Pitch Putting Style and Coming Up Short

[jenb]

I think adding in the weight shift is helping my back too.

[JMONEY]

In addition to the other feedback you can imagine painting the basket with a few strokes just before you putt.

[sidewinder22]

Now looka here sister, try to putt standing on one foot. It forces you to learn how to use your front foot/leg to generate power putting. Nate Doss often putts on one leg, and I often do one leg putts inside the circle. Feldberg also advocates learning on one foot. Also keep your arm motion short and quick, let the legs move first and then its late acceleration "snake strike" as Dave D calls it, or "T-Rex it" as Cam Todd would say. Outside the circle I use a walking putt like Feldy, it forces the weight shift and you release the disc just before your left leg hits/walks to the ground.

[Monocacy]

Originally Posted by jenb

I've been pitch putting for years with a soft magnet . . .

A stiff, grippy putter is usually best for pitch putting.

Originally Posted by jenb

I got my basket last night and started practicing . . .

You will find that your practice basket makes a huge difference in your game.

Originally Posted by jenb

Should I just use the roc past 15-20 feet . . .

Don’t putt with your Roc, learn to increase distance with your putter.

Originally Posted by jenb

. . . switch to a faster putter . . .

Most putters should fly the same inside the circle. If you like the Magnet, try a lighter one. I started with 175 putters, worked down to 168, and now I am putting with 165. Lighter putters drop slower, but they are more susceptible to wind. Like anything else in life, disc golf is full of trade-offs.

Originally Posted by jenb

. . . and/or change to a spin putt style?

A pitch / push putt has less distance potential, but should be more accurate and leave you with shorter come-back putts. Spin putts give you more distance, but at the cost of left-right accuracy and longer come-back putts. More trade-offs, so pick your poison and don’t look back.

Pay attention to what GLong said about nose-up, and what Apoth said about spin in his 4th point. You don’t want to actively flick your wrist on a pitch / push putt because that imparts left-right errors. The spin should be passive, from a relaxed wrist and hard stop at the end of your putting stroke.

Here are a few tips that may or may not be helpful.

The disc should start snugly against your palm. At the release, the palm will push the disc forward as the disc springs off your fingers. Keep everything relaxed during the putting stroke until just before the release, and then *BAM*, hit it with everything like a karate punch. Getting this timing right, with the palm push and finger spring providing impetus, and the passive wrist opening imparting spin, is the “magic” that will give you distance and accuracy with a pitch / push putt. Keeping all movements in line with the basket will give your putts accuracy.

FWIW, I tried a straight-arm pitch putt but had difficulty controlling the up-down release angle so I switched to a bent-arm push putt. I can get out to 30 feet before I need to add a weight shift, but of course it took a while to build up that distance. A weight shift adds distance, but also adds more moving parts which can affect accuracy. YMMV.

Excellent putting resources:

Short-arm putting by Blake T.

Push putt issues

Good luck!

[GLong]

how are you gripping the disc for putting?

[bee_ryce]

Mostly reiterating what others have said, heres a few things ive picked up from online material and my own experience:

-Acceleration: your arm should be moving faster at the point of release than at the beginning of the pitch motion. If you are tentative and your arm speed slows down, you'll come up short every time. Dont focus so much on moving your arm as fast as possible, just make sure its accelerating.

-Weight shift - should be your main source of power on longer putts, all of your weight should be over your front foot at release (ie lift your back foot up off the ground)

-Finger Spring - work on making sure your fingers all leave the disc at the same time and cleanly...this will help add some "pop" to your putts

- Stance - keep your shoulders square throughout the putt. if you rotate them or lunge forward with your lead shoulder it tends to cost a lot of power and accuracy.

- Confidence, the most important aspect...comes over time from practicing good technique

[jenb]

Originally Posted by GLong

how are you gripping the disc for putting?

Like Jay in this Video (I think, at least that's what I'm trying to do). No, I haven't seen the whole video either, just the first bit. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna break down and buy the series soon.

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/5148-disc-golf-putting

I'm assuming this is going to take awhile. I mean, I played guitar for twenty years before I got serious about it, and then it took a couple of years to really master it. So even though I've been playing for fun the past 5-6 years, I expect to spend the next 2-3 years becoming a putting machine.

However, unlike guitar, you can't find an instructor giving lessons very easily. I'm just trying to pull in resources, and you guys are a big help, no doubt.

[tmahan]

Are you straddle putting or inline/stagggered? You should be able to generate distance more easily with the latter. If you're straddling the weight shift is trickier and you might have to use more wrist snap which I personally don't like.

In general, the biggest cause of coming up short is the fear of three putting. This is why I advocate starting at 10' feet and staying there until you own it, then move back 5' and repeat. When you own the short putts you become more assertive with the long ones.