right palm on the back of the grip. This bought my right elbow more into my body and squared everything up, my right hand is now more passive and I stroke the ball straighter and with a better roll. It did take a while to adjust to the pace required and I do have to increase the pace a little more but soon got used to the change, the upshot is that I miss far fewer short putts and make a few more longer ones.

 

[jpjeffery]

No doubt that a lesson spent on putting with my regular golf pro - plus a comment he made during a playing round - made a big positive difference to me.

 

[Snelly]

I would say it depends how good or bad you are. If you are hopeless, a lesson would help. if you can putt okay then the benefit would probably be negligible. You can learn everything you need to be an acceptably decent putter in 10 minutes online or from a good instruction book. After that, it is practice makes perfect. Giving a pro a few quid to watch you putt won't change the learning curve all that much in my view.

 

[One Planer]

I would say it depends how good or bad you are. If you are hopeless, a lesson would help. if you can putt okay then the benefit would probably be negligible. You can learn everything you need to be an acceptably decent putter in 10 minutes online or from a good instruction book. After that, it is practice makes perfect. Giving a pro a few quid to watch you putt won't change the learning curve all that much in my view.

It's not just a case of watching me putt though Snelly.

If he sees something fundimentally wrong (Grip, alignment, posture) that he could advise a change to 'improve' my putting, is that not worth it?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm a fan (quelle surprise). I've got a voucher to go to a SAM putting lab and have the full hour review with their all singing all dancing technology. Do I think it will help. Not hugely but interested to see what the stroke is doing just for the novelty. I'd rather have a lesson and hoping I cna get some tips and drills as the session progresses

 

[Snelly]

It's not just a case of watching me putt though Snelly.

If he sees something fundimentally wrong (Grip, alignment, posture) that he could advise a change to 'improve' my putting, is that not worth it?

Possibly but as I say, it depends what is wrong and how bad the starting point is.

Let's be honest, putting is not rocket science. You are moving a flat blade through about 18 inches of movement and trying to push the ball towards the hole. There isn't that much that you can tweak I don't think. Short backswing (low and slow), watch the putter hit the ball, longer follow through on the intended line, listen for it dropping. Job done. Repeat x 1000 and you will be a half decent putter.

10 minutes practice on your carpet at home every night for 2 weeks on 10 footers would be much more productive than a putting lesson but that is just my opinion.

I have had mates who have had putting lessons, video putting lessons, custom fitted putters and sensors on their bodies and clubs to measure everything to the nth degree. All of them return from these sessions and evangelise about the new tip, new club, new stroke etc they have that has changed everything and that their putting woes are now consigned to history. Fast forward six weeks and guess what, none of them can putt for toffee.

I also know people who have never had a putting lesson, never change their putter, don't have the height of it altered or anything else. They are just really, really good putters and the thing they have in common in my view is that they all believe that they are going to knock their putts in, all the time. Putting is a mental thing predominantly I think.


But I don't profess to be an expert. Just my opinion and given that I have never had a putting lesson (apart from messing around with electronic gizmos, with Dave Hicks) then it is an opinion with limited validity I would say.

 

[tsped83]

Having had a putting lesson maybe two months or so ago, I would say a resounding yes. However, I was really struggling with my putting beforehand. The main changes were to grip and stance, which like Snelly says, you could probably get from YouTube or somewhere. Regardless, I enjoyed the session and felt that my putting noticeably improved as a result.

All of the SAM stuff, not sure how necessary that is for folks at our level. It showed me a lot of stats that I was kind of already aware of but not much else. If you're a numbers junkie then maybe the SAM stuff would be for you, but I think a bit of overkill really.

Putting has improved for me of late, but my compulsive/impulsive obsession with buying putters continues. The latest incarnation arrived just this morning.

As Foxholer says, it's not the arrow, it's the Indian.

 

[Canfordhacker]

Don't see what you can lose. Half an hour, let you know what you are doing wrong and how to change it, or confirm that you are doing it right and reinforce your confidence.

I had one. I hit three putts and he immediately said "ah, we can fix that". Simple grip change to stop me being wristy, and improved my consistency enormously.

Go for it.

 

[woody69]

Possibly but as I say, it depends what is wrong and how bad the starting point is.

Let's be honest, putting is not rocket science. You are moving a flat blade through about 18 inches of movement and trying to push the ball towards the hole. There isn't that much that you can tweak I don't think. Short backswing (low and slow), watch the putter hit the ball, longer follow through on the intended line, listen for it dropping. Job done. Repeat x 1000 and you will be a half decent putter.

10 minutes practice on your carpet at home every night for 2 weeks on 10 footers would be much more productive than a putting lesson but that is just my opinion.

I have had mates who have had putting lessons, video putting lessons, custom fitted putters and sensors on their bodies and clubs to measure everything to the nth degree. All of them return from these sessions and evangelise about the new tip, new club, new stroke etc they have that has changed everything and that their putting woes are now consigned to history. Fast forward six weeks and guess what, none of them can putt for toffee.

