My Putting - two ways to look at it....?

There's a million things people do in their lives that require touch every day but they don't let it worry them.

Why is rolling a ball along the floor not the same as putting??!! OK we're using a fairly long stick to do it, but unless you've come up with some new-fangled way of playing on the greens (the floor) putting (rolling the ball along it) is not difficult. Whether very athletically gifted (I wouldn't say I am) or not, the task of rolling the ball along the floor is not hard. It's a similar task to throwing keys to someone, and we can all do that. And we never practice that to know how heavy any set of keys are, or how hard to throw it whether the receiver is 5ft or 20ft away. But, invariably, we can all find our randomly distanced targets with a set of keys.

A little bit of practice to find out how hard you need to hit the ball to get it a certain distance on different greens is required, but beyond that, a degree in putting isn't necessary.

Complicating it can befall the amateur or the pro (see Bernhard Langer!). That just means we're all human. Both amateur and pro suffer from the same dibilitating problem, and that's not trusting what God gave them to roll a ball along the floor.

I find it a bit comical really! I say this realising I may be laughing at those that can't putt for toffee, and there are days when my putting is suspect, but making light of it is half the battle. Putt it to get it in. If you miss, putt it again. Putting from range to miss means you'll ALWAYS have another putt, which isn't the point. It's turns the possibility of one putt into a cast-iron 2 putt with the possibility of a three putt.

And it's not like I'm talking to a bunch of novices who play 3 times a year here. We're on a golf forum. We all play pretty regularly, so we know the game. If lag putting is the way to go, expect a myriad of threads in 2 months time entitled "My Putts Per Round Are up to 38! Help!"

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Luke: I don't believe it!
Yoda: That is why you fail.

hi Neil
i must disagree with you when you say lagging will result in you having 38 puts a round. i putt from 28 on a very good day to 36/34 on a normal day. i don't have really bad putting days. what makes a good putting score is often not the putting but the shot to the green leaving you a short put say under 6 feet that you make for a one putt.
if you have a long putt and you lag it for a 2 foot second then you should end up with 36 putts a round. but you will end up a a few putts under 10 foot in a round and you have 3 or 4 chances of one putting.
when i look at a long put i look for the line! the line to the hole! then judge the pace of the putt and look to put the ball 8 to 12 inches past the hole to give it a chance to drop.
i will judge if its safer to put on the high side or the low side to give me a certain second, if i think its risky to go for the hole. to me it looking for not having a 3 putt and i think of it saving a shot. you think by not going for it its costing me a shot.
i think Plez said that pros miss half of there putts over 10 feet and the handicap player 80%.
he then goes on to say the pro is never more then 3 feet from the hole on a second putt 93% of the time.
the handicap player comes up short more the hits long and leaves almost half his putts short.
this is not the handicap player lagging but not judging the pace.
when you aim to lag you are trying to put it in the dust bin lid but that does not mean your not trying to sink it too. it about judging the pace. if you can judge the pace to leave the ball in the dust bin lid most of the time then you have developed you eye for pace and you can then work on your line more and attack the hole more than before.
i know what your saying and do understand what you mean and can see that but i also see that lagging on long putts can keep you putting consistent and help build you putting confidence.
Cheers
Bill

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Bill,

If you apply the above logic to a point 1 foot beyond the hole on every putt - you will make more 1 putts and also eliminate the three putts.

Anything short just won't go in --- honest....................

I wish to add that I by no means consider myself a golfing God, but maybe some should look at it a different way. I don't think this way about my putting BECAUSE I'm a lower 'capper. I'm a low 'capper because I look at my putting that way. Big difference.

It was the biggest difference in me getting from 16 to 5.

Neil,

Lag putting does not mean not trying to sink the putt, if you think you can sink it then do it. As Bill explains there are times where you have to consider damage limitation. It's a bit like hitting ban approach shot to a green, you can take on the hole every time even if a short or long shot puts you in a hazard, or, you can decide to hit for the fat part of the green knowing you will not be dropping the ball in but will leave the ball in a good position for your next shot.

I consider my putting to be quite good, I played today and had 12 putts on the front 9 and 14 on the back, I have worked hard on my pre shot routine and short game, I always spend 15 minutes on the practice green before playing. I do see many golfers three and four putting though and would suggest that working on the weight of the shot (or lagging) particularly with longer putts would cut their scores.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

Right, that's the last time I pontificate in a thread on putting .

15 putts for par or better yesterday and only converted 4 of them.

On the front 9, without hitting a single tee shot worthy of mention. I played nice steady "recovery golf" and 7 times I left myself a Dennis Wise for Par, 7 times I walked away with bogey

Ah well I said earlier that Ive been neglecting my putting practice; a couple of singles last night kept me under the 36ppr but to get down lower I guess its time to remedy that lack of practice.

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The main idea in golf as in life I suppose, is to learn to accept what cannot be altered and to keep on doing ones own reasoned and resolute best whether the prospect be bleak or rosy. Bobby Jones

LOL Robin!