Hello, my name is... And I'm a terrible putter

[mr59]

[quote name='grochol17' timestamp='1360280153' post='6384235']
First suggestion is to find a pro and get a lesson. Without seeing you putt, we're all just guessing at what the problem might be and how to fix it. So, here are my guesses...

For the speed, there's a couple of things to try:

First is to practice putting while looking at the hole. Take your normal set up, look at the hole like you would normally, but go ahead an putt from that position. It moves your focus to what you want the ball to do and not what your putter head is doing going back and through. Think about playing football or baseball. When throwing, you don't look at your arm and decide how far to stretch it back to throw the ball to someone. You just look at your target and you know from experience how much effort you need to put into the throw. You can use this practice method for long and short putts.

Second, you can try putting to a tee, not a hole. This gets you to focus on the speed without worrying about whether or not you make the put.

Lastly, pick a hole with some break to it and grab three balls. Lay a club down about 2 feet behind the hole and putt all three from one position, about 10 feet from the hole. Obviously you want to make the putts, but your initial goal should be to stop them between the hole and the club. If you hit the club, start over. After all three stop between the hole and club, rotate your putting position and golf club 90 deg around the hole so you've changed the break and speed of the putt. Lather rinse repeat.

If you're missing all over the place then you probably need some work on your setup or your stroke.

First thing is to have someone stand so they can see where you're aiming. If you're not pointed where you think you are, then your stroke could be perfect, but you'll never putt well.

Next, you can work on both your stroke and alignment with a chalk line. I like to find a straight 10 foot putt and put down a chalk line. You can putt right on top of it and it gives you an instant visual of the path of your putting stroke AND if you're starting the ball on line. If the putt is flat and smooth, with a chalk line you should make most of your putts, even from 10 feet, which is great for the confidence. If you don't have a line, grab some clubs, lay them down parallel to your target line and putt in between them.

Lastly, if you're having speed and direction issues, you might be hitting the ball all over the face. Something I like to combine with the chalk line is to put two tees in the ground, one on either side of the ball perpendicular to your target line, that act as a gate that you swing your putter through. Start off by giving yourself maybe 1/2 inch off the toe and heel of the putter and bring them in a little bit as you get better. When you're putting you'll hit the tees if you're swinging the putter too far off line, so it is instant feedback on if you're hitting the ball in the center of the face or if you're all over the place.

Like I said to start off, lessons are best, but any of the above may help you improve on your speed and line.

Good luck!
[/quote]

Some really great advice here

[Nwright4]

Rules of Putting

1. Confidence (I could say this 10 times)
2. Light grip pressure
3. Your backstroke and follow through should be the same distance (this is something I did not learn for a while and it has helped tremendously)
4. Trust the line and speed (I could say this 10 times as well)
5. Consistency with alignment/stroke/pre-shot routine (it can be out of the different, but if you do it the same every time you will be consistent)
6. Forget the putt you just hit (very important)

Putting statistics really depend on your GIR. If you hit a lot of greens expect this to go up. If your missing a lot of greens and it is still high you should work on the short game.

3 footers are all in the head and mechanics (eyes looking up, getting wristy etc.)