Getting putts to drop

[dgarland]

I need to shake some things up on the greens. I’m in what I would call a putting slump. Not in the sense that I’m 3 putting a lot or missing 3 footers.  I’m still good with lag putts and the short ones.  I’m just making absolutely nothing outside of 6 feet. I’m all over the edges so I don’t think I need a total overhaul, just something to get some momentum going. All suggestions welcome. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I think you either need to fix your line or your speed. 

 

You're welcome. 

[goaliedad30]

If you are all over the edges, and the putt is starting on the line you intend it, and you're happy with your lag speeds .... I wouldn't change anything. Just keep stroking the ball solidly. You'll hit a spell where they all drop!

[dfeldss]

If you're hittin em where you're looking, I say just stay the course and they'll fall eventually. 

 

If you're pushing/pulling putts, or feel like you're not reading greens well, maybe there's some work to be done, but if not, that's just golf my friend

[getitdaily]

If your speed is good then your reads are a bit off.

 

Try one of these so you get an idea of how much break you see and how much of the hole you give away. I put it down where my ball is, halfway between ball and hole, and about a foot from the hole. Has helped me understand that I was playing too much break.

Then try the line on the ball to assure that you're aligned properly. Will likely take some time to get used to...speed, how alignment may look different, etc. May also expose an issue with face control.

 

[MattM97]

Sacrificial offering to the golf gods or wait for your luck to turn around, that's kinda really it. Putting there is a lot of luck in play once that ball is rolling on the green.

 

All year I've been the same as you OP, nothing was dropping. Last week I played and dropped 3 putts over 20ft long. Just have to accept sometimes the ball takes a good turn and drops in the cup. 

[Sean124]

This feels like it’s time to buy a new putter. Tell your wife we said it’s okay. 

[me05501]

2 hours ago, dgarland said:

I’m all over the edges so I don’t think I need a total overhaul, just something to get some momentum going. All suggestions welcome. 

 

If you're burning edges you're probably close. Maybe just make sure you're erring toward the high side of the cup more than the low side. The high side might let a few putts in but the low side never will. 

 

I had a putting lesson last year and the main thing the guy told me was that the best putters tend to have their follow-through stop at the same spot on every putt regardless of distance. He mentioned Rahm and Cantlay as examples. They have a defined spot 10-12" in front of the ball and they want the putter head to stop there consistently. They adjust only their backstroke to control distance, never their follow through. 

 

The idea is to be sure you're hitting all the way through every putt and never decelerating or "popping" the ball. 

 

It's amazing to see the difference in how the ball rolls and holds its line when you approach it this way. It takes less getting used to than you might imagine. I just forget sometimes. 😕 

[Santiago Golf]

Here is a good drill 

 

putt a tee in the putting green on a spot with some slope

then putt 4 tees 10 feet away from it in each direction (north, south, etc)

Putt 3 balls from each location and rotate 

Ball 1: more break, less speed

Ball 2: normal break, normal speed

Ball 3: less break, more speed

 

Take your time and go around a few times 

This will work on your green reading ability, alignment, matching up speed and break

It will also show you what method you are the best in terms of matching speed and break 

Some players are better at playing less break and some players are better at playing more break

Edited June 21, 2023 by Santiago Golf

[MonteScheinblum]

It’s math, don’t screw ip your putting 

[Sean124]

14 minutes ago, MonteScheinblum said:

It’s math, don’t screw ip your putting 

Why does it only math when I play tournaments? 😂

[SNIPERBBB]

I've been ina slump all year  think I'm coming out of it. Ive found that ive been coming out of my stance at impact and getting the ball too far away from me at address. Finally shot under par for the first time in two years Sunday 

[Roejye]

Okay here's my step by step guide 

1. New putter

2. Start putting side saddle, left hand low, with a claw grip for top hand.

3. Start trying to hit everything 8 feet past.

 

Honestly, it just sounds like not great luck. That distance you brought up is a tricky distance and was brought up in an excellent thread earlier this year. I'm actually in the boat that Monte and others have said, don't fix what isn't broke.

[st1800e]

7 hours ago, getitdaily said:

If your speed is good then your reads are a bit off.

Or, if your reads are good , you're speed is a bit off.  

 

Putting is streaky, either a little bit or a lot.   Could be a small adjustment in stroke which might be making a small deviation from your intended line.  Once you've read the putt pick a starting line, and stroke it on that starting line.  

[MonteScheinblum]

3 hours ago, Sean124 said:

Why does it only math when I play tournaments? 😂

More variables in the equation.  Still math.  
 

How many tournament rounds are being judged here?

[Sean124]

56 minutes ago, MonteScheinblum said:

More variables in the equation.  Still math.  
 

How many tournament rounds are being judged here?

I’m just messing around. I just chalk it up to making less putts on unfamiliar greens with a little pressure added in. 
 

If I struggle it’s with speed control on lag putts. Gotta get better at that. 

[getitdaily]

7 hours ago, st1800e said:

Or, if your reads are good , you're speed is a bit off.  

 

Putting is streaky, either a little bit or a lot.   Could be a small adjustment in stroke which might be making a small deviation from your intended line.  Once you've read the putt pick a starting line, and stroke it on that starting line.  

Correctt. Sometimes burning edges simply means you're too timid with speed and you need to be a bit more aggressive. 

[Kuuuch]

17 hours ago, dgarland said:

I need to shake some things up on the greens. I’m in what I would call a putting slump. Not in the sense that I’m 3 putting a lot or missing 3 footers.  I’m still good with lag putts and the short ones.  I’m just making absolutely nothing outside of 6 feet. I’m all over the edges so I don’t think I need a total overhaul, just something to get some momentum going. All suggestions welcome. 

