WPoz

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Over the past few years now I have noticed that my lag putting has steadily gotten worse. I used to be really good and never had a problem with it (in my younger years....darn nerves) :nailbiting:. I'm starting to wonder if having the line on my ball to line up with is partially to blame on the long lag putts. Having that line has certainly helped me with the shorter putts but when they get longer than 20+ feet I'm usually way short. I'm starting to wonder if my concentration on the line is hurting my distance control even though I'm trying not to concentrate on it as much recently. I'm tempted on my next round when I get in that lag putt range of just putting the ball down and lining up just the putter to a spot in front of the ball and then swing to see if it makes a difference on my distance control.

Personally I get the feeling this is all just mental right now for me as my putting stroke has been really good with the TM DLL putter so I was wondering what everyones thought process is when lag putting. I visualize the 2 foot circle around the hole and when reading the green if it's uphill or downhill adjusting the circle to try and accomodate for that but usually come up short. I'm pretty sure it's just confidence I'm lacking on the longer putts so any thoughts from the THP family are appreciated.
 
My #1 thing is the speed. Getting an exact line is pretty irrelevant if you are just trying to lag. If you get the speed down, you should always be pretty close. The second thing I like to do is play extra break. If you think it will break two feet, play the ball a little outside that. Reason being, if the speed is good, then as it slows down it will trickle closer to the hole rather than moving away from it.

The other thing to look for is the come back putt. For example, if you have a big side hill putt, you don't want to leave a side hill second putt with the same big break. Even if it means you leave yourself 5 feet instead of 3. A 5 footer uphill is much easier than 3 feet downhill with 4 inches of break.

Overall, it is just a matter of practice and feel. Get on a good putting green and hit a bunch of long ones and just work on pace.
 
I use to think about that circle thing around the hole, but all that did for me was leave me short of that circle a lot of times. So, now I actually try to make every putt, no matter how long it is. I am looking at the hole as the target, not a the big circle. Since I have started doing that, my misses are a lot closer than before, and I have made a bunch of real bombs.
 
More shoulders and less hands and arms for speed control. It's also important to finish your putting backswing on longer putts - sounds silly, but I see many get quick on very long putts and the shortened backswing that results is not good for distance control.

A picked up a good drill watching a putting lesson decades ago where the pro had the beginning golfer roll 15 balls to hole with their hand alternating with putting 15. The golfer had perfect speed control rolling the ball by hand and after 20 minutes was just as good with the putter.
 
Over the past few years now I have noticed that my lag putting has steadily gotten worse. I used to be really good and never had a problem with it (in my younger years....darn nerves) :nailbiting:. I'm starting to wonder if having the line on my ball to line up with is partially to blame on the long lag putts. Having that line has certainly helped me with the shorter putts but when they get longer than 20+ feet I'm usually way short. I'm starting to wonder if my concentration on the line is hurting my distance control even though I'm trying not to concentrate on it as much recently. I'm tempted on my next round when I get in that lag putt range of just putting the ball down and lining up just the putter to a spot in front of the ball and then swing to see if it makes a difference on my distance control.

Personally I get the feeling this is all just mental right now for me as my putting stroke has been really good with the TM DLL putter so I was wondering what everyones thought process is when lag putting. I visualize the 2 foot circle around the hole and when reading the green if it's uphill or downhill adjusting the circle to try and accomodate for that but usually come up short. I'm pretty sure it's just confidence I'm lacking on the longer putts so any thoughts from the THP family are appreciated.

Try to take practice strokes looking at the hole, then get up there and hit it. Don't stand over these putts for too long. Try to put your feel straight into the stroke you make on the ball.

I find that I putt better when I just try to hit it, and not think about anything else, after feeling how hard to hit it.
 
