Putting lessons

[G1z1]

I think I need some putting lessons, over the last two rounds I’ve had 19 attempts for birdie and only got 1. A fair few were long puts that I was just happy to two put but even still 1 birdie out of 19 is bad. Also just noticed putting is the only part of my game ive never actually had a lesson on.
People who get lessons on putting do you go to a putting specialist for lessons or just the pro you work on everything with ? Reason I ask is I had a quick look on YouTube and noticed he was a putting only coach.

 

[sweaty sock]

Depending on distance from hole a 5% make rate is probably ok?

35 feet average would be a 5% for the pga tour..

 

[Orikoru]

Best thing I ever did. I don't generally have lessons because I know I won't go and work on anything, but a putting lesson seemed like a good call as it's easier to fix. I had been clocking up 37-38 putts a round and holing nothing so I did a half hour lesson before Christmas with one of our pros at the club. He watched me hit a few putts, changed 4 or 5 really small things but it really did the job. Straight away I went down to 32-34 putts on average and actually hole a few putts now which is nice.

If you think about, putting is something that has a direct and quantifiable impact on your score, which makes it a no-brainer to sort it out. Plus I feel like there are fewer limitations. i.e. plenty of us will never hit a 280 yard drive due to physical limitations, but pretty much anybody could become an expert putter with enough practise and the right technique.

 

[Backache]

Depending on distance from hole a 5% make rate is probably ok?

35 feet average would be a 5% for the pga tour..

Need to be a bit careful when talking averages and make rates.
The average make rate from 30-35 feet is around 5% . But if the average distance was 35 feet a lot would be significantly inside 35 feet and the make rate would be higher.

 

[Bamberdele21]

Yes after now realising I struggle with anything within 4ft would suggest my whole time of playing golf taking gimmes has hindered my game immensely.

I thought it was pretty normal when someone said ‘yeah take that’ not realising the impact it was having.

 

[Orikoru]

Yes after now realising I struggle with anything within 4ft would suggest my whole time of playing golf taking gimmes has hindered my game immensely.

I thought it was pretty normal when someone said ‘yeah take that’ not realising the impact it was having.

Me and my mate came up with a nice little rule for our friendly knocks on the weekend - no gimmes if you leave it short. Encouraged us to actually get it up to the hole more often.

 

[sweaty sock]

Need to be a bit careful when talking averages and make rates.
The average make rate from 30-35 feet is around 5% . But if the average distance was 35 feet a lot would be significantly inside 35 feet and the make rate would be higher.

19 isnt really a big enough sample size to make any assertions, point i was making was people hole a lot less than you might expect.

 

[sweaty sock]

My advice would be to review your putting, a quick look at the best putters in the world show loads of techniques, precious few actually taught. Try and break down your problem to either

Bad start line - putter fitting
Bad read - Aimpoint
Poor distance control - strike location / practice

Very few people actually have problems with start line...

 

[Deleted member 29109]

I think I need some putting lessons, over the last two rounds I’ve had 19 attempts for birdie and only got 1. A fair few were long puts that I was just happy to two put but even still 1 birdie out of 19 is bad. Also just noticed putting is the only part of my game ive never actually had a lesson on.
People who get lessons on putting do you go to a putting specialist for lessons or just the pro you work on everything with ? Reason I ask is I had a quick look on YouTube and noticed he was a putting only coach.

I had a putting lesson last year which resulted in a small change to my grip and working on alignment.

The lesson was more interesting than that. Firstly I was asked to estimate some distsces. And was predictably miles off. Then how much break there was. And was miles off.

So we practiced reading the green. Then talked about managing expectations. that putting is a lot about luck and mostly managing pace.
I now mostly practice from 6ft, 20ft and 40ft.

I’ve done some further reading on putting, which confirms in my mind that there is a lot of nonsense talked about putting and there is an enormous amount of randomness to it.

 

[Bamberdele21]

Me and my mate came up with a nice little rule for our friendly knocks on the weekend - no gimmes if you leave it short. Encouraged us to actually get it up to the hole more often.