I also know people who have never had a putting lesson, never change their putter, don't have the height of it altered or anything else. They are just really, really good putters and the thing they have in common in my view is that they all believe that they are going to knock their putts in, all the time. Putting is a mental thing predominantly I think.


But I don't profess to be an expert. Just my opinion and given that I have never had a putting lesson (apart from messing around with electronic gizmos, with Dave Hicks) then it is an opinion with limited validity I would say.

I'm kind of with you on this, although I think a lesson is worthwhile to point out any fundamentals, or ideas to work out where you struggle. I had a lesson to help with reading greens etc and it was a big help, but just taking 15 mins every night for a week putting along the carpet to work on pace and consistency also helped me greatly.

 

[One Planer]

Possibly but as I say, it depends what is wrong and how bad the starting point is.

Let's be honest, putting is not rocket science. You are moving a flat blade through about 18 inches of movement and trying to push the ball towards the hole. There isn't that much that you can tweak I don't think. Short backswing (low and slow), watch the putter hit the ball, longer follow through on the intended line, listen for it dropping. Job done. Repeat x 1000 and you will be a half decent putter.

10 minutes practice on your carpet at home every night for 2 weeks on 10 footers would be much more productive than a putting lesson but that is just my opinion.

I have had mates who have had putting lessons, video putting lessons, custom fitted putters and sensors on their bodies and clubs to measure everything to the nth degree. All of them return from these sessions and evangelise about the new tip, new club, new stroke etc they have that has changed everything and that their putting woes are now consigned to history. Fast forward six weeks and guess what, none of them can putt for toffee.

I also know people who have never had a putting lesson, never change their putter, don't have the height of it altered or anything else. They are just really, really good putters and the thing they have in common in my view is that they all believe that they are going to knock their putts in, all the time. Putting is a mental thing predominantly I think.


But I don't profess to be an expert. Just my opinion and given that I have never had a putting lesson (apart from messing around with electronic gizmos, with Dave Hicks) then it is an opinion with limited validity I would say.

I absolutely agree with pretty much all of that Snelly.

As I've said further up the thread, I'm not a bad putter, but there is something in my stroke that is stopping me holing out more often or when I feel a putt can be made.

It may be something simple like I'm not lining up correctly or it may be something more in-depth that stopping me. Until I get it looked at, I'll never know.

Doing as you say above, RE practice, is 100% right, and I agree, but I want to be practicing the right thing. If I'm practicing the wrong things and/or curing a current fault with another, would I not be, potentially, making myself worse?

The other side of the argument is I trust my pro. He's, in the main, responsible for helping me get as low as I currently have, with the potential to go lower. If he can have that kind of impact on my golf swing, I'm sure he can help with my putting too.

A I say, I don't disagree with you, it's just something I feel will benefit me :thup: .

 

[Snelly]

I absolutely agree with pretty much all of that Snelly.

As I've said further up the thread, I'm not a bad putter, but there is something in my stroke that is stopping me holing out more often or when I feel a putt can be made.

It may be something simple like I'm not lining up correctly or it may be something more in-depth that stopping me. Until I get it looked at, I'll never know.

Doing as you say above, RE practice, is 100% right, and I agree, but I want to be practicing the right thing. If I'm practicing the wrong things and/or curing a current fault with another, would I not be, potentially, making myself worse?

The other side of the argument is I trust my pro. He's, in the main, responsible for helping me get as low as I currently have, with the potential to go lower. If he can have that kind of impact on my golf swing, I'm sure he can help with my putting too.

A I say, I don't disagree with you, it's just something I feel will benefit me :thup: .

:thup:

 

[Rooter]

10 minutes practice on your carpet at home every night for 2 weeks on 10 footers would be much more productive than a putting lesson but that is just my opinion.

Snelly, i fully agree with you apart from the above quote, while kind of true IMHO, but you practice say 1000 putts with a bad stroke, grip, whatever, while you may see some improvement, i would say it would be marginal. for the sake of £30 surely the assurance that you have the correct starting point for your practice would be money well spent?

 

[Robobum]

I actually think that a good putting lesson is the most beneficial lesson for all h'cap ranges.

However I think a more technical lesson is the only type that is worthwhile as you become better. A pro having a look at you will help no end with a rubbish set up of grip etc. and that will helps higher h'cap start shaving a number of strokes off their score.

For lower guys, something like the SAM lab that Homer mentions would be better. It is more likely that you are a decent(ish) putter at that level and a significant improvement would be (maybe) 1 putt per round.

That improvement may only come by knowing stuff that a pro can't see with the naked eye. You may have a very good repeatable stroke, but leave the face a degree or two open. So a perfect read and lo Ely stroke may still cause a miss once you get to 6feet (distance may not be correct, haven't done the equation)

Money well spent for all h'caps if lower scores is what you want