Give me your best putting tips

[hook_nuts]

I gained a lot of consistency when I rotated my foot and shoulder inwards so I could guarantee I could bring the putter down on a clean line and straight back through( similar to ken climo) but set up with the putter nose up like mcbeth to try to ensure i run it(wind can alter). Straddle putt would accomplish this as well.

 

[sidewinder22]

Read Craigg's Corner, and Golf is not a game of perfect.

 

[bnbanbury]

I found there to be some good info on avoiding the miss right in Philo's putting clinic, linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6pdd-ETeos.

I am a good putter, but have gone through stretches where i don't putt as well as usual. Invariably i get back on track by speeding up my routine and thinking less about the mechanics of what i'm doing. I pick out my tiny target on the pole or chains and keep my focus on it all the way through the disc reaching the basket.

 

[The Last DJ]

Focus on a single link in the chain instead of the entire basket.

Ensure you have the same pre-putt routine in practice and on the course.

Good luck!

 

[Lewis]

Simply your putting motion. The fewer moving parts, the less chance for error. I second the advice to putt the disc as if you're throwing to a friend. Imagine that the basket is eagerly welcoming the disc to it.

 

[Stardoggy]

I practice putt every day. Inside on my mach lite I am making 75-80% from inside about 22ft but that number is lower on the course. Any idea what might cause my misses right?

Focus. Make sure you focus on that single link all the way through release, not just until you start your throwing motion. When I'm off, it's because I'm losing focus at the last instant, and pulling my chin.

 

[UncleSweat]

Focus.

Single most important key. Focus on the shot, and have the confidence that you are going to make it.

 

[oddjob]

 

[fritothedog]

I have noticed that practice putting inside messes me up more than it helps. I especially experienced this over the winter. Putting in my warm, flat, open basement was so different from the cold, windy, possibly wooded course that it didn't help me. I would say try to practice outside rather than inside.

Also, move around the basket. It seems like it shouldn't matter because theoretically all angles at a round basket are the same but moving around will give differing surfaces that you are putting from and different angles in relation to the wind.

Also, watch videos of pros. The Feldberg putting clinic posted above helped me as well as watching the Paul McBeth putting video where he putts from different distances helped me out too.

Hope that helps.

 

[DatRedDude]

Quit thinking about it and just putt, that or with your distance put it close to the basket and drop it in, remove having to putt all together.

 

[Timeetyo]

I have noticed that practice putting inside messes me up more than it helps. I especially experienced this over the winter. Putting in my warm, flat, open basement was so different from the cold, windy, possibly wooded course that it didn't help me. I would say try to practice outside rather than inside.

Also, move around the basket. It seems like it shouldn't matter because theoretically all angles at a round basket are the same but moving around will give differing surfaces that you are putting from and different angles in relation to the wind.

Also, watch videos of pros. The Feldberg putting clinic posted above helped me as well as watching the Paul McBeth putting video where he putts from different distances helped me out too.

Hope that helps.

I have to disagree with the bolded....at least most of it.

Obviously, if we all lived in FL or CA, we would practice outdoors in varying wind all year long....but I'm not so lucky.

At the end of last fall, my putting was horrid. ~50% from 20'. Dumb luck from 30'.....without wind. I had no confidence, no muscle memory, no consistency. 1/2 the time I missed - I had no idea why.

I have just barely 10m of room in my basement and a practice basket and live in NY....so its a long winter. I did play a round a week for winter league, but that was it. No field work, no casual rounds for months. What I did do, though, was practice a TON in my basement (thank you JYLY putting game). Throughout the winter I was getting better and better in my basement. Averages were going up, confidence was going up. It didn't translate well to the course though....bad footing, layers, etc.

In my basement, though, by spring I was at ~90% from 20'. 60% from 10m. Huge improvement. The biggest thing that stood out to me was that I now have developed strong muscle memory and a consistent putt. Now if I miss, I immediately know why (usually chicken out and short arm it). Now if I do that...I can fix it.

