Expert Putting

I found this real diamond of a book on the science of putting. You can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited but it is definitely worthwhile buying. It covers all aspects of putting including mechanics, green reading and more and much what is written about the thought processes is valid for the full swing as well. I have read many books on putting but this clearly exceeded my expectations.

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Putting-science-behind-stroke-ebook/dp/B00DYSYH6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493554404&sr=8-1&keywords=expert+putting

I found this real diamond of a book on the science of putting. You can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited but it is definitely worthwhile buying. It covers all aspects of putting including mechanics, green reading and more and much what is written about the thought processes is valid for the full swing as well. I have read many books on putting but this clearly exceeded my expectations.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Putting-science-behind-stroke-ebook/dp/B00DYSYH6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493554404&sr=8-1&keywords=expert+putting

I like this book so far

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

 

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

 

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

I can't really offer much advice because as I say I don't know how I do what I do. I don't even have a repeatable swing (and to be fair distance control is my bugbear). But I will say that lag putting is not for me. My idea of the perfect putt is one that just trickles into the hole. This means I sometimes come up short but what I've noticed is that whilst I come up short (a foot or less typically) if I try to lag putt I often end up a yard more beyond the hole. Coming up a couple of inches short is damn' annoying - and a short putt never stands a chance - but it means that most of the time (gotta be at least 8 times out of 10 misses) my second putt is from within half a yard.

When I putt of course I want it into the hole but for my first putt I'm really just aiming to get it close. I think I read an article once that talked about a 'dustbin lid' sized area around the hole. Get it in there on your first putt and you should have a guaranteed two putt at the worst. A little luck and you one putt.

I'm also not good (or it doesn't feel like it) at reading greens. But then stopping a ball within a dustbin lid area around the hole is not all that difficult. And sometimes they do go in on the first attempt.

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

 

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

 

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

I'm a surprisingly good putter (at least when I concentrate - I sometimes get lazy). I say surprising because I don't really know how I do it. I usually two putt, often one putt and only rarely take three or worse. According to Game Golf my average is 1.68. It's the one category where GG says I gain shots.

 

I can't really offer much advice because as I say I don't know how I do what I do. I don't even have a repeatable swing (and to be fair distance control is my bugbear). But I will say that lag putting is not for me. My idea of the perfect putt is one that just trickles into the hole. This means I sometimes come up short but what I've noticed is that whilst I come up short (a foot or less typically) if I try to lag putt I often end up a yard more beyond the hole. Coming up a couple of inches short is damn' annoying - and a short putt never stands a chance - but it means that most of the time (gotta be at least 8 times out of 10 misses) my second putt is from within half a yard.

 

When I putt of course I want it into the hole but for my first putt I'm really just aiming to get it close. I think I read an article once that talked about a 'dustbin lid' sized area around the hole. Get it in there on your first putt and you should have a guaranteed two putt at the worst. A little luck and you one putt.

 

I'm also not good (or it doesn't feel like it) at reading greens. But then stopping a ball within a dustbin lid area around the hole is not all that difficult. And sometimes they do go in on the first attempt.

I read "Your 15th Club" by Bob Rotella a couple months ago. I already had great confidence in my putting from a ton of winter practice.

He relays a quote from a pro who basically said, why even hit the putt if you're aren't trying to make it? I agree with some long putts there is a proper place for a risk-averse strategy of shying away from a big miss (ie, big drop off past the hole). But by and large, treating every putt the same has kept me mentally engaged in the shot and helped me expand the range at which I have confidence that I can make the putt.

Meaning, if I have a 30 footer and just try to get it close, I'm not really aiming at anything. I have no precision. I feel like this creeps into my 25 footers and even 20 footers if I don't take the approach that I can hole every shot.

Bob is all about letting your body react on the course. You've trained your body to perform proper putting mechanics, so now that you're on the course, mechanics are the last thing to think about. Just step up, let your subconscious dive deep into all the memories, experiences, feelings, images you've had from the thousands of putts you've hit, and let your body choose how to roll the ball.

