What most often causes innaccurate putts?

[discmeister]

Just thinking slow

 

[tmahan]

I agree with biscoe, doubt. A close second is not concentrating all the way through the putt. I've found myself convinced I'm set up right to make the putt and have the whole motion plotted out, but when I go to put the plan in action I just zone out. I think it might be characterized as just being too over-confidant before the putt. If you can't replay the whole shot in your mind immediately after the putt this might be your problem.

 

[Caldwell5161]

Confidence. If I don't have my putting confidence, I don't hit my line. I leave it short, or push it left or right. Problem is when I start missing because of lack of confidence I lose more confidence. I can usually snap out of it by smashing the chains dead center though. I've also found that having a great drive or great up shot will snap me out of it too.

 

[ChainMan]

if you got a checklist THAT long something is bound to go wrong

step up .. aim .. putt ... try to put other distraction out of head

True! A seasoned dg putter will do just as you say. And even a beginner shouldn't have that long a list. If you are teaching someone new show them three things, stance, aim and body transfer for instance. When stance becomes second nature add grip. When the top pros step up to throw I'll bet the vast majority think about one thing...where to aim. The rest is already second nature/muscle memory.

 

[tmahan]

True! A seasoned dg putter will do just as you say. And even a beginner shouldn't have that long a list. If you are teaching someone new show them three things, stance, aim and body transfer for instance. When stance becomes second nature add grip. When the top pros step up to throw I'll bet the vast majority think about one thing...where to aim. The rest is already second nature/muscle memory.

True, and the way that becomes second nature is treating every practice putt like it was going to decide a tournament. You pressure yourself during practice so it's cake during a match.

 

[Thumber]

I don't know what has already been said before here but most of the putts I miss are due to "arming" the putt instead of using my whole body. When I putt well I'm not bouncing in my standce. I'm upright, forward and relaxed. Calm exhale starting as I am starting my putting motion and reach right into the heart of the basket. I spin putt and when I do it right the disc stays on a wire and is never outside the "in" zone. Its never above the basket....unless I am 40 feet+ away

 

[The dude on the bike]

Ken Hall telling you how to throw it. Sorry Ken, lolzz.

 

[sloppydisc]

If you've played for a while, and don't totally lack hand/eye coordination putts missed inside the circle are probably 99% mental errors.

 

[VenV]

I practice because I think it's fun, and because I don't always have time to drive 45 minutes to the nearest disc golf course. I add a driver to my 5 putters to make me think before I throw.

I have a routine I use to get me into "the zone" before I throw. I hold my position and watch until the disc finishes to aid muscle memory retention. Then I step out of "the zone". I do this every time: putt, drive, approach, and practice.

For flat putts I throw Discraft Focus RHBH with an exaggerated Freestyle throw with minimal spin, that reaches the basket then either goes in or floats to the ground just past the basket. For curving putts I throw a Lightning #2 Hyzer (very over stable) RHBH and try and get the same Freestyle effect except on a big curve to the left. The window for the curved putts is larger than the window for flat putts.

 

[U_NICED_ME]

Timg's comments

Did y'all read this in Craig's Corner

So as you get your feet set, and go through whatever motions you go through – preparing to let fly – take a nice deep breath and let it all the way out. Take that breath and blow it out all the way through your feet. Essentially this first breath grounds you; it gets you settled into your stance, so do it slowly. Take one (or sometimes two) more deep breaths, and use your breathing as a rhythm. Your putt is going to be all the way at the bottom of your breath. Like exhaling when you are lifting weights, that last push is the last of your breath. The end of the breath is your putt leaving your hand.

This method is especially helpful if you ever feel yourself rushed during putting, or if for some reason you felt as if your timing was off. A lot of times that sense is created by you breathing IN instead of OUT. It's really that simple-- your timing was off because you never set the putting action to any sort of body routine. This breathing exercise is the easiest way to get that rhythm in place, and it's easy to reproduce.

Best of all, this simple form of relaxation also helps you clear your head (i.e. remove yourself from the end result), as it gives you a very basic element to concentrate on that has nothing to do with that little voice in your head and the instructions he is so fond of giving. It also imparts a simple kind of cadence to your throwing motion, which then becomes an inherent element of the consistency you strive for from one shot to the next.

