Putting problems

Today my putting was very poor. My playing partner mentioned my shoulders were aiming to the right. After a slight change my putting improved.

Has anybody got any usefull tips / drills on putting alignment ?

Thanks

Did you miss the putts to the right also? Putting is such a personal thing but there are a few key fundamentals that I always use:

1) Pick an intermediate target on the line you think the putt will take. This should be along the straight part of the putt before the pace drops and any borrow kicks in.

2) Line up to that target line so that the putter blade is perpendicular to that line. Take a visual check of alignment to the target and don't look at the hole.

3) Swing the putter up and down that line, ensuring no wrist cock, so that the putt along the target line. For good contact I keep the weight on the front foot and hands just in front of the blade.

Hope this helps.

Alignment in putting is the same as for a full golf shot. Your body needs to be closer to the ball and the back and shoulders will be a bit more "bent over" because the putter is so short.

Align the golf ball to your target first. I suggest you use the brand marking and align that to the target. Make certain your feet are parallel to that. Then your hips and shoulders align.

Use the putter and hold it in your eye-line to check your feet. Then hold it against your hips and shoulders to check the same thing. It is rather difficult to check for small variances but at least this will give a rough indication.

A few alignment and putting drills:
Use a club on the ground and align it parallel to your target. Align and swing parallel to that.

When you practice, take a 4 or 5 iron and tuck it under your arms and accross your chest. Practice rocking it during your putting stroke. The iron you've tucked under your arms should move straight back and forth and remain parallel to the target. If you find the club doesn't stay parallel, then you know your shoulders are not working like a pendulum.

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Golf is easy ... once you know how. If only I could remember how!

Thanks, I'll give it a try !

28 putts today in a round of 72.

So my putting's much improved !

My question is this. Concerning alignment, if my feet are 18" from the ball, are my feet to align 18" left of the hole? Or are my feet lined up to the hole itself? Does the theory change depending on the legnth of the putt?

Hi bahamaman,

"Concerning alignment, if my feet are 18" from the ball, are my feet to align 18" left of the hole?" Yes, generally the feet are aligned parallel left of the ball line to the hole. e.g. if you have a 10 feet break to the right, your feet will be aligned to the tangent of the break of the putt.

"Or are my feet lined up to the hole itself?" No, as otherwise in the e.g. above, your stroke will be a swipe into and across your body to direct the putterface to the correct putting line.

"Does the theory change depending on the legnth of the putt?" No.

Having said this, there are players who putt with extreme open and closed stances, but the conventional way is to have everything square for consistency.

Ted

Any drills for alignment/putting?

What works for me, and I think it was said earlier in the chain is to stand behind the ball and pick your imaginary line to the hole. As you approach the ball pick a spot about 4-5 feet in front of the ball (on your imaginary line). Putt the ball to roll over your imaginary spot. This requires you to be able to align the ball and your spot 4-5 feet away. A much easier task than picking out the hole some 15-20 feet away.

This may sound too simplistic but I feel people run into problems when they over-analyze their problems. The last think you need is for all these theories, swings, stances, distances from the ball, feet placement etc to be running through your head when you are trying to sink a birdy put for a round of beers on the 18th.

The beauty of golf is that we will never stop talking about it. And if you feel you got everything figured out, thats when your game goes south.

I love this game!

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baglgolfer
www.bayareagolflinks.com

I switched back to my belly putter. After using it for a couple of weeks, I can go back to my standard putter. The belly putter puts me back on the pendulum motion and also greatly improves my swing path.

Hi Ted,
Funny I have been concentrating a lot on my putting lately and seemed to have plateaued on a certain hit miss ratio that I am still not real happy with. We had discussed once before that I might simply be a "feel" putter which is a question that I am still asking myself. The thing is standing parallel and looking towards the hole must have an effect on distance perception. The second thing is lining up the logo with the putting line is fine when it's only 4 or 5 feet. Try testing the patience of your companions when moving the ball a fraction here and a fraction there desperately trying to get it lined up at 15 feet out. I like the idea of picking a mark in between the hole and your ball and lining it up to that. After all, that is what we all do when building a fence and it works. So, I think I'll work on it that way for a while; it's comp day tomorrow, good time to test it.
Regards Peter

Hi Peter,

Baglgolfer's suggested method of aligning yourself to the putt direction/break by the spot method is the way the majority of the top golfers do it. It's like bowling to the spot on the lane.

I get annoyed when my partners constantly adjust and re-adjust the ball until they get the line on it to the microns direction, then muff it anyways with a horrid putting stroke. The following group do not appreciate it either.

Regardless, the key is distance control, particularly for mid to long putts. Not to forget that distance control affects the break.

I take note of the distance of the putt, without actually stepping it off (as that is as annoying as the lining up of the line on the ball). You can do this while others are putting ahead, and during the act of marking the ball and making early survey of the green. Having worked on the practice green to establish what amount of backstroke which will give set running distances of the ball, you merely make that amount of backstroke for say a 15 foot putt. If it's uphill, you would make the backstroke for a 20 foot putt. You could use the back foot as the gauge for how far you take the putter head back. In this regard, for a scary short slick breaking downhill putt, if you don't trust your nerves, put your feet very close together, choke down to the shaft, and when you make your backstroke, you only have to take the head back to a say a 2" reference point which may be 1/2 the width of your foot.

Ted

Ted,and all,
Golf is a game of millimeters but stuff around trying to line up the logo at distances over about 5 feet is really pointless,slows the game and aggravates fellow players.Better I think to practice more on getting that ball in or just slightly past on a miss It really just comes down to technique and practice practice practice.I have 12 feet of putting carpet in my garage and simply cant walk past it with out putting a half dozen balls.My biggest improvement has come since I started doing this.
Regards Peter.

Peter,

I think you misunderstood the message about aligning to the point of the break. We are not talking about aligning the line on the ball or the logo with that point. We saying you square your blade (set it perpendicular) to the line which the ball has to travel to roll over the breaking point, then you set your feet and body parallel to that line.

That's the whole purpose of reading breaks and the aiming point for the ball and the path it will run on.

Ted

Hi all,Yes I misunderstood.However I did have 2puts today where I had to line up with the break as I had remembered you saying.One came around copy book style and dropped in,the other stopped just 6 inches past ,one a birdy the other par.I do feel though that putting is probably not given as much practice as it deserves.Before this discussion I was always trying to guess the arc the ball would travel and was concetrating more on the hole so I have learned something today and boy it felt good watching that ball curve gently around and drop in from 10 feet away!
Regards Peter

PS hope I have not misunderstood again