Personally I get the feeling this is all just mental right now for me as my putting stroke has been really good with the TM DLL putter so I was wondering what everyones thought process is when lag putting. I visualize the 2 foot circle around the hole and when reading the green if it's uphill or downhill adjusting the circle to try and accomodate for that but usually come up short. I'm pretty sure it's just confidence I'm lacking on the longer putts so any thoughts from the THP family are appreciated.

Had the same thing going on a year or two ago - still do it more than I should. It is mental. It needs practice and practice and more practice to overcome it. That and making the hole your target. Forget the two foot circle. Your brain tries to do what you tell it to and it needs a specific small target to get it close. Practice putting to a tee stuck in the green. When you get to the course visualize the tee stuck in where you want the ball to roll in.

Strangely in my case though part of it was because of fear of the comeback putt. Practice proved I could make most of those so don't worry. If you hit it past at least you know where the line is coming back.
 
Best tips I've gotten are:

1) Loose grip
2) Take some practice swings to get the feel for distance or pretend you're rolling a ball in your hand to the hole.
3) Quit thinking.
4) Take you stroke and don't peek.
 
More shoulders and less hands and arms for speed control. It's also important to finish your putting backswing on longer putts - sounds silly, but I see many get quick on very long putts and the shortened backswing that results is not good for distance control.

A picked up a good drill watching a putting lesson decades ago where the pro had the beginning golfer roll 15 balls to hole with their hand alternating with putting 15. The golfer had perfect speed control rolling the ball by hand and after 20 minutes was just as good with the putter.

I too try to concentrate on shoulders and not the hands and arms. I like the tip in your last paragraph.
 
A picked up a good drill watching a putting lesson decades ago where the pro had the beginning golfer roll 15 balls to hole with their hand alternating with putting 15. The golfer had perfect speed control rolling the ball by hand and after 20 minutes was just as good with the putter.

Oddly enough I saw a guy doing this out at the practice facility last night except he wasn't actually rolling the golf ball but just going through the motions. After doing that a few times he stepped up and putted the ball. Sadly, he had the same problem as me and came up about 4 feet short on a 12 foot putt. He was very mechanical putting the ball so I suspect thats why he was coming up short.

There's been a lot of good info here and things for me to think about. Thanks for the ideas and keep them coming. I know my other problem right now is in the last few years I haven't gotten out very much because of work. Last year I think I played 12 times at most which is nowhere near enough. This year so far I have been out 4 times and in a short golf season due to winter that just doesn't cut it. Heck, up until 2 weeks ago I hadn't touched a club in over a month and for me I need to work at it on a regular basis to keep things in sharper. I was out on the practice green after hitting balls for a good 45 minutes and felt a little better about the lag putting. I also found I'm practicing different from how I play so I'm going to work on practicing a routine for that as well to get more confidence.
 
My #1 thing is the speed. Getting an exact line is pretty irrelevant if you are just trying to lag. If you get the speed down, you should always be pretty close. The second thing I like to do is play extra break. If you think it will break two feet, play the ball a little outside that. Reason being, if the speed is good, then as it slows down it will trickle closer to the hole rather than moving away from it.

The other thing to look for is the come back putt. For example, if you have a big side hill putt, you don't want to leave a side hill second putt with the same big break. Even if it means you leave yourself 5 feet instead of 3. A 5 footer uphill is much easier than 3 feet downhill with 4 inches of break.

Overall, it is just a matter of practice and feel. Get on a good putting green and hit a bunch of long ones and just work on pace.

I agree with everything said here, I take almost the exact same approach. If your line is a little more above the hole, you always still have a chance for it to drop in. If you start to low, it never has a chance. I also second what Drumdog said. I always picture it going in the cup, forget the circle. If your target area is larger, chances are your balls will end up more spread out.

EDIT: I just realized that last sentence sounds....interesting
 
My suggestion is mental, not physical. Quit thinking of them as lag putts. I never play a lag putt, I stroke a putt. Doesn't matter if it's 60 feet, it's still just another putt. If it's a tricky downhill putt, I may be very careful with it, but I'm still not trying to lag it, I'm trying to hole it.

