Why cant I putt!?

[j_wil_06]

Quite possibly the worst putting round ever...

ok here is my card

PAR 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 = 36

Me 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 = 39
FW 4/8
G 6/9

ok...not so bad...an average score for me id say...but wait...

I HAD 18 PUTTS!!!

18 putts! for 9 holes! and i was hitting approaches to like 15 feet! and to be honest with you, i had two more that i didnt even count because i wasnt technically 'on the green'...so if you count those, i had 20 putts! and if i had 20 putts, and i shot a 39, that means i had more putts then shots!! wtf?!

has anyone ever witnessed a putting round so bad?? i just cant stand it...i mean, its not usually THAT bad...but i just am not a good putter! i practice all the time, and nothing works...i am confident i would be close to a scratch golfer if i could make a putt once in awhile! its weird too...its not like i 3-putt that often, i just never roll anything in!? i swear, a 12-15 footer has GOT to drop every once in awhile doesnt it???

[Ditty_72]

Last year I shot 81 with 41 putts. Ouch.

 

That's exactly the same problem as me. I'm a 5 handicap, and putting is keeping me back; if I have a hot putter for a round, I can easily shoot around par. Another problem is possibly driving distance too, but that's not as important. My putting flat out sucks usually.

[kevlar fox]

i'd love your ballstriking

[hacker17]

A guy I played against had 12, 3 putts in one round and shot 95. All of this came of course after he told be he had shot 76 in his last round. By the way the course we were on is a par 71, 5,700 yds. (from the back tees) and has a course rating of 65.

[emc]

I played with my bro who hit 17/18 GIR and walked off with ........ 73! He had 38 putts (2 par 5's in 2). He was almost crying at the end of it!

[hammer190290]

No one rivals me for s*** putting!

[j_wil_06]

i'd love your ballstriking

 

haha i do...

[JSmith083092]

 

 

 

I had 22 putts on 9 holes. The easiest greens too. I ended up shooting like a 42. I'm bad too don't worry.

[Ditty_72]

22 putts on 9? Ouch bro, I know what you're talking about. 1 round (10 holes before rain) I played I hit 8 of 10 greens, and I was 5 over. I couldn't make any putts. I made a tap-in birdie on a par 3, and other than that, nothing. I switched putters, and since then, my putting has gotten better. (although my distance control isn't the best with my new putter yet, it sinks a lot more of those 10-20 footers. I also haven't missed many short putts either. I'm quite happy with my new putter right now.)

 

Putting sucks sometimes.

[Goose]

I believe it comes down to practice and philisophy.. You need to have a pro watch your stroke to make sure you dont have any flaws... or go out and buy the putting arc... which has worked like a dream for me. Then you should read about putting in either Dave Pelz's book or a psychology book like one of Bob Rotella's.... then its a matter of practicing and practicing properly....you can spend hours practicing but if you don do it right it doesnt matter. If you would like some good drills please PM me or i will post some good ones when i get back to the house later tonite.

 

 

 

GoOsE

[hammer190290]

Goose, please enlighten us with these putting drills I live within 20 yards of the second green of my home course and I practice on it 2 hours a night and still putt badly when it comes to tournaments!!!!!!!

[bobcat]

Go left hand low....Its a better way to putt and for people who struggle with their putting it usually produces an immediate improvement. It is much easier to get the ball started on the right line with the LHL grip.

 

It may take a little time to get your distance control right, but not that long, so stick with it.

 

Arnold Palmer said a few years ago that if he could change just one thing about his technique over the years, it wouldn't be to change anything with his somewhat unorthodox swing. He said that if he was starting over, the one change he would make would be to start out putting with the left hand low grip because he is now convinced it is a better method than the conventional putting grip with the right hand low..

[mikeweirfan]

you cant putt because you have a negative mindset...

and also 18 putts isnt that bad lol..

id take it..

[300_yard_drives]

i would help you out, but i cant putt either.

[sync71]

I do roughly 17-18 putts around for 9, but I also shoot high to mid 40's so it evens out. But I still suck at putting. I have the same problem you do I can put 12-15 foot putts an inch left or right or behind the cup, or I can lip out but it seems to never go in.

 

 

I did have a nice one yesterday that would have kept me dormie 1 in match play against my friend except he had an easy 3 foot putt to make after I had just made my putt

[haltham2006]

i think everyone could putt better, its more of a mental thing. you either have a good day or a bad day on the greens

[Placebo]

Putting is more mental than even I can convince myself to believe.

 

mikeweirfan got it right!

[j_wil_06]

haha funny story...just when i thought it couldnt be any worse...i was rolling along, doing OK....2 over after 7...pretty average stuff...had a few one putts and a buncha two putts...i was thinking maybe my putting woes were over...

 

then i 4-putted...and parred the last hole for a 41...with 18 putts...

 

seriously, can it get any worse?

[bjackson]

19 putts?

 

--go get a putting lesson by a head pro or something

[Tron]

I have had very bad putting latley as well. Maybe it was because our greens just got punched last week and still have no gorwn in fully. I don't know. I hit 8 of 9 greens the other day and shot 39 (1 birdie (only good putt of the day), five 3 putts and an up and down. Hitting a par 5 green in two and only coming away with par is probably one of the most dissappointing things in golf.