Sure, it's good to visualize a line or an aim point. But I'm wholeheartedly against worrying about the shape of your stroke, degrees open or closed of the face, or whether or not the line you drew on the ball is EXACTLY aiming at your target (guess what, it isn't).

If what you're doing works, don't mess it up because of some internet stranger. But if you believe you can make every putt, and you let your body just roll the ball on some grass, you're going to expand the range at which you feel confident. You'll be making more than your fair share of 15, 20, 25 footers. And your confidence will be sky high. And you will have less pressure making those 3 or 4 footers, because you won't be crushed or embarrassed if you miss- because it happens.

You can make every putt. And you know you can. Expect it to happen, but don't be crushed when it doesn't.

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

 

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

 

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

What is his logic on the bold items? As someone who usually disregards conventional wisdom when it comes to golf, I am interesting in learning.

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

 

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

 

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

 

What is his logic on the bold items? As someone who usually disregards conventional wisdom when it comes to golf, I am interesting in learning.

When the ball is traveling at a slower speed when approaching the hole, it easier for gravity to play it parts and let the ball fall into the hole instead of it using the lip to slow it down, bring a lipout into affect. Normally players who lip out/lip in alot struggle with speed control on their putts.

By letting the ball dye into the hole, you are basically making the cup bigger

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

 

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

 

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

 

What is his logic on the bold items? As someone who usually disregards conventional wisdom when it comes to golf, I am interesting in learning.

 

When the ball is traveling at a slower speed when approaching the hole, it easier for gravity to play it parts and let the ball fall into the hole instead of it using the lip to slow it down, bring a lipout into affect. Normally players who lip out/lip in alot struggle with speed control on their putts.

 

By letting the ball dye into the hole, you are basically making the cup bigger

Agree it's all about that optimum speed to make the hole larger. "Effective cup size" and "capture rate" are terms I hear a lot of. Agree it's the speed that matters.

I've read Aimpoint and Pelz say 9 inches and 17 inches past the hole, respectively. Just curious how 12 inches was determined.

If I hit a downhill putt and get it to stop 12 inches past the hole, it would surely have been traveling slower when it reached the hole than if I hit the same distance putt uphill to 12 inches past. So if it's the speed that matters, why does the rule of thumb deal with a constant distance? In these examples, following the rule of thumb would result in two very different speeds for the ball. How could both be ideal?

I know we golfers like general rules of thumb, but I'm not sure how well they hold up.

Just starting reading this as my putting is a disaster and without a doubt the weakest part of my game so I'll listen to ANYONE about it... So far I've read lots of advice in here that runs counter to everything I've ever heard about putting.

 

- Aiming 1 foot past the hole is too far.

- "The best attacking putt arrives at the hole with minimum speed."

- Putting shorter putts aggressively through the break is a bad idea.

- "Downhill putts are easier than uphill putts."

 

I would be interested in the opinions of some of the better putters on WRX about these nuggets.

 

What is his logic on the bold items? As someone who usually disregards conventional wisdom when it comes to golf, I am interesting in learning.

 

When the ball is traveling at a slower speed when approaching the hole, it easier for gravity to play it parts and let the ball fall into the hole instead of it using the lip to slow it down, bring a lipout into affect. Normally players who lip out/lip in alot struggle with speed control on their putts.

 

By letting the ball dye into the hole, you are basically making the cup bigger

 

Agree it's all about that optimum speed to make the hole larger. "Effective cup size" and "capture rate" are terms I hear a lot of. Agree it's the speed that matters.

 

I've read Aimpoint and Pelz say 9 inches and 17 inches past the hole, respectively. Just curious how 12 inches was determined.

 

If I hit a downhill putt and get it to stop 12 inches past the hole, it would surely have been traveling slower when it reached the hole than if I hit the same distance putt uphill to 12 inches past. So if it's the speed that matters, why does the rule of thumb deal with a constant distance? In these examples, following the rule of thumb would result in two very different speeds for the ball. How could both be ideal?

