Making no putts is golf's version of purgatory

[MtlJeff]

8 hours ago, Cliffy2020 said:

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

 

Probably all of the above. It's just been a season from he** so to speak. I haven't played poorly , i bet i have hit more GIR's than last year. But some rounds i've hit 12-13 greens and felt like i didn't have a lot of good looks (our course was protecting the greens by having pins on edges a lot, so that didn't help)

 

I have messed up the par 5's consistently, like every time i've been in good position in 2 i've hit a subpar chip and left myself 14 feet instead of 4....those types of things. I've done them all year

 

I haven't chipped in all year, haven't holed out all year, haven't made any really long putts , so no "lucky" birdies or anything. 

 

Putts have not gone in. In my first CC round this past weekend i had 5 lipouts (some of these were for par). So i'm not putting terribly. Just not putting them in either. 

 

That being said, i made 3 birdies in a round finally, my second CC round which helped me qualify for the Monday round. 

[milesgiles]

I play with an ex tour pro and th best I’ve seen him do is 16 gir with 2 missed by a foot

 

Man there’s some talent on wrx..

[Soloman1]

What have you done to improve? What drills or changes have you made?

[Cliffy2020]

Brutal standing over 5’ers, feeling like the odds are against you.  I watched Billy Horcshel practice at the WM Open using the 6 tee gate drill I described earlier. (Straight uphill, R➡️L, L➡️R).  Really inspired me to practice harder. I think it’s paying off as my misses are of the “coulda gone in for the same price” variety vs “No chance in hell.“  Also, my new idea of a successful putt is starting the ball on its intended line with the correct speed vs dropping in the hole.  Helps with my overall attitude putting.  Played 9 last Saturday at Glen Oaks, hit 7/9 greens, all within 18’, one birdie, one bogey, even par 35. One lateral hazard penalty, 2 lip outs. Another would, coulda, shoulda been (-3), but I was satisfied after the round knowing progress was made and sooner or later those putts will drop.  Try to keep a positive attitude ??

[goaliedad30]

I shot 73 today. 4 birdies, and an "effective birdie" ... 5 after an unplayable / stroke & distance. Made putts from 6, 30, 2, (15), and 2 feet.

[Mccaria]

Ok. Having watched this thread for a while it’s time to hand in my application form :

 

haven’t played well for the past month but on Friday the swing came together, only 2 poor tee shots (both scrambled for pars) and a lot of solid irons for a 2 under handicap 81 score. So far so good, but the putting.... A total of 38 putts, a four putt, a three putt, fifteen two putts and a solitary one putt. The only one putt was a gimme on the 18th following a wedge to a foot which was conceded by my playing partners. Their logic was either a) not even I could miss that putt, or b) they couldn’t bear to watch me putt anymore. A total of 9 makeable birdie putts, everyone missed and 7 par savers, every one missed. A 3 footer for birdie missed, a 4 footer for birdie missed and 3x6 footers for birdie missed. 
 

Mitigating factors, I had played a different course the day before on slower greens and the green keepers had chosen some nasty pin positions. However the putter is now on notice. 

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Putting and chipping aren’t really my strongest.

Further, this pandemic and lack of playing have wreaked havoc on what little bit of short game I might have had? 38 putts is not uncommon these days.

[MtlJeff]

On 9/10/2020 at 5:33 PM, milesgiles said:

I play with an ex tour pro and th best I’ve seen him do is 16 gir with 2 missed by a foot

 

Man there’s some talent on wrx..

 

I dont think its crazy for an amateur scratch golfer to hit 14 or 15 GIRs in a round a few times a year on a 6600yd course. I haven't made any claims beyond that or said that I do it every time

 

The rounds I talked about on page one, a weekend where I hit 14 and 15 greens and had done a similar thing the previous weekend if I recall,  was the best ballstriking stretch I had this season

[MtlJeff]

On 9/10/2020 at 9:39 PM, Soloman1 said:

What have you done to improve? What drills or changes have you made?