I think that approaching a putt as a lag putt is already admitting defeat. You've told yourself that you can't make it, so you aren't even going to try. Yet the same player who putts with that thought is the one who exudes confidence when hitting a 3W from 250 yards out at a green only 60 feet wide. He has a much easier target when putting the ball at the hole from 40 feet, yet now he's going to surrender and lag the ball up and just hope for a two putt. To me that makes no sense at all.
 
My suggestion is mental, not physical. Quit thinking of them as lag putts. I never play a lag putt, I stroke a putt. Doesn't matter if it's 60 feet, it's still just another putt. If it's a tricky downhill putt, I may be very careful with it, but I'm still not trying to lag it, I'm trying to hole it.

I think that approaching a putt as a lag putt is already admitting defeat. You've told yourself that you can't make it, so you aren't even going to try. Yet the same player who putts with that thought is the one who exudes confidence when hitting a 3W from 250 yards out at a green only 60 feet wide. He has a much easier target when putting the ball at the hole from 40 feet, yet now he's going to surrender and lag the ball up and just hope for a two putt. To me that makes no sense at all.

I will respectfully disagree with you on that one. I try and make all my putts as well but if I am going to have a miss, I want it to be a good miss. If being overly aggressive could very well cost me additional strokes and with the odds of holing a long putt being very small, leaving yourself in a position to minimize damage is the smart play. I think a proper lag putt is a putt that has a chance to go in but also doesn't go barreling past the hole. I guess thats just me, I also don't try and hit the green from 250.
 
While I agree with other people about speed, for me the biggest thing about speed, especially for lag putting, is hitting right on the middle of the clubface. So once I pick out the speed or power I plan to apply to the shot, I know that any errors I make on a lag putt are going to be even worse if I get off center. So if I leave it short but on line because I focused on hitting dead center (and therefore swing a little slower), to me that's better than leaving it short and off my line because I hit it on the toe or heel of the putter.

I've noticed that once that became my main thought, my misses are a lot smaller, and I even hole a 12+ footer from time to time.
 
I will respectfully disagree with you on that one. I try and make all my putts as well but if I am going to have a miss, I want it to be a good miss. If being overly aggressive could very well cost me additional strokes and with the odds of holing a long putt being very small, leaving yourself in a position to minimize damage is the smart play. I think a proper lag putt is a putt that has a chance to go in but also doesn't go barreling past the hole. I guess thats just me, I also don't try and hit the green from 250.

Did I say anything about being overly aggressive? I even stated specifically that that are certain times when I will be careful with a putt, but I still don't lag. The term lag has the connotation of being weak (as in Tom was lagging behind Joe). You'll never hole a putt that doesn't get to the hole.

I watch players lagging long putts all the time, but because of that mental approach they are as likely to be 10 feet short as they are to reach the hole. The way I see it, it really doesn't matter if you are 3 feet short or 3 feet long, you still have 3 feet for your second putt, so why not give it a chance to hit the hole? If that results in a 5 foot second putt, then so be it - I'm not perfect. But I still like my chances with that 5 footer (I typically 3 putt about once or twice every 2 or 3 rounds), and my attitude is better because I gave the first putt a chance.
 
A picked up a good drill watching a putting lesson decades ago where the pro had the beginning golfer roll 15 balls to hole with their hand alternating with putting 15. The golfer had perfect speed control rolling the ball by hand and after 20 minutes was just as good with the putter.

Very interesting drill. Thanks for sharing. I may give it a go next time I'm at the putting green.
 
From my experience, the key to distance control is having a consistent tempo on your stroke no matter how long the putt. This will enable you to be able to match up a stroke length and a distance. My distance measures are based on my back foot. Meaning if I take the putt back to just before my right foot the ball rolls 5 feet; to the inside of my right foot is 10 feet, just outside of right foot is 15 feet, etc.
 
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