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Making no putts is golf's version of purgatory


MtlJeff

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Right?

Now, i am a good golfer who in my time has been through all sorts of slumps. I've had years where i was so terrified of hitting driver that i used it only once in a 36 hole club championship. I've had years where i've struggled with irons.....but there is nothing quite like making zero putts. To me it's the worst feeling in golf. Nothing leaves you more unsatisfied after a round than making nothing after having like 10 good looks

I've hinted at it a bit, but this year has been a dry spell for the ages for me putting wise. I am a legit 1.0 index right now, and through ~25 rounds my high for birdies this season is 2. That is not a misprint. We have a 500yd straightaway par 5 on our course that i have birdied zero times in 2020. Today i hit 16 greens in regulation and shot a 75. Earlier in the year i went 7 straight rounds without a birdie, though to be fair those were my rounds 2-8 of the season after a 3 month Covid layoff.

I am the king of the no-birdie 77. And i don't expect sympathy. I realize playing off a 1 is very good golf

All i am saying, is making NO PUTTS is the worst feeling in golf.....of every struggle i've had.

Does anyone disagree with that? Anyone else had one particular slump that just killed your season?

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I feel your pain. Congrats on 16 GIR. My best is 14 GIR and no birdies. The next week I hit 12 GIR and no birdies. Two days later I hit 7 GIR and made 2 birdies that were kick ins. I'm hitting good putts but I'm not seeing the line at all. Do you see the line or are you just controlling speed and aiming sort of at the hole and playing for some break? I mean, are you seeing the line but not hitting it or are is the line blurry and you're just going through the motions?

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Sounds like it's time for a new flatstick. An offering to the putter gods needs to be made.

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I rotate between 3 putters LOL.....maybe i should stick with one!

All seem to be equally cursed

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My distance control has been pretty good. I think one big challenge has been that our course (i mentioned this in another thread) has had very funky pin positions this year, often 10-11 of them each round are on edges of greens. So i have a lot of 30 foot putts instead of 15 foot putts when you kind of hit the center of the green. So that probably eliminates a few birdies here and there

And then on the holes where i do have a 10-12 footer for birdie, i tend to miss it closely. I wouldn't say i'm putting terribly. Like i'm not missing by a foot. They just aren't going in

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You're getting a little vintage on you Jeffrey. Have you had your vision checked lately? The last time I encountered what you're describing I couldn't see the line to save my skin. But one day I was about to draw the putter back on a 6-footer and I realized I couldn't see a dimple on the ball. A trip to the Optometrist cured that and after about two weeks to get accustomed to my new vision, I started dropping some of those I couldn't sniff before. It's worth checking on my friend.

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The answer to better golf is hit it better, farther, and make more putts.

 

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I am generally a terrible putter but read about trying a round grip plus I also watched some videos of Bobby Jones wristy stroke and alignment method. So I put a round grip on my ping anser and played 9 holes today and I putted very well - no birdies and only 2 3 putts, which is not bad for the greens on my home course which are very sloping. I've seen Jone's alignment method many times over the years and never thought much of it but amazingly it helped me line up shorts putts correctly. Somehow I don't feel so intimidated anymore and feel like my 5-6 3 putt days are behind me and if I get more inside 15' looks I'm going to start dropping a lot more of them.

"Shirtsleeve" swing technique:

1. Setup: Elbows bent forearms pressed together against shaft slightly forward of center with "Hogan" "active/flexed" leg tension left foot turned out slightly and the right leg slightly farther to the right - weight mostly on balls of feet butt of left hands sits on the top of the grip with very light grip.

2. Swing - W/o disturbing weight distribution of legs and feet lower hands while doing a forward press "swing trigger" then the left upper arm takes over on the backswing, it needs to go out in front of the body then back in front of the chest as the hands trace down initially then up to over the right shoulder "Torres". The goal is to not disturb the pressure of the feet during the initial takeaway.

 

Notes:

1. Only swing thought after swing trigger - extend left arm at shirt sleeve when reaching left hand over right shoulder "Shirtsleeve technique".

2. The upper left arm move "Shirtsleeve technique" can be practiced independently without a club, sitting down for instance

3. The correct feet tension can be felt by doing very short hops on the balls of the feet then holding the same feeling of pressure on the front of the feet and then taking three practice swings with the grip very loose in order to not disturb the same pressure on the feet and on the 3rd swing actively do the "Shirtsleeve" move. From there the swing should be done within a matter of seconds to not lose the feel of the legs resisting, this way this is not a learned technique as much as it is a setup technique.

 

 

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Since your distance control is self professed to be good, you're putter alignment at impact, your understanding of the line and your alignment at address can be one or all off. Find a flat, straight putt on the practice green and set up an elevated line to get that alignment or sight picture calibrated.

Just go fix it.

bought out by private equity.

capitalization, grammar and reasoning slashed as a cost reduction.

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I feel your pain. 10 years ago I was a 0. Many years ago I was a plus 2. Now I range from 3-6 index hitting it pretty much like I used to. When I can average 34 putts a round or so I am a Three, when I have long streaks of 40+ putts rounds I am a 6. My issues are putts from 1’ to 4’ ft. My claim to fame is once shooting a 34 putt 68. After a few years you grow to accept your mediocrity. Just remember 40 putts a round is better than 50. Purgatory is better than H**l.

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Putting well here but finding almost no fairways this season, lol. King of sometimes making three or four birdies and shooting 79-81, driving me nuts (but for me that’s still good). Hitting driver in the trees no fun.