 

I haven't really improved. But I also haven't worked on it a ton. I haven't had a lot of time to practice, but leading up to our CC i put in a bit more time on the greens and also went back to a long putter with counterbalance, which I have had good stretches with 

[llewol007]

No doubt. Players often forget how the second half of the hole can keep you from success. Ive had the same rounds as some have said in prior responses. From tee to green you are spot and and for the life you me you cant hit a putt. This is where your practices come into play. Sometimes we start to over read a hole or our speed is off. That is why you practice the wheel or lag putts on the practice green. So you have something to fall back on. Not being able to putt does put you into such a lull but, you can get out of it. 

[nsxguy]

On 9/11/2020 at 10:05 PM, Cliffy2020 said:

Brutal standing over 5’ers, feeling like the odds are against you.  I watched Billy Horcshel practice at the WM Open using the 6 tee gate drill I described earlier. (Straight uphill, R➡️L, L➡️R).  Really inspired me to practice harder. I think it’s paying off as my misses are of the “coulda gone in for the same price” variety vs “No chance in hell.“  Also, my new idea of a successful putt is starting the ball on its intended line with the correct speed vs dropping in the hole.  Helps with my overall attitude putting.  Played 9 last Saturday at Glen Oaks, hit 7/9 greens, all within 18’, one birdie, one bogey, even par 35. One lateral hazard penalty, 2 lip outs. Another would, coulda, shoulda been (-3), but I was satisfied after the round knowing progress was made and sooner or later those putts will drop.  Try to keep a positive attitude ??

 

First things first. If you're gonna use ➡️  for L-R you've GOT to use ⬅️  for R-L, OK ?

 

You previously posted "I thought I was the only one... if I was an average putter I’d go from a 2hdcp ➡️ +3hdcp". I have to assume that's hyperbole because I've never seen that guy, a 2 who's an "average" putter. Maybe average FOR a "2" but not average. I've seen some 10s that putt like 2s but I've never seen the 2 that putts like a 10.

 

But I get it. It's ALL about expectations. I DO like your new thought though. If you start it on your chosen line and at the speed you wanted, you can't do a whole lot more,,,,,,,, physically. Of course that brings into play that you probably need to learn read the greens a bit better though (but then who doesn't ? ).

 

But you also need to give yourself a bit of a break. You're hitting a ball that's not round on a surface that's not flat with some little humps and bumps you can't see. With the slow mo and closeups on Tour nowadays surely you seen some "great putts" that are actually wiggling, wobbling and bobbling every step of the way, right ? It ain't billiards.

 

And on Tour I believe the 50% make rate line is around 7 feet, no ? So 5 or 6 feet sounds perfectly reasonable even for a highly skilled amateur, no ?

 

 

@MtlJeff I played in NYC for 25 years, most every Sunday "in season", roughly from mid-March to late October. Compared to Montreal, NYC is positively hot in April.

 

Beginning of the year the conditions are terrible, the greens are rock hard and bumpy as heck and balls bound all over the place. Putts wiggle and wobble and stop and start crazily. Same thing starting around mid-Sept, just for slightly different reasons (too much play, greens get burnt out, etc.).

 

We had a few guys in our club with 1-2 'caps and IF they played the whole season and averaged 2 birdies per that was excellent. If they only played during the good weather months, roughly mid-May to mid-Sept, some would average around 3 for those months, but not many.

 

2 birdies per may not be great but it ain't that bad.

 

 

But putting is in large part in the mind. We've got to find a "happy place" when we're ready to pull the trigger.

 

(Yeah, yeah, I know "Thanks Captain Obvious" ?)

 

[trav]

I'm an absolutely awful putter that plays to a 2.  That being said, I absolutely never practice putting and my version of warming up putting before the round is hitting 3 3-footers and 3-lag puts and calling it good.  I lament about my putting all the time, yet I do absolutely 0 to fix it.  I bet many in this thread are the same, even those that say they ARE practicing, lol.

[Cliffy2020]

Weather is starting to turn and 2020 season coming to an end.  Made some adjustments to my set up with some success last week.  This week was back to awful finishing a round missing 2 birdie putts inside 5’ and after a great short sided bunker shot to 4’.

 

I practice my tail off with a fitted putter.  Partners know the work I put in to putting but after much analysis I consistently align left of target (some days less than others depending on the hours spent on drills).  I’ve known this for some time and have tried to retrain my eyes to what true alignment looks like.  It’s in my head now while standing over the ball, constantly second guessing/questioning if the putter is actually pointing where I think it is.  
 

