WORLDS WORST PUTTER - PLEASE HELP

[Golfjack]

You ever try the lag putting drill where you are putting to one distance, then slightly less, then slightly less? It really helped with my speed control. Also, I know you feel like your putting stroke is good, just make sure of it by setting up the string on the putting green knowing that you are really hitting it where you are aiming. Get one of those putter measurement devices (I have blastmotion golf) where it can measure your tempo. Help you smooth out your takeaway and delivery.

[TheCityGame]

Don't get fit. Don't get a new putter. Don't get lessons.

 

Practice.

 

Practice, practice, practice. In particular, practice using "scored" drills and practice with intent.

 

Putting responds to practice. It just does. If you're serious about getting better at golf, you need to practice. If you're really averaging 10-12 greens (and that's not just a fluke), then you've practiced your ball striking. Time to get serious and start grinding.

 

My favorite scored drill. . .set up 3 putts, one each at 20, 30, 40 feet. You get 3 points for a sink, 1 point if you come up short and make the next one, 2 points if you get it to the hole and make the next one.

 

Repeat to 6 different holes. 24 is a "good" score as long as you don't make them too easy.

 

That is a drill that gets you putting like you putt on the course. . .trying to make it, but trying to keep it close, and working on YOUR misses. If you're consistently short, this drill will point that out. If you consistently miss short stuff, this drill will point that out. I like to score in the 26-30 range.

 

If you're consistently missing the 3-6 footers in this drill and killing yourself, find a good "short putt" drill that forces you to focus, like the ladder drill. (ladder drill : you need to make 3 3 footers, 3 5 footers, 3 7 footers in a row. If you ever miss one putt, start over with the 3 footers. This drill is a GRIND. Might take you 45 minutes because you keep missing 7 footers. The good news is, you'll get rock solid on 3 footers.)

 

Also, I second "Putting Out of Your Mind" by Bob Rotella. IMO, it's the only putting book you'll ever need.

[MelloYello]

> @TheCityGame said:

> Don't get fit. Don't get a new putter. Don't get lessons.

>

> Practice.

 

THAT!!!

 

 

Dude, I started a thread about the same thing a few weeks back. I was in a similar position. Everything was clicking, I was shooting in the 80s and throwing up 40 putts. Read the thread:

https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1755592/controlling-speed-when-putting#latest

 

 

First off, putting is not easy. It's the one area where if you miss, then you just miss. It can destroy your confidence and even your desire to play if it gets that bad. After a little lay-off at the end of last year, I've come back calm and committed this year. I've started practicing a bunch and here's what's happened:

 

1

I'm not practicing drills yet. IMHO, you don't have to be _that_ serious when you're looking to improve on 40 putts per round. When you suck out loud, all you have to do is become _average_ and that simply requires developing a bit of grace and touch.

 

2

You absolutely have to get on the practice green ASAP. I was a range rat who rarely, if ever, practiced my putting because I figured it was just natural. In truth though, it's rather hard to be a good putter and it's a skill. You're going to be required to develop at least a little bit of a fascination / love for the art of putting. I'd be shocked if that's not in you somewhere, even just a little bit. Anyone who loves golf enough to get to a point they're hitting 10 greens in regulation is probably the type that'll want to see how good they can be on the greens, too. Like any skill, you'll enjoy putting once you're doing alright with it. That's how it's been for me.

 

3

Practice a ton of short putts. These are the money putts. You really should make virtually everything inside 3-ft and most 5-ft putts should seem pretty make-able, too. Work on hitting putts as softly as you can to develop a feeling of touch. I never realized how gently you actually have to hit putts. That was my revelation. Hold the putter lightly and feel it in your fingertips. Putting it a very unique thing, quite different from being on the range!

 

4

Don't take any distance for granted. On the practice green I alternate between short putts and long putts using a couple of balls. I'll hang around a hole putting maybe 15-20 times from 2-6 feet before jumping out to longer putts where again, I putt maybe 5-10 times at a hole farther away. I just alternate on that for about 20 minutes.

 

Already that 40-putt average has come down to around 35-putts. That number has been steady over the last 5-6 rounds. The effect has been rather immediate. Once you start making those 3- and 4-footers, you're really a different person. And as I said, once you're decent that "I have to improve" thing kicks in and it becomes the area you're most excited about. I can honestly say that through that last couple rounds I've been just as (if not more) excited to putt than to hit full shots.

