Putting - practice at home doesn't make difference at the course

[zrxchris]

Been putting at home with the 1025 app 2-3x/day, scoring 400+ at home consistently on my M-14 basket.
Fully adopted the Kem Climo style, bought all KC pro aviars 165-175 weights.
Fork grip, tight in back loose in front. Line it up 2x before I shoot every time at home and on the course. Paint the pole, hyzer release, throw a dead weight, little spin, which makes a huge difference at home, I get a lot of putts that fall when I miss to the left when painting the pole.

I have had much improvement from 10-25ft (60-80% consistently) and make 1 or 2 outta 6 from 30-35.
Can't seem to take these improvements on to the course, where i miss low and high.
Very frustrating as I putt so much better at home but can't do the same at the course.
Working hard on using my hand to spring the disc which again does wonders at home but I miss easy ones at the course.

More practice ? What is it?

 

[kyledstauffer]

Putting at home definitely makes a difference. The problem could be replicating similar situations on the course. Flat land vs. elevation change. leaning around trees. Different stances. I think when you're putting at home you're often doing it on flat land in an ideal putting stance. Maybe try making it harder on yourself at home

 

[ndole]

It's your confidence you need to work on.

 

[zrxchris]

Missed 6 putts within 20' yesterday playing with a friend. Hit the top of the basket and the basket itself every time. Line and speed were good but missed mostly high.
One thing I can think was that I did not check to see that I could read the stamp on the disc before I putted like Climo says.

Would it be better to practice with higher weight discs and then use lower weight Aviars when playing in a round?

 

[zrxchris]

If I post some video, what is the best perspective, from the side with the basket in the frame, or behind the basket to see the line and how it goes in ?

 

[tbird888]

Perfect putting doesn't happen overnight. Keep working at it and take Kyle's advice about mixing up your practice in terms of lies (elevation and obstacles).

 

[rocthecourse]

Are you practicing inside?

 

[skizzle34]

Are you putting indoors at home or outdoors? If you are putting indoors you do not have to account for wind so you need to make sure to account for it on the course. I found myself not focusing enough on my first putt when throwing multiple practice putts but when you are on the course the first putt is the only one that matters.

 

[markmcc]

I have found that putting at home helps me a ton on the course (most of the time...). But I agree that if you stand in the same place or on the same line and just pound them in you might not be getting the maximum benefit. I use the exercise printed in the Disc Golfer magazine last year that uses three mini's spaced equally around the basket, hitting several from each mini, and then moving on to the next. If you hit all from a given mini you turn that mini over, and when you circle back to it you putt with a different style (I straddle putt for my second style). Once you've hit all of your putts with both styles, you move that mini back a pace and keep on going. I usually practice with five putter so I have to hit five "regular" putts then five straddle putts from a mini before moving it back.

The three minis give you three lines to practice along. If the wind is blowing this usually gives you putts with a headwind, a tailwind, and a crosswind. Even better if you can find a place on a hillside. Then you can get some uphill, downhill, and side-hill practice.

Mix it up! It will eventually pay off on the course.

 

[18Down]

You are just leaving your confidence at the practice basket. You have obviously read about Climo's technique. Now go pick up a book that will prepare your mental game.

 

[zrxchris]

I putt outside and use the driven 1025 app and have these distances flagged from the basket
10,15,20,25,30,35 I put 6x from each distance, the app scores each throw for the distance 10' = 10pts, etc. It also gives you bonus points if you make 1 and 6 you get 2x points. So if you hit all putts from 10' you get 80pts. I use all KC pro aviars and line it up 2x before each putt, throw 6 putts then pick em up and go to the next flag. I do it 3-4x which is over 100 putts..

 

[MrFixIt]

A common mistake when practicing at home is the measured distances.
Mix it up by standing at your basket, throw your practice putters randomly around. Use your mini to mark your lie and putt from wherever the disc(s) come to rest.
Basically, in a real round, does your disc actually land in a measured distance to the basket? No.
Mix it up and good luck!

 

[TheC-Hill]

I found myself not focusing enough on my first putt when throwing multiple practice putts but when you are on the course the first putt is the only one that matters.

I had the same problem in the past. I would spend a decent amount of time practicing but wasn't putting with a purpose on the first shot

 

[xlhammy]

I put my practice basket in the yard, throw my stack of putters all over the place, and where ever they land is where I put from back to the basket. There's no distance measurements on the course when putting, so I've never understood practicing with them since it's somewhat of a disconnect.