With all of this clicking and finally losing the layers, I noticed something magical this spring when outside. Sure, it was rough at first dealing with wind...but now that I have a consistent putt I can actually make a meaningful adjustment to the wind. Granted, I'm not hitting 60% from 10m like I did in my basement....but I'm not completely shocked when I drain one, either.

My point in all of this is that putting in that perfect setting has its uses. I think it actually helped me progress faster as it removed variables and allowed me to focus on building that muscle memory faster than if I had spread that practice out over varying conditions. Of course it also helped that it is much more fun to practice in a t shirt during the winter than freezing...so i got more time in as well.

Now that I have that muscle memory, its time to maintain it and build experience with adjusting that baseline motion to a variety of settings & wind conditions to take my putting to the next level.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Learn your personal "eye dominance."

Use that knowledge.

Make more putts.

 

[Jax11]

Read Craigg's Corner, and Golf is not a game of perfect.

Couldn't agree more. I re-read "Golf is not a Game of Perfect" almost every season.

It sounds like a mental issue more than anything else to me. If you can hit 75% from 22ft and in, in practice you do not have anything wrong mechanically.

First things first, you need to decide you are good putter. Your physical practice will not make you a good putter if you are weak mentally. You need to choose be confident in every putt. When you miss, you cannot think, "Here we go again". You have to think that miss was a fluke and there is no way you can miss the next one. Irrational rock solid confidence is your friend.

Find a way to enjoy putting. I always putt the best when I enjoy it. Don't dread the 17ft birdie putt, get excited about it!

Make sure you have a sound pre-putt routine. This helps get your mind in the right place. Develop a simple swing thought, you don't want to be thinking about your putting mechanics during a swing so something like, "Right in the chains", or "Nice an easy" as you swing can occupy your mind during the swing and stop you from thinking about the swing itself.

Lastly, check your rhythm. Make sure your on-course putting rhythm is the same as your practice one. Whether that means speeding up your on-course rhythm or slowing down your practice, just make sure they are consistent.

After writing all of this, I even more strongly recommend "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" all this advice is in that book and explained more clearly.

 

[Kodachrome]

throw it in the basket.

 

[runningDoc]

the Zen Golf* book had some great insights/mindsets that I took to the putting green for a recent tournament (where I didn't miss a regular spin putt from 25ft and in and hit about 3 high "pressure" 30-40footers to save par.

the ones I mentioned above all went into the basket and were completed (to mostly save pars), but I was just as happy with the 30ft spin putt** and 28ft straddle putt*** I "missed".

Why be happy with missed putts? because I made my putt on all of the misses. What I mean is that although the disc didn't stay in the basket I properly executed the putt I planned on doing and even hit the chains fat (down to the specific links aimed at being touched). The outcome wasn't the disc going into the basket, but everything else worked out.

Thats how I practice now. Instead of practicing where all the putts have to go into the basket, what I focus on is just doing my mental checklist in conjunction with my pre putt/putt/after putt routine (which is very quick 10-15 seconds all in all but very deliberate) then if I did everything and hit the chains (for me specific links/area) then I consider it a made putt regardless of outcome (if it went in or not).


*I bought the Zen Golf book used on eBay for less than $4.00 w/ free shipping. I think you can get the same deal on Amazon too.

**the 30ft spin putt was a death putt on the edge of a 50foot cliff just to save bogey. I knew if I airballed it it could mean disaster. I could lay up. But I also knew if I just executed a proper putt I'd be fine. I hit the chains perfectly (pro side just off the pole and little high) and the disc just barely chained out. It didn't go in, but that was the putt that made me happiest that tourney day because I did everything I planned. I made my putt.

*** Before I'd hate to do straddle putts, because I'm stronger/more practiced at regular linear spin putts. But I did put in some time practicing straddles this winter and have a checklist/plan for straddles now too. I just need to practice more on them.

 

[djcadence]

Couldn't agree more. I re-read "Golf is not a Game of Perfect" almost every season.

It sounds like a mental issue more than anything else to me. If you can hit 75% from 22ft and in, in practice you do not have anything wrong mechanically.