 

5

I practice a bunch on carpet at home each day. You really need to practice daily if you want to keep a handle on your stroke.

 

[hacker49]

> @MelloYello said:

> I practice a bunch on carpet at home each day. You really need to practice daily if you want to keep a handle on your stroke.

>

I have been doing this lately. Not daily but on my days off when I am just sitting around watching tv. To make sure I was hitting on line I set up two alignment sticks along my line with a ball marker at the end. The alignment sticks were to help both with my aim and to make sure I was hitting on line. Once I was consistently hitting on line and sure my misses weren't a result of me mishitting I took away the sticks. Then not only did I loose that aid but also my aiming aid. I immediately had to concentrate harder on aim. I was also aiming at a ball marker. If I hit the ball marker, one of the small nickel sized ones, then I knew I was definitely going to hit the cup. The sticks are about four feet long so I was in that 3-5ft range.

 

After working on this a couple days this week I putted much better today. It was a short par 3 course with tiny greens. I must say my putting was much improved. No 3 putts in 9 holes and several 1 putts. A couple lip outs and a couple that ended up just past the hole right on my intended line but the ball didn't break as much as I intended. I would much rather over read a break than under read or not see one that is there.

 

 

 

[bobcat]

Deleted!

 

 

[theWISEman]

> @"North Texas" said:

> > @Zitlow said:

> > "Worlds Worst Putter" speaks volumes.

>

> This a million times over! What you describe has nothing to do with technique or equipment.

>

> Good grief, what do you expect when you call yourself the world's worst putter? So first thing, STOP CALLING YOURSELF THE WORLD'S WORST PUTTER!!!! Never, ever do that again! Second, do what thed0n says he does in his post above. Focus on making every putt no matter how far it is! Tell yourself you are going to make every putt you stand over and keep doing that and keep doing that.

>

> You will be shocked at what happens over time if you do this and don't waver.

 

Thanks for the advice! I tried this over the couple of rounds I played this week and had some success. One round had 36 putts and the other had 40, however, I made a few 8-10 footers that gave me some confidence!

 

[theWISEman]

> @Golfjack said:

> You ever try the lag putting drill where you are putting to one distance, then slightly less, then slightly less? It really helped with my speed control. Also, I know you feel like your putting stroke is good, just make sure of it by setting up the string on the putting green knowing that you are really hitting it where you are aiming. Get one of those putter measurement devices (I have blastmotion golf) where it can measure your tempo. Help you smooth out your takeaway and delivery.

 

I practice drills on the putting green that has 5 pin locations and try to two-putt from each location to the next. Then when I achieve that goal, I go to the back of the green and work on distance control on lag putts to the farthest flag. I do practice with my eye-line mirror a few times a week to make sure my eyes are over the ball and that my stroke is on line, but I'll have to look into the devices you mentioned,

 

[theWISEman]

> @TheCityGame said:

> Don't get fit. Don't get a new putter. Don't get lessons.

>

> Practice.

>

> Practice, practice, practice. In particular, practice using "scored" drills and practice with intent.

>

> Putting responds to practice. It just does. If you're serious about getting better at golf, you need to practice. If you're really averaging 10-12 greens (and that's not just a fluke), then you've practiced your ball striking. Time to get serious and start grinding.

>

> My favorite scored drill. . .set up 3 putts, one each at 20, 30, 40 feet. You get 3 points for a sink, 1 point if you come up short and make the next one, 2 points if you get it to the hole and make the next one.

>

> Repeat to 6 different holes. 24 is a "good" score as long as you don't make them too easy.

>

> That is a drill that gets you putting like you putt on the course. . .trying to make it, but trying to keep it close, and working on YOUR misses. If you're consistently short, this drill will point that out. If you consistently miss short stuff, this drill will point that out. I like to score in the 26-30 range.

>

> If you're consistently missing the 3-6 footers in this drill and killing yourself, find a good "short putt" drill that forces you to focus, like the ladder drill. (ladder drill : you need to make 3 3 footers, 3 5 footers, 3 7 footers in a row. If you ever miss one putt, start over with the 3 footers. This drill is a GRIND. Might take you 45 minutes because you keep missing 7 footers. The good news is, you'll get rock solid on 3 footers.)

>

> Also, I second "Putting Out of Your Mind" by Bob Rotella. IMO, it's the only putting book you'll ever need.

