Putting !!!

[Slicedwight]

Went for 18 holes this morning, got there nice and early and spent ten mins on the practise green sinking putt after putt.
Ended up shooting 90 (its only a par 62 course btw) but 44 of this was putting, pretty much 3 putted on every green other than a few where i was able to chip onto the green very close to the pin.
My question is at my level (hcap 27) what amount of putts should i expect to go round in, my most recent rounds have all been around 38 or 39 today was just terrible, but what should i be aiming for? i cant help but feel if i could go round in say 33 or 34 putts todays round would have been more like an 80 on a par 62 which obviously would be great, but is that a realsitic target?
Doesnt seem to matter how much time i spend on the practise green (as its pretty much flat) i cant seem to replicate that on the course. As an example of how bad it was today on one par 4 i was on the left hand edge of the green in 2, first putt went across the green and stopped at the fringe on the other side a clear 12 ft from the hole, 2nd putt went about 6ft of that 12 ft, 3rd put to within 2 foot and finally sank the putt to take a 6 on a hole i should really of been taking par !! Everyone says practise and like i say ive tried and can do it on the practise greens just not on the course.
Any tips and what should i realistically expect to be putting on 18 holes ?

 

[Monty_Brown]

Sliced,

Putting is the one area where you can narrow the gap between yourself and low handicappers without masses of work on technique. If you can get the distance right, you'll soon be 2-putting most greens. How many putts do you see missed because a player misread the break by 8ft? Not many. But how many 3-putts are caused by leaving the first one 8ft short? Plenty.

Best tip I have had is to grip the putter as lightly as you can without actually dropping the club. Contrary to the commonly spread notion that putting is about keeping eveything locked into shape, there IS a place for some release of the club head in the stroke, and soft hands help this and promote good feel. People tend to get everything too tight, which makes developing feel (esp. for distance) much more difficult.

 

[Crawfy]

No technical advice here, but my playing partners started a game this year to improve our attcking of the pin. It's pretty simple and effective
and it applies to any shot within 50yds

For every shot that you leave short of the hole, you owe your partner a nominal amount (50p
You actually only pay out about a £1 per round as you cancel each other out.

Its amazing however how much more you go for the pin/hole on wedge shots & expecially putting. This year the amount of putts I have left short has dropped dramatically. And I have not pushed that many too far past the hole.

You will never get the ball in the hole if it does not have the pace to get there

Might sound crazy to some, but has worked for me...

 

[jimjoachim]

another tip is to hit the practice green and ignore the holes. try putting towards the fringe trying to stop the ball right at the edge.

3 putts are generally caused by poor weight rater than line.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Bob will be along any second...

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Get a lesson. Make sure your fundamentals like aim and alignment are correct and that you aren't breaking the wrists down. Once you've got the building blocks in place Bob will sell you a great aid to use to get the stroke tamed

 

[bobmac]

Sorry, been out teaching.
Can I help?