I'm going to snap a putter soon...

[spearfish]

pre-amble

What a weekend... I've recently added a new driver to the bag so I wasn't expecting much on the drives in my round on Saturday. But lately my irons and short game has been fantastic.

 

Out of the 15 fairways I could hit, I only missed 1. The driver was going great. The fairway that I did miss, I was only about 5 yards from the edge of the fairway.

Greens in regulation was fantastic to, I missed 2 greens for the day, and on those holes I took a bogey and double (I found a links style pot bunker on 1!).

My tee-green play was flawless.... except the putter..

:tongue:

 

I shot 2 over par with ....... wait for it.......

37 putts... :secret:

 

The thing is I wasn't actually putting bad, I only had 2x 3 putts on some very tricky fast greens. But all day, I just couldn't can a putt. I would either hit the ball 2 feet short or long and my line was just off.

 

So, I need help people!! I need some good mental putting tips or even anything just to help me overcome the putter problems. On the 18th, into the fierce wind, I smashed a drive and played an awesome punched low flying 6 iron to about 9 feet... Dead straight putt uphill and I totally misread it, knocked the ball 2 feet past. I had enough and hurled my putter flying onto the driving range next door... :yes:

 

help!

[Ducky]

I would either hit the ball 2 feet short or long...

Well, I'm just going to go ahead and blame the equipment. I notice you are using an Odyssey White Hot XG. I had a lot of trouble with distance control using the Odyssey White Hot XG. In my opinion, the insert just felt dead. Once I went back to a milled putter (currently using a SeeMore mFGP), my distance control improved dramatically.

[XYB34A]

totally agree with the poster above, bought the #9. it tended to go off in your hand. best putter from 5 feet and in. but if u cant make a 6 to 20 footer with it. I gave it to my son. He gave it back the next week. He is young and has no nerves and slams in the back anything from 15 feet in. I bought one of the original oddsey's when they came out. same thing. that was years ago. get a Scotty or a Ping. They dont go off in your hand.

[shortgame1]

Coming from a guy who makes his share of putts , I would say work on your stroke. I have an old Odyssey putter that works fine for me and not looking to change. my thoughts are head down ( and keep it down listening, not looking for the ball in the bottom of the cup on 5 ft and in ) and keeping my through stroke longer than my back stroke and practice " holding the finish". I concentrate on speed for the most part as it will get it close if it is not in. as far as reading putts I like to read the line from where the ball will enter the hole and " see " the line back to where it is resting. once you start sinking them try to shrug off a bad putting day. IMO the best putters only remember the putts that made and forget about the ones they miss. hope my thoughts can help you make a few more on you next round :tongue:

[otto6457]

The thing is I wasn't actually putting bad, I only had 2x 3 putts on some very tricky fast greens. But all day, I just couldn't can a putt. I would either hit the ball 2 feet short or long and my line was just off.

 

So, I need help people!! I need some good mental putting tips or even anything just to help me overcome the putter problems. On the 18th, into the fierce wind, I smashed a drive and played an awesome punched low flying 6 iron to about 9 feet... Dead straight putt uphill and I totally misread it, knocked the ball 2 feet past. I had enough and hurled my putter flying onto the driving range next door... :tongue:

 

help!

 

What is your year-long putting average? Are you trending up, down, or level?

 

If this round is your typical putting round then maybe you should be concerned. But if this round is unusual, relax a bit and remember a good putting round. Plus, you mentioned that the course you played had very tough greens. Were the greens more difficult than the greens you normally play? If so, honestly ask yourself how many additional putts were directly related to the more difficult greens. Picture yourself standing on the 1st tee again, and knowing what you know now about the course, think about your best putting round ever and how would that putting performance score on this course. Do you think you could have had 30 putts on that course with your best effort? How about 28, or 26? Honestly ask yourself what would have been acceptable. Usually, you will find that you are beating yourself up for something you already subconsciously understood. The greens were going to be more difficult and your putting was going to be tested. It often turns out that you convinced yourself to putt defensively before you even made a stroke.

 

I have been where you are right now several times. My putting drives me nuts sometimes. I had 38 putts two weeks ago and I had 28 last Sunday. The only difference was me. Some days, you just don't putt well. Don't let a bad putting round change the picture you have of yourself as a good putter. Confidence is too hard to collect and too easy to flush.

 

If your putting in on a long running decline, or if you are wildly inconsistent, then maybe you need to get someone you trust to look at your stroke and see if something sticks out. Otherwise, make sure your setup is good and your tempo is good.

 

If you still feel like you need to do something, you might try doing what I do when it all goes south. I toss the putter in the bag and putt with my wedge. For some reason, I cannot think mechanics with a wedge in my hands. All I focus on is hitting the ball in exactly the right spot....and lo and behold, the ball falls in the hole pretty often. The last time I used my wedge was at the turn of a practice round where I had 20 putts on the front nine with three 3-putts. With the wedge I took 14 putts with zero 3-putts.

 

If you can putt with a wedge, using a putter seems easy.

 

Good luck and stay positive.

[mikpga]

Let me ask you this. Do you tend to make more putts from 10 feet and in when it is for par vs. when it is for birdie?

 

Many times golfers will get very 'protective/tenative' with their putting when they get all these looks at birdie. I unfortunately know this too well. I will generally score better when I hit 9-11 greens vs a round in which I hit 12-14 greens.

[leetch]

Did you start off with bad putting or did it just creep in on you. I know that when I start off on the wrong foot, bad thoughts get into my head and I end up with a horrible putting day. I typically don't lose confidence in my driver or irons when I hit a bad shot but the second I screw up a putt, a world of thoughts get into my head and screw up my round.

 

I have yet been able to keep solid putting thoughts throughout my game. I'm with you (not quite as good) but I've had my share of mid to upper 70's with 37+ putts. The sad part is it creeps into my next round or two until I feel confident again.

 

Not sure what to tell ya here, sometimes an equipment change can change a mindset, sometimes good practice sessions change the mindset and sometimes it just takes dumb luck making a 40 footer to change the mindset but overall it sounds to me to be more mental.

[t8er]

I played last week and hit 15 greens and shot 75. Like you, I was pretty ticked with my putting. My friend that I was playing with was telling me about his lesson at one of the Dave Pelz clinics/schools he went to. I guess Pelz really believes in drawing a line on the golf ball to aid in alignment. I gave it a shot and I couldn't believe how bad my alignment was. I was litterally setting up/aiming close to 12 inches right of the target and pulling everything to the left. When I stand over the ball now with the line correctly lined up the target line, it looks as if I aimed dead left. If I trust it though, I make a very pure stroke that stays on line. It's amazing how your eyes can trick you.

[spinningwedge]

You've got to keep believing!

 

What I do is periodically check my stroke for any fundamental errors - my tendency is to get my eyes out of alignment and bring the putter back on an overly inside track - and if the stroke is basically OK, practice my thought process on the putting green.

 

Read the line, commit to the line, address the putt and see the line both ball-to-hole and hole-back-to-ball and let it go. Practice the process and ignore the results. Keep believing.

 

There are days when you can hit a bunch of really good putts that don't go in. It happens. Keep believing, commit to your mental processes and let the putts go.