 

Thank you for this! I do this exact drill multiple times a week but haven't been able to take the results to the course yet. I have a ton of confidence on the practice green with my ability to two-putt, but when I get on the course I find myself just trying to two-putt everything and end up blowing the first putt by 4-5 feet which puts me in a bad position to have to make a difficult putt to save par.

 

 

[Club Guru]

1. Commit to a stroke or putting style and don’t mess with your mechanics after you’ve put a week or two into working on it. That includes setup and grip style. Understand if you are trying to be more arc or straight back straight through. I wouldn’t recommend straight back and straight through but if you go that direction get a face balanced putter.

2. Get blast motion golf so you can check your tempo and face rotation

3. Practice 4-6 footers constantly. Put five balls around the hole so you practice all breaks.

4. Practice longer lag putts. (Practicing putts between the short ones and lags aren’t worth the time)

5. Create games that make you practice putting under pressure

6. Reading greens. I’d recommend reading Dave Stockton’s book. Always read your putts from the low side. Visualize the point where the ball begins to decelerate and aim to that spot. Visualize water flowing on the green to get an idea of the break. Before hitting your putt stand over it and feel how the ball will initially come off the face given slope. Look for imperfections around the hole that can impact making the putt.

 

I’d have a hard time believing you wouldn’t improve significantly

[Jack Pearsall]

Depending on your level of desperation...remember a lesson where JP was told to just roll the ball as close to hole with a hand toss....now use your putter....same idea...helped.

[theWISEman]

So I started listening the "Putting Out of Your Mind", and I can see why it was recommended by so many on here. Almost all of the flaws in thinking he talked about, I was doing when putting. I am going to listen to the full book a few more times, and then go and practice this different mental approach in my own game. Thank you to all the recommended it!

[JAMH03]

@Wiseman OK Bud, where are we at with this?

[Krt22]

Get fit.

 

Learn to hit straight 6 ft putts that roll end over end, use a line on the ball as a metric (Thanks @Obee)

 

Learn to lag.

 

The average scratch golfer hits 12GIRs. You should have some 30 putt rounds and be flirting with scratch.

 

Practicing hours on end learning to compensate for a poorly fit putter that doesnt match your stroke is not a good use of time

[Juan73]

Various instructors use some version of the following:

Putting is made up of four skills: 1) Reading the Green; 2) Aiming the putter at your target; 3) Stroke mechanics that are consistent and can start the ball on the line of your target; and 4) Distance Control. And I would add the Mental skills of focus and self-belief.

If you are going to get better, there is real value in identifying which of these four skills or combinations there of, you need to improve. And of course assessing your mental skills.

Once you have done that -- get to work on what needs the most help, HOWEVER, if you can improve 1-2% on each of these, it will help, try for small increments of improvement in every area... even if ONE is your worst.

If you are looking for drills.... heck there are lots of ones out there.... you can check on "Make More Putts" on Amazon, it contains over 150 different putting drills... along with how to set up your practice routine, ...

[tatertot]

> @theWISEman said:

> > @TheCityGame said:

> > Don't get fit. Don't get a new putter. Don't get lessons.

> >

> > Practice.

> >

> > Practice, practice, practice. In particular, practice using "scored" drills and practice with intent.

> >

> > Putting responds to practice. It just does. If you're serious about getting better at golf, you need to practice. If you're really averaging 10-12 greens (and that's not just a fluke), then you've practiced your ball striking. Time to get serious and start grinding.

> >

> > My favorite scored drill. . .set up 3 putts, one each at 20, 30, 40 feet. You get 3 points for a sink, 1 point if you come up short and make the next one, 2 points if you get it to the hole and make the next one.

> >

> > Repeat to 6 different holes. 24 is a "good" score as long as you don't make them too easy.

> >

> > That is a drill that gets you putting like you putt on the course. . .trying to make it, but trying to keep it close, and working on YOUR misses. If you're consistently short, this drill will point that out. If you consistently miss short stuff, this drill will point that out. I like to score in the 26-30 range.

> >

> > If you're consistently missing the 3-6 footers in this drill and killing yourself, find a good "short putt" drill that forces you to focus, like the ladder drill. (ladder drill : you need to make 3 3 footers, 3 5 footers, 3 7 footers in a row. If you ever miss one putt, start over with the 3 footers. This drill is a GRIND. Might take you 45 minutes because you keep missing 7 footers. The good news is, you'll get rock solid on 3 footers.)