I think you've gotta be able to eyeball it, feel the wind, account for what it's going to do to the disc in flight based on the direction and overall speed of it, focus on one link on a chain, line it up and fire. Honestly, sometimes I even focus on a spot on the background to the side of the basket if I expect it to fade back into the basket with wind.

As others have said, practice helps, but make it as close to an "on the course" situation as possible so it's familiar when you are standing on an actual hole lining up a putt.

 

[Tee1]

Missed 6 putts within 20' yesterday playing with a friend. Hit the top of the basket and the basket itself every time. Line and speed were good but missed mostly high.
One thing I can think was that I did not check to see that I could read the stamp on the disc before I putted like Climo says.

Would it be better to practice with higher weight discs and then use lower weight Aviars when playing in a round?

Whatever discs your using for practice should be the same weight that you use during your rounds. Some people do use a lighter disc for distance and or jump putts, i do this as it does seem to help. I like to consider putting to be the strongest part of my otherwise lackluster game. The one thing that helped my putting the most other than buying practice baskets was developing and sticking to my pre-putt ritual. It's no different than basketball players shooting free throws. If you watch a good free throw shooter they do the same exact thing before each and every free throw, which helps you to relax and focus. Just keep practicing and stick to your routine and you will see positive results.

 

[markmcc]

As far as the confidence issue goes, I've started to quickly pace off my putts during a round. Nothing formal or time consuming, but as I walk up to the basket I'll make it a point to walk from my disc to the basket or from the basket to the disc (depending on which direction I'm approaching from). If it is 15 or 20 feet I'll tell myself that I KNOW I hit these over and over during practice, so I can darned sure hit it out here. If it is 25' or 30' I know that my at-home average is lower, but it will remind me to give it a good push and not leave it short (low).

If you can hit them at home just believe that you can hit them at the course.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

The one thing that helped my putting the most other than buying practice baskets was developing and sticking to my pre-putt ritual. It's no different than basketball players shooting free throws. If you watch a good free throw shooter they do the same exact thing before each and every free throw, which helps you to relax and focus. Just keep practicing and stick to your routine and you will see positive results.

Spot on. Pay attention to your ritual and make it the same every time. At home practicing if I am putting twice from the same lie I will throw the first putter and then back away from the lie, readdress and repeat my pre-putt ritual. Make sure everything is the same every time. If you hold a putter in your off hand while practice putting, then do it on the course too. Or vice versa. And always, always believe and tell yourself you can and will make the putt.

 

[attik34]

Been putting at home with the 1025 app 2-3x/day, scoring 400+ at home consistently on my M-14 basket.
Fully adopted the Kem Climo style, bought all KC pro aviars 165-175 weights.
Fork grip, tight in back loose in front. Line it up 2x before I shoot every time at home and on the course. Paint the pole, hyzer release, throw a dead weight, little spin, which makes a huge difference at home, I get a lot of putts that fall when I miss to the left when painting the pole.

I have had much improvement from 10-25ft (60-80% consistently) and make 1 or 2 outta 6 from 30-35.
Can't seem to take these improvements on to the course, where i miss low and high.
Very frustrating as I putt so much better at home but can't do the same at the course.
Working hard on using my hand to spring the disc which again does wonders at home but I miss easy ones at the course.

More practice ? What is it?

The biggest thing that I did to improve my terrible putting was work inside specifically on focus. I don't know how you approach this aspect of putting, but you mention painting the pole and all that. I'd recommend focusing on a single chain both at home and on the course. This is something I learned as a pitcher (don't look at the mitt, look at a lace in the mitt) and transferred it over to DG. To me it made my practice at home stickier. I know what I need to do to hit X spot. Now all you have to do when at the course is find what spot to hit .

Also, wind sucks.

 

[Halcón]

It doesn't matter how much you practice at home. Always practice at the course before your round. You need to get dialed in to the conditions. Try to move around the basket too. Make sure you're only putting once from each spot, like a real putt. This helped me greatly, and hopefully it can help you too.

 

[ru4por]

It doesn't matter how much you practice at home. Always practice at the course before your round. You need to get dialed in to the conditions. Try to move around the basket too. Make sure you're only putting once from each spot, like a real putt. This helped me greatly, and hopefully it can help you too.

Yup, put in some practice time at the course as well.