Struggling getting the ball to the hole

drawboy

drawboy

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Recently I've been afflicted with leaving my first putts short. A lot shorter than I used to some are woefully short and it's starting to cost me big time. I very rarely 3 putt but recently it has started to creep in alarmingly more and more. It's not as simple as hitting it harder, I may have started decelerating into the ball, I'll have to get someone to watch me and see if it is the case. If not has anyone who has gone through this any tips to share?
 
Get a 1p coin, stick it on the carpet and putt to it, give yourself a slap every time that it does not get past the coin.

I would guess its confidence, if not then as you say, it will be easy for someone to see if you are decelerating though the putt, its always much more obvious to onlookers then it will be to you.
 
Use the 1/3 2/3 rule, take the club back 1/3 go through 2/3 should ensure that you are accelerating the putter through the ball for putts rather than taking it back too far and then decelerating through the ball
 
I have a drill I use for putting.

I have a cardboard circle, 3/4 size of a normal hole that I place on the floor, then about a foot to 18" behind it I place a 5p coin.

The idea of my drill is to get the ball past the hole (cardboard circle), but not past the 5p coin ensuring I'm giving the ball a chance to drop (Getting it to the hole), but not knocking it so far past I bring in the 3 putt.

Obviously the longer the putt, the further back the 5p goes to a max of about 2.1/2 feet.
 
drawboy said:
Bob it's mainly over 15 feet, I'm leaving them 4/6 feet short which puts massive pressure on my par putt.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me as if it's a backswing problem.
It's too short.
You're ok on the shorter putts because the length of your comfortable b/swing suits the shorter putts, but you dont swing any further back when the putts get longer.
Try making the b/swing a little longer for the longer putts and swing through the same as normal. That will help you putt the ball further.
It may also help if you widen your stance a little for the longer putts.
 
drawboy said:
Recently I've been afflicted with leaving my first putts short. A lot shorter than I used to some are woefully short and it's starting to cost me big time. I very rarely 3 putt but recently it has started to creep in alarmingly more and more. It's not as simple as hitting it harder, I may have started decelerating into the ball, I'll have to get someone to watch me and see if it is the case. If not has anyone who has gone through this any tips to share?
Click to expand...

Get rid of that Odyssey putter, was having the same problems leaving puts short, changed to a TM putter that doesnt have that stupid hot face, now I'm a putting GOD, sort off

Oh and I've sort been studying people who use Odyssey putters, when I play in club comps and believe me most of them leave a lot of puts short
 
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I had this problem. This probably goes against all conventions but I developed a very slight pause at the end of my backswing, this helped me accelerate through the ball. I'm not saying this is textbook but certainly helped me become more positive with the Putting stroke.
 
It's not the putter Harvey, it's a recent thing,I've putted well with it and still do on shorter putts, I think Bob may have it, my backswing may have gotten too comfortable, I'll lengthen it when needed.
 
I am continually plagued by the same problem. There's loads of long putts at my course, so usually face 3 or 4 a round and i could not get it up to the hole from over 20 feet. I'm confident from anywhere under this that i'll hole. By far the biggest tip i could give is to go out one night and putt everything whilst looking at the hole. I guarantee you will not leave a putt short doing this. It means you are putting purely on feel. When i'm hitting a putt from anywhere now i stare at the hole for a good while, then start my putt almost before i've looked at the ball again. Made a massive difference to my game
 
granters said:
I am continually plagued by the same problem. There's loads of long putts at my course, so usually face 3 or 4 a round and i could not get it up to the hole from over 20 feet. I'm confident from anywhere under this that i'll hole. By far the biggest tip i could give is to go out one night and putt everything whilst looking at the hole. I guarantee you will not leave a putt short doing this. It means you are putting purely on feel. When i'm hitting a putt from anywhere now i stare at the hole for a good while, then start my putt almost before i've looked at the ball again. Made a massive difference to my game
Click to expand...

Similar to this but not the same.

In the 3 or 4 times I look at the hole while I'm setting up/addressing the ball etc, I try to build a mental image of the hole and the length to it. When I'm putting well (it's a concentration thing I think) it's as if I can still see the hole when I'm looking down at the ball.
 
I've played with a good few players recently who seem to become afflicted with the Bon Jovi syndrome (ohhh, we're half way there..)

What I notice is that they are have long and slow strokes which might be just great on fast summer greens, but given the current conditions, rather too passive for my liking.

Many moons ago, I did a couple of drills to improve acceleration through the stroke. 1. was holing short putts (2 or 3 footers) with no backswing and the other 2. hitting long putts with a short backswing but lots of forward swing towards the hole. I can't really explain it fully, but I'm sure you get the drift. If you hit a few on the green before you play with a smaller swing that requires more ooomph (that's a technical terms, of course!) through the ball, I reckon you can fix yourself pretty quick. It's easy to get into bad habits with putting.
 
I have an odyssey putter with an insert which is ideal for really quick greens but is woeful at this time of year. I like the look of the new XG metal faced versions or the Protype which have milled faces. It does sound as though the tempo and the length of swing are culprable. Its all about confidence when you putt and once you start leaving them short regularly and have 4-8 footers left it drains that confidence so quickly. I'm sure if you were a half decent putter before it'll come back. Have you thought of a putting lesson to make sure all your basics are in place and it isn't set up or stroke related
 
I find these two things help:

1) Make putter swings back and through using reference points for the swing length:

Inside foot to inside foot.
Outside foot to outside foot.
Level with knee to level with knee.
Thigh to thigh.

2) Make a mental practice of rolling a ball to the hole from your hand before making the putt.

OK, greens will differ depending on their condition for the day but you should be able to check the way the ball will respond on the practice green.
 
You might be hitting putts out of the centre of the putter, but not out of the centre of the face. You might be 'thinning' your putts! Ensure that you keep the putttter head lower on the backswing to avoid the 'thin' puttt.:thup:
 
Have had this problem for ages and now cured, thank Heavens!

I, for some reason, moved my hands towards the hole ahead of the club face and this stole some of the club head speed.

If you practise putt dropping your right hand down from your left and concentrate on keeping the left hand still whilst hitting the ball using the right hand only and using the same amount of backswing you normally use, I feel you will be amazed at the additional length the ball will roll. If this does happen you can then move your hands back and concentrate on making the club head do the work and forget the rest.

I still have to be aware of this BUT I am certain that the success of the belly putter, for some, is related to this inherent problem.
 
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