First things first, you need to decide you are good putter. Your physical practice will not make you a good putter if you are weak mentally. You need to choose be confident in every putt. When you miss, you cannot think, "Here we go again". You have to think that miss was a fluke and there is no way you can miss the next one. Irrational rock solid confidence is your friend.

Find a way to enjoy putting. I always putt the best when I enjoy it. Don't dread the 17ft birdie putt, get excited about it!

Make sure you have a sound pre-putt routine. This helps get your mind in the right place. Develop a simple swing thought, you don't want to be thinking about your putting mechanics during a swing so something like, "Right in the chains", or "Nice an easy" as you swing can occupy your mind during the swing and stop you from thinking about the swing itself.

Lastly, check your rhythm. Make sure your on-course putting rhythm is the same as your practice one. Whether that means speeding up your on-course rhythm or slowing down your practice, just make sure they are consistent.

After writing all of this, I even more strongly recommend "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" all this advice is in that book and explained more clearly.

All of the above..confidence, rhythm, practice and knowing my putter all helped me build consistency in my putting game.

 

[Shamis]

I had this problem for a while. If you want to fix it, you have to get serious.

1. buy a basket.
2. buy a stack of putters.
3. watch some videos on youtube. Pick a style, and stick with it.
4. practice an hour a day.

You'll be putting like a champ in 1 month.

EDIT: I see now that you say you practice every day. If that's the case then you need to try a different style, or its all mental.

 

[DiscDraft]

Visualize the doorway when you putt. When I am faced with a long putt, I think of the entire range that my putter could fly threw to actually land in the basket. What I mean is, there are multiple flight routes to the basket, all of these lines to the basket can be visualized as a tunnel. Don't let the putter fly outside of that tunnel, and the putter will likely go in.

Visualizing the doorway is similar, but instead of visualizing the entire flight route of the disk (the tunnel), you are picking a plane section through that tunnel.

A good one liner unrelated to that^ is "big target, big miss; small target, small miss."

 

[Scotty346]

I had this problem for a while. If you want to fix it, you have to get serious.

1. buy a basket.
2. buy a stack of putters.
3. watch some videos on youtube. Pick a style, and stick with it.
4. practice an hour a day.

You'll be putting like a champ in 1 month.

EDIT: I see now that you say you practice every day. If that's the case then you need to try a different style, or its all mental.

I disagree with some of this. I'm using a 12x12 milk crate lined with carpet scraps to practice in my basement. Anything similar will work. It seems to be pretty close to the size of the sweet spot of the basket. I spent a few months practicing different techniques (spin, push/lob, straddle), different grips, and found what I was most consistent with. I practiced 3-4 times a week (20 minutes each time) for a few months and now I'm a way better putter than the guys I play with, some of whom have been playing for many years.

Is it better to have a basket and a stack of exactly the same discs? I'm sure it is. But IMO it's more important to develop consistency and confidence, both of which you can improve with less than $5 of materials.

BTW, I don't even practice using the same discs. I have 4 different putters that range from 169-175 that I practice with. From 30 ft and in I don't see much of a difference even on the course.

 

[Shamis]

I disagree with some of this. I'm using a 12x12 milk crate lined with carpet scraps to practice in my basement. Anything similar will work. It seems to be pretty close to the size of the sweet spot of the basket. I spent a few months practicing different techniques (spin, push/lob, straddle), different grips, and found what I was most consistent with. I practiced 3-4 times a week (20 minutes each time) for a few months and now I'm a way better putter than the guys I play with, some of whom have been playing for many years.

Is it better to have a basket and a stack of exactly the same discs? I'm sure it is. But IMO it's more important to develop consistency and confidence, both of which you can improve with less than $5 of materials.

BTW, I don't even practice using the same discs. I have 4 different putters that range from 169-175 that I practice with. From 30 ft and in I don't see much of a difference even on the course.

Any practice is better than no practice. For people with money, I think it's worth getting a real basket, and a stack of putters. Obviously if you're broke you can improvise.