Ultimately, I know the “T” bar alignment aid on my spider mini is not suited for me and I’ve realized I can’t retrain myself to suit my putter or reliably trust my stroke knowing I naturally aim left (so subconsciously push it or align correctly (which appears right of target and subconsciously pull it).  Oh, the demons! 
 

New arrow is on the way!  Until then, this archer is experimenting with some different alignment aid patterns on the mini using simple stickers until the new weapon arrives.

[caniac6]

Just switched clubs, and the new club has very fast greens with a lot of movement. Hitting the ball fairly well, but having a tough time adjusting to the new greens. Currently using a Stroke Lab V Line putter, and I'm thinking about going back to an old, lighter Ping.

[NRJyzr]

On 8/17/2020 at 3:43 PM, MtlJeff said:

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

 

 

Reading this thread lets me know I'm not alone in the universe.  Shot 76-76 a week or so ago, hit 12 greens in the one round, no birdies, six lipped out putts.

 

I felt all warm inside.

 

[MtlJeff]

Today I shot 70 with 5 birdies. LOL

 

The course owed me a few

[Cliffy2020]

4” of snow yesterday. Busted out the 17’ birdieball putting mat and started training with a L.A.B. 2.1 today.  I’m EXCITED to implement some of the tips in this thread. Thanks WRX’ers.

[RoyalMustang]

On 8/7/2020 at 6:51 AM, Hot Rod 71 said:

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.

 

Yeah, GIR can be misleading.  You might be putting from 40 feet. Heck, you could be chipping from 45 feet and if you can handle a wedge, it is any worse?  Sam Snead anyone?  I always groan when I see those 35-40 footers.  

[ClubBuildRookie]

Ok, time add a couple thoughts of my own to this thread.  First off, playing to a 1.4 HC without birdies is a great accomplishment in its own right.  Good job.  I’m only a 11.7 HC but I think what I’m about to say hits one of the nails squarely on the head.

 

GIR putts is naturally going to be higher than Non-GIR putts purely from a proximity to the pin perspective.  Hence, once you start achieving a healthy GIR percentage, the focus needs to change to understanding your dispersion cones for each of your clubs and playing your percentages smartly based on pin locations to improve your proximity to the pin.

 

Have you hit enough balls on an indoor simulator / launch monitor with each club to know what your dispersion circle sizes are and how far the average shot is offline for each club your likely to hit an approach shot with?  

 

Connecting the dots and putting the data to use is key to breaking though to the next level and I’m confident about that. I have a SkyTrak in my garage and have looked at my own data fairly frequently but I don’t know it as well as I should if I were a 1.4 HC trying break scratch.  

 

Here’s an example.  I hit my 9i 116 yard +/- 5 yards.  I average 2 yards offline to the left with a straight to slightly fade flight.  My dispersion circle diameter size is 25.7 yards on normalized data for what I consider to be good swings.  As a golfer, what this tells me is I have roughly 13 yards of miss in both directions and average hit spot will be 2 yards left of my aim point.  When I have 9i in hand and encounter a pin position that has 13 yards green on both sides of the flag, it’s a green light for me to make my aim point 2 yards right of the pin regardless of where the flag is at on the green.  

 

Being at a 1.4 HC your dispersion circle size for your 9i is likely much smaller than mine.  If your simply aiming at center of green a lot to achieve a GIR without using a strategized plan from lack of data knowledge, your simply robbing yourself of the potential you have for not just looks at birdies but great looks at birdies that have a higher probability of being holed.  I have given a dumbed down version of a data analytics explanation.  It can get much deeper, more detailed and refined if you dive into it from a statistical analysis perspective looking at the data using a normal distribution and the standard deviation approach.  I’d be willing to bet behind every top pro is a statistic guru.  You wanna hole more birdie putts?  Improve your plan and proximity to the pin.

[shoot4par]

If making no putts is purgatory then being a good putter from everywhere except inside 5 feet hell. 😂

[jplroper]

 16 greens in regulation, that takes me a month, so I have to lean on my putter to get anything done.  I practice quite a bit in the living room putting to a dime to improve concentration and aim. The issue with that is I suddenly started making corrections for just slight misses and lost confidence [slightly]. To get back on track I started doing what Paul Azinger demonstrated on the golf channel, putting at a water bottle, you put more confidently when you putt to hit something.  Seems to be working well.

