poor putting

Help!! Im loosing 6/8 shots per round with my poor putting I cant seem to judge distance very well everything is comming up short or long any sugestions for practice routines the rest of my game is ok at the moment I play off 14 and im carding around 84/86 so if I could improve my putting my handicap would hopefully follow suit. Course is par 69

Hi John.

I use a heavier putter than the average player, and short putts can be deadly - unless I grip down. By gripping the club further down the shaft, it's easier to control the length of my backswing, to ensure I can accelerate through.

Just a thought - sorry that it's not a drill.


Greg J Willis has a drill involving tees, and another one I've heard of is to take the putter back to your instep, and see how far the putt goes. Then to your big toe, then your baby toe, then the outside of your foot. Do this on flat and level, then adjust for slope and break.

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hi
dave plez putting bible is the best book i know off about putting, i'm sure it could help you reduce your score. lots of drills and ton's of stuff about the ball and greens too and what works and what dont.
bill

Thanks Bill any idea where I can get the bible?

hi john
i got mine of amazon, also got the short game bible too. got both together for about £25 including p&p. if order over £18 then p&p free so i got both books and saved another £8. just had a look on amazon and there £12.53 each
bill

I have the same problem! I think a huge part of it is just practice, we practice the full swing but not the putt. There's not alot to know about technique with a putter its all about feel. I shoot in the mid 80s and should be breaking 80 but I miss 4-5 foot putts all the time. We just need to practice putting like we practice the full swing, just my opinion for whatever its worth.

hi augolfer
yes i agree but you have to know how to pratice and understand the things you need to work on in putting.
one thing i always rember is the 2 1/2 inch hole against the 6 1/ inch hole. when putting with pace so the ball goes 20 inches past the hole you have to find the 2 1/2 inch in the middle to make the putt drop.
if you put so the ball goes 10 inches past the hole the hole is now 6 inches as the ball will drop if on the lip.
try hitting a 2 foot put with pace at the inside edge of the hole and i bet it never drops, then do the same so ball only goes 10 inches past and it will always drop.
putting to a 6 1/2 inch hole is so much better than a 2 1/2 inch hole.
hope you understand what i'm trying to say.
best of luck with your putting
bill

Bill is absolutely correct about those two books. I purchased them recently and they have clarified so much for me in the short game. I can see the results already in the precision of my pitching and the improvements to putting.

John
Practice your putting with your eyes closed concentrating on rhythm like a pendulum on a grandfather clock. Line the putt up with your eyes focused on the ball and then close them and keep them closed until well after the putter has struck the ball. I usually do this with a putt of about six foot on the putting green. You will find that your feel pn the greens will improve dramatically and you will keep your head still instead of looking up to early.

I had a similar problem at the start of the year, averaging just under 40 putts a round off 12.

I am now down to around 30 by following three simple rules.

1) Grip down on the shaft
My grip is now just short of touching the bare shaft.
This gives me much better control (or maybe the illusion of better control) but it also allows me to make an accelerating through stroke.

2) On longer putts take 2 or three practice swings while looking at the hole, then step and and putt without any delay.
This means that you get yourself aligned first, but a few inches to the side of the ball, get the feel in your hands/body and move in and hit.
Allows your mind/body to control the distance on longer/llag putts.

3) On the short putts (8 ft and in) I pick my line then I watch a blade of grass between my putter face and the ball while I make my stroke.
I dont look at the ball as I had a tendency to follow it into the hole with my eyes and miss a lot of short ones left.

Hi to everyone,I have ordered the bible and read all your advice & tips
so now all I need is some decent weather to practice.
I am going to make it my main priority over the winter months
Thanks

Good luck John, I hope the book helps, I'm sure it will.

Here's my method to share, that I recently switched to and the prime reason I have not 3-putted in my last 5 rounds.

I think of my tempo as an archer - one who takes dead aim at the target, pulls the bow back slowly and lets go, meaning letting go of the entire ordeal of putting - you're job is done, just let go.

After choosing my line, intermediate target (which is what determines my speed) - I get over the ball. My playing partners have told me before that I take along time over the ball - saying it's a bad thing, that I'll get the yips - but I don't. What I'm doing the entire time over the ball is actually imagining how I'm going to putt this ball. I visualize my arms and club going back and then watching it go down and hitting the ball. I putt my best when I visualize the ball rolling from point A to point B (B being the hole). Point A however is not my putterhead connecting with the ball, its my intermediate target. This promotes me keeping my head down and still throughout the putt, so that when I do lift my head to see the ball moving - it's already at, or near my intermediate target.

Then I always, always, visualize the ball going into the hole - no matter what. After 'seeing' it drop - I just do exactly what I visualized and let go.

Man, this weather needs to get better soon - I miss the course so much...ah, my girlfriend says I'm going through withdrawl.

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