> >

> > Also, I second "Putting Out of Your Mind" by Bob Rotella. IMO, it's the only putting book you'll ever need.

>

> Thank you for this! I do this exact drill multiple times a week but haven't been able to take the results to the course yet. I have a ton of confidence on the practice green with my ability to two-putt, but when I get on the course I find myself just trying to two-putt everything and end up blowing the first putt by 4-5 feet which puts me in a bad position to have to make a difficult putt to save par.

>

>

 

I have bad news ... You can practice till your arms fall off. If your practicing bad form, all you're doing is reinforcing poor habits. Might want to get your stroke looked or get a lesson before you dedicate yourself to lots of practice.

[bladehunter]

Forget the books , ebooks, podcasts , and Sam putting lab . I’ve done it all. And nothing worked until I shut out the noise and just setup in whatever posture , eyeline , eye position , grip and putter that felt comfortable... then just roll it. For hours and hours until you find what you would call your stroke. It’s putting. If the guy is hitting that many greens I’m certain we’re not looking at a huge figure 8 stroke. Loll . It’s not as if putting is a one stroke works all others don’t thing.

 

It’s 99.99999% speed.

[theWISEman]

> @JAMH03 said:

> @Wiseman OK Bud, where are we at with this?

 

I’ve been working on my mental game a lot lately, just letting the putter do the work and not trying to force the stroke. I’ve had a few decent rounds putting... some 30-32 putt rounds but still having the occasional 36-37 putts creep in there. I switched back to my old Scotty Newport...

 

It’s been raining a ton here lately, so I’ve gotten a lot of carpet rolling practice done... but I think like some other have said above me, it’s just going to take hours of practice to gain the feel I need. I’ve gotten significantly better at every other aspect of the game in the last few years, and the putting just never really progressed like the other parts of my game.

[theWISEman]

> @tatertot said:

> > @theWISEman said:

> > > @TheCityGame said:

> > > Don't get fit. Don't get a new putter. Don't get lessons.

> > >

> > > Practice.

> > >

> > > Practice, practice, practice. In particular, practice using "scored" drills and practice with intent.

> > >

> > > Putting responds to practice. It just does. If you're serious about getting better at golf, you need to practice. If you're really averaging 10-12 greens (and that's not just a fluke), then you've practiced your ball striking. Time to get serious and start grinding.

> > >

> > > My favorite scored drill. . .set up 3 putts, one each at 20, 30, 40 feet. You get 3 points for a sink, 1 point if you come up short and make the next one, 2 points if you get it to the hole and make the next one.

> > >

> > > Repeat to 6 different holes. 24 is a "good" score as long as you don't make them too easy.

> > >

> > > That is a drill that gets you putting like you putt on the course. . .trying to make it, but trying to keep it close, and working on YOUR misses. If you're consistently short, this drill will point that out. If you consistently miss short stuff, this drill will point that out. I like to score in the 26-30 range.

> > >

> > > If you're consistently missing the 3-6 footers in this drill and killing yourself, find a good "short putt" drill that forces you to focus, like the ladder drill. (ladder drill : you need to make 3 3 footers, 3 5 footers, 3 7 footers in a row. If you ever miss one putt, start over with the 3 footers. This drill is a GRIND. Might take you 45 minutes because you keep missing 7 footers. The good news is, you'll get rock solid on 3 footers.)

> > >

> > > Also, I second "Putting Out of Your Mind" by Bob Rotella. IMO, it's the only putting book you'll ever need.

> >

> > Thank you for this! I do this exact drill multiple times a week but haven't been able to take the results to the course yet. I have a ton of confidence on the practice green with my ability to two-putt, but when I get on the course I find myself just trying to two-putt everything and end up blowing the first putt by 4-5 feet which puts me in a bad position to have to make a difficult putt to save par.

> >

> >

>

> I have bad news ... You can practice till your arms fall off. If your practicing bad form, all you're doing is reinforcing poor habits. Might want to get your stroke looked or get a lesson before you dedicate yourself to lots of practice.

 

Unfortunately for me... I have gotten lessons and am diligently practicing those instructions.