 

I think it mainly was because of shattered confidence, i personally, am a very streaky putter.

 

Any drills that help consistency would be great (i try and to phil mickelsons drill everyone in a while)

[i_luv_golf_]

Jack Nicklaus said that golf is 90% mental, 10% physical,

 

This year i discovered something, putting is 95% mental.

 

When you hit a green you should not even be thinking about 3 putting, just the putt you have.

You have to stay in the present (i know it sounds old fashioned but it works wonders)

You Need LOADS of confidence, look at tiger, dont lag a 40 footer, try to hole it.

 

I practice putts:

 

two hands eyes closed

two hands looking at the hole

left hand only

right hand only

left hand only eyes closed

right hand only eyes closed

left hand only looking at the hole

right hand only looking at the hole

 

and it actually helps your feel

 

You should not think about:

 

Making a good stroke

Keeping your head down

The putt's speed etc. as soon as you set up to the ball.

 

And try this drill, it makes you really consistent at these short ones

 

Sink

 

5 3 footers,

4 4 footers,

3 5 footers,

2 6 footers,

1 10 footer

all in a row, miss one start again

make yourself finish the drill before you can go

if you dont complete it your a wuss is what you should be thinking

 

putt listening to music, takes your mind off all mechanical jibberish etc.

 

I have a trick for 6 footers and less, only follow through as far as your left foot, takes some practice but the results are unreal.

[Albatros]

Putting seems to be the only thing I can relyn every round for the last 2 years. My putting changed when I grooved in, not my stroke, but my pre-shot routine. I never though it was that important until I worked on it for about a month and it just started to click. Here's my routine:

 

1. Stand behing ball to get the line.

2. Line up the ball marker with my intended line.

3. Step back to make sure I've got it on my intended line.

4. Step up close to the ball and make 2-3 practice swings while looking at a general spot in the distance ON MY INTENDED LINE to gauge feel and speed. (If its uphill I look at a spot on my line past the hole. Vice versa for downhill).

5. Step over the ball, one last look at the hole and go.

 

Now I'm trying to incorporate the same kind of thing into my regular swing. So far, that's working well too.

[mp-60/r7]

Ok I`m a pretty bad golfer, but 53 putts for 18 is way too much.

I 3 or 4 putted every green. and I hit 15 GIR 12 FW but 2.94 putts per Green is horrible.

Hasn't gotten any better though. I just hate putting.

[j_wil_06]

Ok I`m a pretty bad golfer, but 53 putts for 18 is way too much.

I 3 or 4 putted every green. and I hit 15 GIR 12 FW but 2.94 putts per Green is horrible.

Hasn't gotten any better though. I just hate putting.

 

haha ok...i guess it CAN get worse...you made me feel a little better man...

 

what do you guys think though...a putter change maybe? if for nothing else, just to start over with maybe an ounce of confidence?

 

(shot a 42 today with 19 putts...i hate myself)

[djt1532]

Read Bob Rotella's book Putting Out of Your Mind. It really focuses on the mental aspect of putting and putting is very much mental. Practice putts from 5 feet and in whenever your at the putting green. It is important to see the ball go into the hole to build confidence. If you need to practice distance control putt to a tee or the edge of the fringe. Again I highly reccomend Putting Out of Your Mind and I suggest if you want to get better to read it.

[50jay]

I know what you're talkin' about... last week I shot 80 in a tournament with 41 putts, what a pain... i 3 putted 2 par 5 greens i reached in 2 and the last but not the worse, I FOUR PUTTED the 18th green!!!! (it's a par 5, I ended up w/ a bogey because I reached it in 2)

 

that round was soo painful, i missed so many putts

 

do you guys have any other drills i can do to help my putting???

 

thanks!!!

 

Jay

[NikeTaylormade891]

Go left hand low....Its a better way to putt and for people who struggle with their putting it usually produces an immediate improvement. It is much easier to get the ball started on the right line with the LHL grip.

 

It may take a little time to get your distance control right, but not that long, so stick with it.

 

Arnold Palmer said a few years ago that if he could change just one thing about his technique over the years, it wouldn't be to change anything with his somewhat unorthodox swing. He said that if he was starting over, the one change he would make would be to start out putting with the left hand low grip because he is now convinced it is a better method than the conventional putting grip with the right hand low..

 

 

 

I switched to left hand low when I was 11, AND i am 15 now and its 2nd nature. Defiantely best way 2 go

[nick01]

what i do is i pick a hole on the putting green and put tees in the ground one putter length 2 then 3 on each side of the cup then go from side to side like 1 putter length to the other 1 putter length so that you just dont get in a groove because u cant do that on the course its all important to devolop a routine and stay with it even doing this drill i used to be like you and i couldnt break 85 for the longest time because of putting(34 plus putts) but now i average arund 30 had 28 for a 76 yesterday so i have improved alot doing this

 

p.s.(try switching to a mallet putter and or left hand low thoose helped me also)

[mattjud]

At my Member/member last week i had eight 3 putts and shot a 79 on a par 71. had four 3 putts on the front, bought a new putter for the back nine and did the same thing. gave the putter back and got a 2ball

 

I might be the worst putter in texas

[Warszawa]

Shot 83 with six three putts! I could be a half decent golfer if i could three putt just half as much as i usually do.