Sounds like something is off just a fraction. Maybe have a putting coach check your setup and alignment or a friend take some pics if you feel you can self analyze, but IMO it can be subtle.

 

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I'd bet I'm not reading the line as well as I used to. Maybe I need to start focusing on this a bit more. I used to be a bit more mechanical in my putting, it may help to go back to that

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Tour Edge C723 21* w/PX hzrdus black 80

Titleist T150 4-AW w/PX LZ 6.0

Titleist Jet Black 54/60 with PX LZ 6.0

Deschamps Crisp Antique 

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GIR isn't useful for measuring putting. I might hit 3 GIR and each time put it to 5 feet.... I'm going to likely have a birdie.

I might also hit 18 GIR at 30 feet. If I was a PGA level putter, I'd get on average one birdie.

I used to think I was a bad putter because I hit more than average GIR and have a 3 putt or 2 a round. After using Decade I realize 3 putting from 40' is very likely, and the best way to have short birdie putts isn't necessarily aiming at the pin.

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I'll echo what Fergie said - practice putting to a tee in the ground rather than a hole. After 10-15 minutes of practice, you'll be surprised how big the hole looks.

I went through a patch very much like you describe in your OP. There are a lot of factors that can contribute. Like someone said above, hitting 14-16 greens (but always 25-30 feet away) can be a misleading stat. Hell, the pros, as good as they are, only average 43% from 10 feet. These are the best players in the world.

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My last 2 rounds I hit 29 total greens , made 2 birdies total, 1 putt from outside 10 feet and shot two 75's

On brand, at least

Srixon ZX5 w/PX Hzrdus Red 60

Srixon ZX 15 w/PX Hzrdus Red 70

Tour Edge C723 21* w/PX hzrdus black 80

Titleist T150 4-AW w/PX LZ 6.0

Titleist Jet Black 54/60 with PX LZ 6.0

Deschamps Crisp Antique 

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Finding this thread after shooting 75 with 15 GIR and 36 putts is truly incredible timing for me! I turned that trick, yesterday with 18 two-putt greens. I had six birdie looks of less than 12-feet and missed them all. However, it wasn’t the worst feeling in the golfing world. I had the driver-yips about ten years ago and that was a horrible feeling. Absolutely THE WORST.

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My putting this year has been horrendous so I did what any reasonable human would do and threw money at it. New putter, a few putting mats, other putting training aids. For me, I started to realize I wasn't reading the greens worth crap. Lately I have taken a cheap bubble level with me to the practice green, reading a putt, then plopping the bubble level down and seeing it if reported what I was seeing. It's helped me some, but I have a lot of work left to do.

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This weekend i shot 76-76 with one birdie. 15 GIRs on Saturday and 14 on Sunday

I think its just going to be one of those years

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Tour Edge C723 21* w/PX hzrdus black 80

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On 8/4/2020 at 10:16 PM, nitram said:

You're getting a little vintage on you Jeffrey. Have you had your vision checked lately? The last time I encountered what you're describing I couldn't see the line to save my skin. But one day I was about to draw the putter back on a 6-footer and I realized I couldn't see a dimple on the ball. A trip to the Optometrist cured that and after about two weeks to get accustomed to my new vision, I started dropping some of those I couldn't sniff before. It's worth checking on my friend.

I wanted to thank you for posting this suggestion. I have been in "golf purgatory" a.k.a. making no putts for what seems like 3 years. My putting isn't horrible, but I just don't make really anything over 5 ft with consistency. Even 2 years ago when I was a 3.4 I seemed to never made putts over 8 ft. The funny thing is, I own glasses, and just got new ones a few months ago. However, and this lies my problem, my vision is fairly good. I do not need the glasses, they just assist when looking at screens for long hours or driving at night so I never connected the dots that I may need to wear them while golfing. Turns out... I think I really do. 

I played this weekend for the first time ever with glasses and I canned a 40 ft putt on the first hole lol. It was hilarious. I hit probably like 2 more putts that were in the 8-10 ft range, and 2 more around 15 ft. Still cautiously optimistic, but man is it so much more fun when you hole putts. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I thought I was the only one... if I was an average putter I’d go from a 2hdcp ➡️ +3hdcp.  I spend 10+hrs putting practice weekly but have recently gone to 6 tee gate drills ( address, backswing & follow through) on breaking 5 footers with a tee peg outside the hole to aim at. Helps take the focus off the hole.  My problem has been pushing the L➡️R’s and pulling the R➡️L’s because the hole is in my peripheral vision. Hitting 15 GIRs and missing those birdie putts inside 10’ gets old and tiresome. When your 35 putt 74’s woulda, coulda, shoulda been easy 68’s it’s very frustrating, especially when your buddy’s are dropping bombs left and right to salvage 83.

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It's actually pretty amazing...It's just gonna be that type of year. 

 

My season high for birdies currently is 2. I am a 1.4 index. I have to imagine that has never been done before for a full season of 50+ rounds. 

 

I almost WANT to achieve this. I only played one round this weekend but it was a 78 with 1-birdie on our toughest 18 (75-140). Naturally the birdie was on the most difficult hole (220yd par 3 full carry over water to a tucked pin). 

 

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Deschamps Crisp Antique 

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On 9/2/2020 at 6:11 PM, MtlJeff said:

I shot 75 today with no birdies

 

Is it proximity, misreads, speed, not starting the ball online, or all of the above?

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