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was from a friend on the pga tour when my putting went cold. Same as you OP, wasn’t 3 putting or really missing short ones but didn’t seem to be making a lot.

 

He said lower your expectations and just try to get the speed right. Putting is just hard, some days you feel like you can’t miss and sometimes the hole is the size of a quarter.
 

Nothing good comes out of getting upset a 15 footer didn’t drop especially as an amateur. I mean look at scheffler right now, number 1 in the world and putter has been a little cold. It happens quite often 

[SNIPERBBB]

2 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Correctt. Sometimes burning edges simply means you're too timid with speed and you need to be a bit more aggressive. 

Wouldnt it be the opposite? If you're burning edges, you're either a tad too firm or your over-reading putts.

[getitdaily]

1 minute ago, SNIPERBBB said:

Wouldnt it be the opposite? If you're burning edges, you're either a tad too firm or your over-reading putts.

Could be either. That's the grind of figuring it out.

[RoyalTroon]

 

[Carolina Golfer 2]

On 6/21/2023 at 1:45 PM, dgarland said:

I need to shake some things up on the greens. I’m in what I would call a putting slump. Not in the sense that I’m 3 putting a lot or missing 3 footers.  I’m still good with lag putts and the short ones.  I’m just making absolutely nothing outside of 6 feet. I’m all over the edges so I don’t think I need a total overhaul, just something to get some momentum going. All suggestions welcome. 

 

Rory Mcilroy on the other line, waiting for the answer to this as well. 

[SNIPERBBB]

1 hour ago, Sixironvswedges said:

Practice green
Hit a few balls if your speed is good, balls close to the hole and not past it, then adjust your line a bit and hit a few more till they start falling.

 

Golf is an Art not a science 
Game not work
Fun enjoyable experience 
Great outdoors
Fresh air 
Rest & relaxation 
 

Enjoy the wonderful game of golf!

If only it was that simple 

[Zitlow]

Put a 2 1/2 x 3/8 inch clevis pin in the butt of your putter. Wrap some electricians tape around it so it doesn't rattle. The added weight will make your stroke as smooth as butter. 

[MountainKing]

I'm an awful putter, I'm a 2 handicap but my putting stats line up more with somebody that would be a 8 or a 9, I make my strokes up with my irons and chipping.  I do try to keep perspective, at 6 feet the PGA tour make PCT is about 60%, you being a 4 handicap that drops probably in half and goes down every foot you get away.   Putting is important, but at our level I think there's other areas of the game that you can dedicate time to work on that will yield quicker results than hours on the putting green.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

40 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

I'm an awful putter, I'm a 2 handicap but my putting stats line up more with somebody that would be a 8 or a 9, I make my strokes up with my irons and chipping.  I do try to keep perspective, at 6 feet the PGA tour make PCT is about 60%, you being a 4 handicap that drops probably in half and goes down every foot you get away.   Putting is important, but at our level I think there's other areas of the game that you can dedicate time to work on that will yield quicker results than hours on the putting green.

This is so true!  For example, I'm a 17 and a better than most I play with putter. My putting handicap according to the PING Master fitters when I was being fit at their HQ was a +2    A good buddy and regular playing partner is a 3 but if he could putt would likely be scratch .  He is a very bad putter for his level.   I mean literally if we both had the same 6 footer to win a match, he'd want me to take it every day of the week over him.   But he just crushes me in every other aspect of the game, off the tee, approach and around the green.   So yeah, there are so many other areas I can work on and do to try and improve, he doesn't work on his putting, it just frustrates him 🙂

 

[SNIPERBBB]

55 minutes ago, Sixironvswedges said:

I practice putting starting with straight putts at 2 feet, then move to 4 feet then move to 8 feet and finally 16 feet, this builds confidence and confidence is everything! 
 

putting is simple, only two aspects: the line and the speed

 

hope this helps 

 

Tournaments & pro’s ruined golf, banish the wretched “Driven for success” mentality!

It’s Bassackwards:

Golf is an Art not a science 
Game not work
Fun enjoyable experience 
Great outdoors
Fresh air 
Rest & relaxation 
have fun for a change, chill out, laid back, no stress!

 

Enjoy the wonderful game of golf!

(If keeping score prevents this, well then, don’t)

You're in the wrong place here. 

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

Bubba Watson said that putts with perfect speed on the perfect line will go in 🤣

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Sixironvswedges said:

Tournaments & pro’s ruined golf, banish the wretched “Driven for success” mentality!

It’s Bassackwards:

Golf is an Art not a science 
Game not work
Fun enjoyable experience 
Great outdoors
Fresh air 
Rest & relaxation 
have fun for a change, chill out, laid back, no stress!

 

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, Sixironvswedges said:

I practice putting starting with straight putts at 2 feet, then move to 4 feet then move to 8 feet and finally 16 feet, this builds confidence and confidence is everything! 
 

putting is simple, only two aspects: the line and the speed

 

hope this helps 

 

Tournaments & pro’s ruined golf, banish the wretched “Driven for success” mentality!

It’s Bassackwards:

Golf is an Art not a science 
Game not work
Fun enjoyable experience 
Great outdoors
Fresh air 
Rest & relaxation 
have fun for a change, chill out, laid back, no stress!

 

Enjoy the wonderful game of golf!

(If keeping score prevents this, well then, don’t)

 

Competing and improving is what makes it fun.  I love competitive matches. If I want to enjoy fresh air, rest & relaxation I can do that free in my back yard.  I would lose interest in golf and almost any sport if there wasn't a level of compete.