Speed or Start line (Putting & some what chipping)

Santiago Golf · September 21, 2023

Interesting thought I have been about putting concepts.

I feel golfers are worrying about start line way to much (effecting their 'stroke' negatively) and under valuing the importance of speed control

I see this even true in reading greens (caring more about 2 versus 3 balls out over 80% or 70% speed.

Same could be said about chipping; trying to clip the ground perfectly to create spin over trying to control the length of swing better

I understand to some certain degree that you need to start your ball on target when putting but I feel that all these drills to try to control path/direction, unusual grips, longer putters, etc come from over coaching start line and under coaching short putts.

How many times do we see a player make the same length backswing from a 5 footer and 15 footer or even a 30 footer ... all three should be different.

I putted my best as a junior with an armlock putter, but as I started to miss a few 5 footer under pressure, I went down the rabbit hole and got the yips.

I putted my best as an adult (better than PGA Tour average) for two years 2020 to 2021 when I didn't worry about break and just focus on how hard I wanted

to hit it; I can even begin to fathom how many times I would just give putts a quick glance after pacing off the distance and make them or lip out with good speed from 30 plus

feet out. My putting has regressed a little since because a lack of practicing but I'm still lag putting better than my skill level.

Maybe these thoughts are brought up by following alot DECADE concepts

idk, just wanted to here what the people think

Soloman1 · September 21, 2023

We all know that start line on a breaking putt depends on your delivery speed at the hole.

People can “calibrate” their speed control quickly before a round by hitting a few putts from a couple of distances while looking at the hole. There’s no getting around feel with putting.

I’m not a fan of grinding over length of backstroke any more than grinding over arm movement when throwing a jump shot in basketball.

The hole becomes irrelevant after choosing a landing spot for pitches and chips. That’s your target and your technique is your technique.

Sure, DeChambeau will think the shaft must hinge 27.693 degrees for a certain pitch, but he’s pretty much alone that.

Sometimes you have to get of your own way to play golf.

North Butte · September 21, 2023

I think it sounds like you're REALLY overthinking this. Imagine a pace and line that will let the ball fall into the cup. Start the ball along that line at that pace.

There's no need to "worry about" any of it. Just see what you want to do and then do it.

MelloYello · September 21, 2023

55 minutes ago, Santiago Golf said:

Interesting thought I have been about putting concepts.

I feel golfers are worrying about start line way to much (effecting their 'stroke' negatively) and under valuing the importance of speed control

I see this even true in reading greens (caring more about 2 versus 3 balls out over 80% or 70% speed.

Same could be said about chipping; trying to clip the ground perfectly to create spin over trying to control the length of swing better

I understand to some certain degree that you need to start your ball on target when putting but I feel that all these drills to try to control path/direction, unusual grips, longer putters, etc come from over coaching start line and under coaching short putts.

How many times do we see a player make the same length backswing from a 5 footer and 15 footer or even a 30 footer ... all three should be different.

I putted my best as a junior with an armlock putter, but as I started to miss a few 5 footer under pressure, I went down the rabbit hole and got the yips.

I putted my best as an adult (better than PGA Tour average) for two years 2020 to 2021 when I didn't worry about break and just focus on how hard I wanted

to hit it; I can even begin to fathom how many times I would just give putts a quick glance after pacing off the distance and make them or lip out with good speed from 30 plus

feet out. My putting has regressed a little since because a lack of practicing but I'm still lag putting better than my skill level.

Maybe these thoughts are brought up by following alot DECADE concepts

idk, just wanted to here what the people think

I think you're probably correct but it's hard to not worry a lot about break and start line when your looking at 3%-6% slopes all day. Where I play, we have a ton of undulation, almost to the point that sometimes it's kind of frustratingly stupid with the greens being pretty fast, too.

I would think it's a spectrum. The flatter the putt, the more you just think distance control. The more extreme the break, the more you're aiming for a sport 6-ft left of the hole or whatever.

Clearly both things have to be correct in putting. It's probably best that people don't focus too much on line because we aren't the ones curving the ball (the topology does that). We're the ones hitting it X-ft.

So, yeah, it makes sense that most of our focus should be on the thing we can actually control with our stroke (distance).

Let your setup dictate start-line. Once you're in position, the focus should be on making a good stroke that rolls the ball the right speed.

.

Edited September 21, 2023 by MelloYello

Santiago Golf · September 21, 2023

23 minutes ago, North Butte said:

I think it sounds like you're REALLY overthinking this. Imagine a pace and line that will let the ball fall into the cup. Start the ball along that line at that pace.

There's no need to "worry about" any of it. Just see what you want to do and then do it.

I'm not one worrying ... I'm looking at golf as a whole here

Ri_Redneck · September 21, 2023

Typically, those worrying a lot about line don't trust their stroke to HIT that line. Practicing hitting your line will instill confidence which allows you to focus on speed once you're setup. I used to freeze up trying to make a stroke that would start on my intended line. Once I changed my setup, grip and stroke to hit that line with consistency, the anxiety went away and I got much better at speed control.

Remove all of the variables you can and golf will get easier.

BT

iutodd · September 21, 2023

I think it depends on the putt.

30 footer speed is generally more important than line. As in - if you have the right speed you can be 2-3 feet off line and be left with a 2-3 foot putt which are made almost all the time. 2 putting from 30 feet will gain strokes over basically anyone who isn’t a tour pro.

Inside of 8-10 feet line is generally more important because it often determines the speed of the putt. At least that’s I how generally see things. To make a putt you have to read it correctly and then get it started on the right line with the right speed. And you can’t know the right speed until you pick a line. Line generally comes first inside of 8-10 feet.

Pretty sure testing was done by another site that showed using an alignment line on the ball inside 10 feet helped a bit but at any other distance it didn’t help/likely hurt. The longer the putt gets the more important speed becomes and the less important line becomes. The shorter the putt the more important line becomes and the less important speed becomes. Most tap ins are technically hit with way more speed than needed to get the ball to the hole - they’d likely roll 2 feet by the hole which is equal to double the length of the original putt. You won’t make many 10 footers if you hit them 10 feet by.

I guess: you can be a great lag putter if your speed is great even if you suck at reading putts/suck at getting the ball started on the right line. You can’t be a great putter inside of 10 feet if you can’t get the ball started on the right line.

PracticeSwinger · September 21, 2023

1 hour ago, Soloman1 said:

We all know that start line on a breaking putt depends on your delivery speed at the hole.

People can “calibrate” their speed control quickly before a round by hitting a few putts from a couple of distances while looking at the hole. There’s no getting around feel with putting.

Sometimes you have to get of your own way to play golf.

Basically this, my putting SG improved substancially when I made sure I calibrate my speed / distance control to a fault. It simplifes the process so much. You're faced with a 25ft slick slice one, you know/feel how to get it there, you try and figure out the overall break and you add a touch of break, always... and then just execute, that's it. By adding a touch of break, you make sure you always end up on the pro side, it'll feed to the hole and your partners will even tell you 'what a great putt' as it ends up 8 inches on the high side, when you thought you had pulled it too much.

You basically give yourself a margin of error of 6ft wide on the break, while if you don't know if that 25ft slick one will end up 5ft short, it's going to be a long day

SNIPERBBB · September 21, 2023

If you're not hitting your start lines, you probably arent making good contact on with the ball. Not too many times do you make horrible contact and the ball starts on line.