 

[smeal818]

1. Get fit, I'd argue it's the most important club in your bag to have fit

2. Stable lower body

3. Confidence is key

4. I like to focus on a good strike

5. Connected arms under pits seems to help as well- JR even tucks his shirt to reinforce this

 

YMMV

[TheCityGame]

it's probably not an e> @bladehunter said:

> Forget the books , ebooks, podcasts , and Sam putting lab . I’ve done it all. And nothing worked until I shut out the noise and just setup in whatever posture , eyeline , eye position , grip and putter that felt comfortable... then just roll it. For hours and hours until you find what you would call your stroke. It’s putting. If the guy is hitting that many greens I’m certain we’re not looking at a huge figure 8 stroke. Loll . It’s not as if putting is a one stroke works all others don’t thing.

>

> It’s 99.99999% speed.

 

Yeah, you can ingrain bad habits in the swing. Very tough to ingrain bad habits in putting. What would a bad habit even look like? Guys putt with standard grip, pencil grip, claw grip, left hand low, long putters, short putters, upright posture, stooped posture, open stance, closed stance, wristy stroke, shoulder stroke, pop stroke, eyes over ball, eyes inside ball, eyes behind ball, looking at hole, looking at ball, looking at line.

 

To me, getting past the idea that there's a right way to putt is the first step in becoming a good putter.

 

Can you roll the ball on your INTENDED line with your INTENDED speed? That's it. That's what practice is for. Some aspects of set up can make that easier, but it's not hard to get there with diligent practice.

 

The next step is being able to make sure your INTENDED line/speed is the CORRECT line and speed. That's a whole other ball of wax, but can certainly be improved through mindful practice.

[Krt22]

You absolutely can ingrain bad habits with the putter, especially with an ill fit putter. I have a natural arc and was playing a face balanced putter, so I naturally would miss it right. So would ultimately setup with the blade closed and then closed my path in the through stroke to compensate for the face not naturally closing. It was also too long so my intended start line and actual alignment where not the same. I did this with very high consistency, which yielded mediocre results. When you can't reliably get the ball on its intended line/speed, you start adding in compensations which ultimately lead to inconsistency. So you can putt for hours on end learning to ingrain those compensations or you can take putting lesson/SAM lab fitting and completely eliminate 1 huge variable. I finally did it and saw immediate improvement on start line, speed, and roll consistency. I was only upset I didn't do it earlier as it's the easiest club/stroke to make an immediate improvement to.

[bladehunter]

> @Krt22 said:

> You absolutely can ingrain bad habits with the putter, especially with an ill fit putter. I have a natural arc and was playing a face balanced putter, so I naturally would miss it right. So would ultimately setup with the blade closed and then closed my path in the through stroke to compensate for the face not naturally closing. It was also too long so my intended start line and actual alignment where not the same. I did this with very high consistency, which yielded mediocre results. When you can't reliably get the ball on its intended line/speed, you start adding in compensations which ultimately lead to inconsistency. So you can putt for hours on end learning to ingrain those compensations or you can take putting lesson/SAM lab fitting and completely eliminate 1 huge variable. I finally did it and saw immediate improvement on start line, speed, and roll consistency. I was only upset I didn't do it earlier as it's the easiest club/stroke to make an immediate improvement to.

 

That is opposite of what I’d expect. I’d expect a face balanced putter to cause you to pull everything with an arc stroke. Where you subconsciously leaving it open to holdoff the putter toe ?

 

At any rate I think that’s exactly what myself and others have said. Find the putter that suits you and go. Only the most exotic fitting will sniff that with putter. Big box stores won’t. You are bettter off buying and trying. ( used of course )

[Krt22]

I would typically miss right since the blade wasn't closing as quickly on its own, so through practice/compensation started sub consciously altering (closing) path, such that the path after the ball was much more extreme than coming into it so I was not getting a solid roll, sometimes pull it, sometimes push it. You can guess and check with putter roulette or you can spend $100 (or less) and take a lot of the guess work out of it. It's very worthwhile (IMO) to at least get a baseline of where you are at.

[FishyFishy]

I was in the same boat as you. My friends tell me I can't get any worse when I told them my putting was getting better. I had a lesson with Monte a few months back and he helped fix an issue with what I was doing (hips were moving slightly). I was lacking confidence. Big Time. I'm a 5.9 and my biggest downfall was putting. What changed for me overnight is that I went in with a confident mind that I was going to make the putt. I saw immediate results. Before I would second guess everything, speed, line, tempo, everything. Now I go up there, focus on 1 thing and tell myself im going to make it. Made a world of a difference for me.