Will have a word with them. As soon as someone says ‘yeah take that’ you feel inclined to say the same to said person on a different hole.

My thought process was I didn’t need work on it because a 4ft / 6ft putt is ‘easy’

 

[Deleted member 29109]

How long were the putts that didn’t go in? These are the PGA tour putting stats for context.

 

[Neilds]

I think you need to assess more than just your putting. When you are putting for birdie, are you just counting those putts when you are on the green, irrespective of distance? Therefore making unrealistic 'hopes' that one might drop. It may be that your short game is at fault - improve this and you will be closer to the hole making the birdie putts more of a realistic prospect.
Also, when (if) you practise putting, either separately or before a round, if your birdie misses are 20+ feet from the hole, then these are the putts you need to focus on, not the 3-6 footers.

 

[Orikoru]

Will have a word with them. As soon as someone says ‘yeah take that’ you feel inclined to say the same to said person on a different hole.

My thought process was I didn’t need work on it because a 4ft / 6ft putt is ‘easy’

If someone gives you a putt, you can still say thanks very much but still have a quick go at it anyway for practise. (Just don't take forever over it, ha.) Or even say you don't want any gimmes outside of a foot just to put a bit of pressure on yourself to hole them.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Yes after now realising I struggle with anything within 4ft would suggest my whole time of playing golf taking gimmes has hindered my game immensely.

I thought it was pretty normal when someone said ‘yeah take that’ not realising the impact it was having.

When I play with my regular pp outside of comps he never takes a gimme. He can miss from 6" in so he forces himself to putt out. It is a good discipline until your putting becomes good enough not to need to.

 

[pendodave]

I had a putting lesson last year which resulted in a small change to my grip and working on alignment.

The lesson was more interesting than that. Firstly I was asked to estimate some distsces. And was predictably miles off. Then how much break there was. And was miles off.

So we practiced reading the green. Then talked about managing expectations. that putting is a lot about luck and mostly managing pace.
I now mostly practice from 6ft, 20ft and 40ft.

I’ve done some further reading on putting, which confirms in my mind that there is a lot of nonsense talked about putting and there is an enormous amount of randomness to it.

All good points.
Distance is so important, yet most people would struggle to estimate how long a decent length putt is.
I make it a habit to pace out my putts (sounds terrible, but I just make sure I walk past the flag on my way to my ball and count the paces).
Obviously only works if you spend a bit of time on the putting green practicing putting to specific distances every now and then.
Tempo is the key to repeatable distances for me.
I heard Mac Homa talking about Spieth the other day; he said that the reason he was so "lucky" with his long putts was that literally every one he hit finished 18 inches past the hole. Quite a few go in if you do that.

 

[bobmac]

Is the gap between your feet the same width for all putts?

 

[Backache]

19 isnt really a big enough sample size to make any assertions, point i was making was people hole a lot less than you might expect.

I agree that people often hole less than people think.
19 may or may not be big enough to draw some conclusions depending on length. But the actual point I was making is that although the make rate from 30 feet is around 5% for PGA pros. This does not mean if the average length of putt is 30 feet the make rate would be around 5%.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Our roll ups don't have gimmes as we're playing for a few quid and there is no equality within each group how long a gimme should be so just hole everything. Also makes you better when you have to hole out in medal play. There is also your own expectation on how far you should be making regularly and I imagine it doesn't bear too much resemblance to what your "expected" to make subject to your handicap

 

[Region3]

Absolutely take a putting lesson. The worst that happens is he says “yep you’re all good, nothing to change” and you’d at least know your technique is good.

Im surprised no one else has mentioned….. 19 GIR in 2 rounds is hugely impressive for anyone not low single figures, congrats on that part of your game ?

 

[bobmac]

Absolutely take a putting lesson. The worst that happens is he says “yep you’re all good, nothing to change” and you’d at least know your technique is good.

Im surprised no one else has mentioned….. 19 GIR in 2 rounds is hugely impressive for anyone not low single figures, congrats on that part of your game ?

I remember a guy who used to aim left and 'slice' his putts, I wonder if he's still doing it.