I do practice a lot, and I can say it does help. There may be some naturally gifted talents out there, but many of us are not unfortunately :\ I also started focusing on my breathing like TIMG mentioned above, it really helps clear my head. Finally, I cut out all the unnecessary movement in my pre-putt routine.

 

[chrishysell]

Did y'all read this in Craig's Corner

So as you get your feet set, and go through whatever motions you go through – preparing to let fly – take a nice deep breath and let it all the way out. Take that breath and blow it out all the way through your feet. Essentially this first breath grounds you; it gets you settled into your stance, so do it slowly. Take one (or sometimes two) more deep breaths, and use your breathing as a rhythm. Your putt is going to be all the way at the bottom of your breath. Like exhaling when you are lifting weights, that last push is the last of your breath. The end of the breath is your putt leaving your hand.

This method is especially helpful if you ever feel yourself rushed during putting, or if for some reason you felt as if your timing was off. A lot of times that sense is created by you breathing IN instead of OUT. It's really that simple-- your timing was off because you never set the putting action to any sort of body routine. This breathing exercise is the easiest way to get that rhythm in place, and it's easy to reproduce.

Best of all, this simple form of relaxation also helps you clear your head (i.e. remove yourself from the end result), as it gives you a very basic element to concentrate on that has nothing to do with that little voice in your head and the instructions he is so fond of giving. It also imparts a simple kind of cadence to your throwing motion, which then becomes an inherent element of the consistency you strive for from one shot to the next.

I do practice a lot, and I can say it does help. There may be some naturally gifted talents out there, but many of us are not unfortunately :\ I also started focusing on my breathing like TIMG mentioned above, it really helps clear my head. Finally, I cut out all the unnecessary movement in my pre-putt routine.

I just putt. All of that other stuff that you have to think about would probably prevent me from concentrating on the putt.

 

[aggreen]

If we are talking about with 15-20 ft - it's all mental in my book. Start thinking about my grip...Should I go hyzer?...Should I float it?... The thing that works recently is just a ritual I do prior to putting, similar to shooting free throws. When I miss, I often didn't go through my ritual.

 

[thrembo]

Def. consentration.

 

[chrishysell]

If we are talking about with 15-20 ft - it's all mental in my book. Start thinking about my grip...Should I go hyzer?...Should I float it?... The thing that works recently is just a ritual I do prior to putting, similar to shooting free throws. When I miss, I often didn't go through my ritual.

I missed a putt yesterday in those winds yesterday at Zebulon in the 15-20ft range. It was about midway through the 2nd round. My excuse is that I forgot my focus and just putted too hard and it bounced out. That's unlike me to miss anything that short. I finished one stroke out of 1st. Lesson learned. Don't change just because of the wind.

 

[shoe59]

ouch, chris. I have only played two pdga tourneys in the Int. division. I was the leader by 3 strokes of over 50 Intermediate players going into the 2nd round. My plan for Hole #6 -- 318' up a monster hill, was just to send a decent drive down the middle and not try to crush it. have an easy upshot and make a par.

WELL, I completely lost focus and tried to throw a bomb, which is stupid because I have never made a birdie on that hole anyway. I shanked my drive into jail on the right. I had almost no way to even get out, took me 3 shots to get out and I took a 6 (I should have taken unplayable lie, but like I said I'm a tourney noob). I ended up finishing one stroke back from a 2-way tie for first... just because I lost focus and forgot my gameplan.

edit: kind of a threajack but it just goes to show how losing your focus can cost you. In that same tourney I saw a decent INT player miss a 7 foot putt.

 

[chrishysell]

Missing one putt isn't why I finished in 2nd. I enjoyed myself and maintained focus for most of the day. I probably missed the least number of putts of everyone in the field. The winds got up around 35mph and many short putts were missed.

 

[Ryan P.]

the wind

 

[chrishysell]

the wind

it's really not the wind. It's not knowing how to use the wind to your advantage.

 

[ChainMan]

I think my pole questions have been revealed for what they are... Really every choice but one was a subset of concentration and over a third selected that choice. Most good putting artists can aim and throw just like a good sharpshooter draws a bead and squeezes. So the question becomes 'what' do you concentrate on. If I know I've been dragging my ring finger just before release then I need to concentrate on that smooth release between thumb and index finger. If I'm arm throwing instead of transferring my weight then that's where I need to concentrate etc. The wind may be a part of the line and nose angle I choose but it is not a part of my technique.

 

[chrishysell]

I never voted because neither of them apply to me