[MtlJeff]

My last 3 rounds are 70-73-74 and I have 8 birdies and 2 eagles. 

 

Course was like "we'll make it up to him right before it snows"

[harolease]

Last round I had 34 putts which is good for me.  Accepted the fact that I’m just okay putter It’s a talent like driving the ball  It’s a joy to see a good player who is consistent good on the greens and rolls the ball like it’s going in all the time.  

[ScottHutch2]

This happen to me today. My wife bought me a putter for my birthday, great gift, but i just don't fit the putter well. It sucks because I want to use it, but my old putter is just wayyy better

[Roejye]

I have had roughly the same issue, but I'm actually feeling slightly better about it than you are. The joys of being a high handicapper. I reach about 22% GIR but I've been averaging about 2.1 putts per hole, granted a fair amount is being able to chip it relatively close, but I'm often missing 5-8 footers. I try not to let it get to me and take solace in the fact that my distance control has been pretty decent, just misreading or mishitting. My issue is not practicing. I really don't have much of an excuse either, there's a golf course with a nice short game practice area 5 minutes away from work, no real reason I can't spend 30 minutes a day at least 3 times a week practicing (especially since it's free.)

[bassman1308]

I'm interested to know what you all think is a 'AVERAGE' % for birdie putts made to GIR? For me it's 20%.  I realize , on a daily basis, it depends on how close you are from the hole.  But over a period of time, one should have a good idea what a good % is.  I don't get much height on my approach shots so fast, hard greens make it harder to get it close.  but hard greens putt truer so it's a wash.     Putting a good roll on the right line is the correct approach, for me.  My home course has a fair amount of Poa in the greens and until it gets hot I can easily find something to line up to within 6"" of my ball.  When the Poa is gone, I often get lax in looking for that spot to line up with .   I putt better if I use a spot but get lazy quite often. 

[caniac6]

Based on the teachings of my religion, not making putts is not purgatory. It is a place much hotter.

[milesgiles]

I just find this an incredibly self indulgent, whiny thread.

 

i always enjoy golf if I’ve hit it well and got plenty of g.i.r. 

Somedays its 27 putts, some days it’s 34. That’s golf. If you are truly that bad at putting, stop going to the range and put some worthwhile time in on the putting green.

 

I don’t particularly enjoy that bit of practise, but I enjoy the good scores that may result.

 

in short, stop whining.

[MtlJeff]

1 hour ago, milesgiles said:

I just find this an incredibly self indulgent, whiny thread.

 

i always enjoy golf if I’ve hit it well and got plenty of g.i.r. 

Somedays its 27 putts, some days it’s 34. That’s golf. If you are truly that bad at putting, stop going to the range and put some worthwhile time in on the putting green.

 

I don’t particularly enjoy that bit of practise, but I enjoy the good scores that may result.

 

in short, stop whining.

 

Thanks for the advice. 

 

This year was a particularly bad year for making putts as i've mentioned. Early in the season we couldn't practice due to Covid, as we were only allowed to show up <30 minutes before our tee times and had to leave right after. We only got maybe 2 months of time this year where we were allowed to practice. This combined with some just extraordinary bad breaks in terms of lipouts etc...It just was likely an outlier year

 

My last month of the season i probably averaged 3.5 birdies a round ~

 

Sometimes it's just nice to vent a bit online and have a fun discussion with other golfers, without it being whiny self indulgence or a "passive brag". 

 

 

[hammersia]

On 9/25/2020 at 6:48 PM, nsxguy said:

You previously posted "I thought I was the only one... if I was an average putter I’d go from a 2hdcp ➡️ +3hdcp". I have to assume that's hyperbole because I've never seen that guy, a 2 who's an "average" putter. Maybe average FOR a "2" but not average. I've seen some 10s that putt like 2s but I've never seen the 2 that putts like a 10.

 

 

Although that’s normally true, I’ve said it before but I once watched Tommy Horton (41 professional wins)  in the English seniors. Hit every green, every ball landed in the same way one hop and spin to fifteen feet. Every hole. 
 

Every single putt was a nervous shove with the broomstick, worse than any amateur I can remember playing with, never looked like holing anything. 
 

An outlier. But it happens.