 

I know we golfers like general rules of thumb, but I'm not sure how well they hold up.

After re-reading my post, I realize I may have been overthinking things. I read some more details of the Aimpoint calculations and I believe they are assuming a level area around the cup.

One thing I do that surprises some people is look at the line from the side. For some reason I can detect a left/right break better when it's an up/down slope. I was thinking about it tonight. Several times I couldn't see any break from behind the ball but I could clearly see the slope when looking from the side. The trick then is remembering what I've seen when I align the ball.

As for the 'always try and hole it' - well yeah, of course. I'm not saying that you should only aim to stop the ball within a foot of the hole. I'm just saying that my primary concern is to get that close. On long putts in particular speed is the most important thing so I pay more attention to that than getting the perfect line. I rarely feel nervous about any putting distance because I know that I'll almost certainly get it in on the next putt if the first doesn't go in.

I get annoyed by close misses on my first putt though because I feel they ought to go in. Most people find it amusing. Last Thursday I went round the front nine at my club in the evening with two other players. I one putted almost every hole and two putted just two of them (wish I could be that good all the time). They were laughing on the last hole because I swore when my first putt lipped out and stopped an inch away. The hole before I'd used my 8 iron to get from just off the fringe to within a foot of the hole and I was annoyed at that as well.

Just played my first round after reading this book and I can definitely say I've seen improvement with some of the methods used in this.

My keys today were:

- Spend more time staring at the hole, less time at the ball

- Take multiple practice strokes while staring at the hole, not the ball. Mentally absorb the feeling of that stroke.

- Visualize the ball tracking toward the hole and falling in.

Poured in the four-to-six footers and was running long ones right inside two-feet. Only had one three-putt where I badly misread a green.

Downhill putts are not easier to make than uphill putts. Numerous people have tested this, myself included. I have some extensive data on Tour pros in competition.

Where downhill putts are easier to make than uphill putts is when you get closer to the 'fall line.' If you're at 12 o'clock on the fall line (or close to it), it's an easy putt. I had it best explained to me that it's like being able to hit a ball straighter with a tail wind than into a head wind. This we see very clearly on Tour as most Tour players make a higher % of putts from 12 o'clock on the fall line than from 6 o'clock (straight up).

But, once you get closer to 1 o'clock or 11 o'clock, the make % drops pretty dramatically. Conversely, get closer to 5 or 7 o'clock and the make % rises. 2 or 10 o'clock are the toughest putts to make.

Your odds of getting a 12 o'clock putt are pretty low, too. So, I always look forward to those straight and downhill putts, but I know they are far and few between and the better odds if I want to set up a par save is to leave the ball with an uphill putt instead of hoping I can hit that small area where it is straight downhill.

RH

Downhill putts are not easier to make than uphill putts. Numerous people have tested this, myself included. I have some extensive data on Tour pros in competition.

 

Where downhill putts are easier to make than uphill putts is when you get closer to the 'fall line.' If you're at 12 o'clock on the fall line (or close to it), it's an easy putt. I had it best explained to me that it's like being able to hit a ball straighter with a tail wind than into a head wind. This we see very clearly on Tour as most Tour players make a higher % of putts from 12 o'clock on the fall line than from 6 o'clock (straight up).

 

But, once you get closer to 1 o'clock or 11 o'clock, the make % drops pretty dramatically. Conversely, get closer to 5 or 7 o'clock and the make % rises. 2 or 10 o'clock are the toughest putts to make.

 

Your odds of getting a 12 o'clock putt are pretty low, too. So, I always look forward to those straight and downhill putts, but I know they are far and few between and the better odds if I want to set up a par save is to leave the ball with an uphill putt instead of hoping I can hit that small area where it is straight downhill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RH

so, i will caveat it to say that i prefer downhill putts on medium to slow greens and uphill only on super fast greens