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Getting better, fatal flaw

Ballsohard

Ballsohard

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New Orleans
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Simply stated, i need to learn how to putt efficiently if i'm ever going to going to cut down my score. I'm to the point of where when i play 9, i par about 3 holes bogey 5 and double 2. I'm also getting to the point of where i'm getting birdie putts but just can't score on a hole (probably not the right term). I'm 4 and 1/2 months in and have progressed a ton but i've got to hone in on chips and putts now.
 
Take a putting lesson. It will be money well spent.
 
practice, practice, practice. That's probably infuriating to hear, but it's the best answer I know of. Lessons will certainly help as well, but putting and chipping can be done in a variety of ways. Once you know what you're comfortable with technique-wise, practice is the best way to get more efficient at them. With the putter, the more you practice, the more you'll develop that instinctive "feel" for speed, which is the biggest thing for me.
 
When you practice putting, spend at least half of your time working on putts 5 feet and in, so that you get more confident in that range. That range of putting will be where you make your par putts, or bogey putts if you are on a par 4 green in 3 shots. Spend the rest of your time on putts that are over 20 feet so that you can get good at your distance control on long putting. Most of us aren't going to miss a putt by 5 feet left or right, but plenty of us will miss 5 feet short or 5 feet long from time to time, so focus more on your speed from long distances than the line.
 
I've taken 3 putting lessons in the past 2 years, and it's really helped me out a lot. One with David Orr (super expensive, but informative), One SPi lesson (improved my setup and consistency) and one with the PGA Tour Academy (put everything from both prior lessons together and really refined the process).

Money well spent.

I spend most of my time working on two different drills for putting right now:

Around the world from 3, 6, 9 and 12 ft. and the towel drill, where you place a golf towel behind the hole and putt from 3,6,9 and 12 ft again, but if you miss, the goal is to have the ball end up on the towel. It's a great drill to work on speed.
 
wadesworld said:
Take a putting lesson. It will be money well spent.
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Ditto, I agree. I also purchased a birdieball putting green and that was by far the best investment apart from lesson I have made. I can putt anytime I want. Also, I like to play putting games on the range with my buddies before/after a round of golf. We will play a game of "horse" were one guy chooses a putt and if he makes it you have to make it too and if you miss you get an "H". Add a letter every time you miss a putt your partner makes. Also, a game of least amount of strokes on lag putts makes for a fun game. We will choose 6-8 different lag putts (from 30-60+ ft) and the person with the lowest strokes wins. These are just random games that are a blast and really help with my putting.
 
This is a great putting drill.

Take two balls to the practice green and map out a 9 hole 'course', with putts of varying lengths, say 15 feet up to 45-50 feet, with mostly 20-35 footers. With the two balls play your course, putting out EVERYTHING, par of two for each ball on each hole. You cannot leave the 'course' until you have completed a 'round' in less than 36, meaning under 'par'.

This drill will sharpen your feel for distance putting, and will test your nerve on the 3-4 footers just like on the real course.
 
Great advice guys, i really appreciate it. I spend so much time at the range and even before i go out and play and never putt; time to put the time in if i want to be good at it. Going to schedule something next week. Going to play in Maui in 3 weeks, want to make sure it's enjoyable with the new wife!
 
Ballsohard said:
Simply stated, i need to learn how to putt efficiently if i'm ever going to going to cut down my score. I'm to the point of where when i play 9, i par about 3 holes bogey 5 and double 2. I'm also getting to the point of where i'm getting birdie putts but just can't score on a hole (probably not the right term). I'm 4 and 1/2 months in and have progressed a ton but i've got to hone in on chips and putts now.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest mark a spot 5 ft from the hole and grip the putter with only your right hand. Hit about 30 putts with just the one hand. Do the same from about 10 feet. This will help you control your tempo and make you follow through towards the target. Make sure the putt is a flat one and keep your head down.
 
As silly as it sounds, get a lesson and then practice, practice, practice. Putting is all about a repeatable stroke!
 
I will suggest one club chipping as well. An 8 or 9 iron should do the trick. Its a good way to get good without chili dips and other problems that happen. Working with one club will help build your feel and will get the ball down and rolling sooner.

Once you start to get proficient there move on to using different clubs.

I divide my practice time into 1/3's. Range, short game and putting. Finding a range with a short game area with chipping and a bunker is a good thing. Practice in that order so if the putter needs a little extra time and work I just spend the time there and never feel rushed.
 
Ballsohard said:
Simply stated, i need to learn how to putt efficiently if i'm ever going to going to cut down my score. I'm to the point of where when i play 9, i par about 3 holes bogey 5 and double 2. I'm also getting to the point of where i'm getting birdie putts but just can't score on a hole (probably not the right term). I'm 4 and 1/2 months in and have progressed a ton but i've got to hone in on chips and putts now.
Click to expand...

Taking a lesson from SeeMore SPi instructor was the best money I ever spent on golf. You have got to do this if you want to improve!
 
Practice as much as you can. When I don't have much time to spend on the range I always go to the short game area and practice that. Most important part of the game.
 
Slammin'SAM said:
This is a great putting drill.

Take two balls to the practice green and map out a 9 hole 'course', with putts of varying lengths, say 15 feet up to 45-50 feet, with mostly 20-35 footers. With the two balls play your course, putting out EVERYTHING, par of two for each ball on each hole. You cannot leave the 'course' until you have completed a 'round' in less than 36, meaning under 'par'.
This drill will sharpen your feel for distance putting, and will test your nerve on the 3-4 footers just like on the real course.
Click to expand...

That's a great drill. I do something similar but with 3 balls on each putt. I start from around 10 feet and end with 50-60 foot putts. Try to make every putt in 2 or less strokes. Change up the putts too, between uphill, downhill and flat.
 
Ballsohard said:
Simply stated, i need to learn how to putt efficiently if i'm ever going to going to cut down my score. I'm to the point of where when i play 9, i par about 3 holes bogey 5 and double 2. I'm also getting to the point of where i'm getting birdie putts but just can't score on a hole (probably not the right term). I'm 4 and 1/2 months in and have progressed a ton but i've got to hone in on chips and putts now.
Click to expand...

I know this is off topic but you are only playing for 4n1/2 months and your average 9 holes usually consist of 3 pars and 5 bogeys? But no triples or quads and no self implosion holes? Your basically playing for less than one full season and your averaging 90 for a round? Meaning you've been in the 80's already? I don't question this because I doubt what you say but I question them out of admiration and jealousy because to me I find that absolutely amazing.

People play this game for many years even decades and never even see a legit 90 let alone lower. I am golfing over 20yrs on and off (mostly on) and if I shoot 89 tomorrow its one of my best rounds of this year. If I shot an 86 it would tie a PB for me and this is over 20yrs of golf. As bad as that sounds and may not be the norm I know there are many who cant even say that through many years. I also know there are many who became better than that and did it much faster too but from all the gofers I personally know I have never encountered anyone who in less than one season of golf put up a legit score of upper 80's to low 90's. Just because I never seen it doesn't mean I am correct. Perhaps plenty people have advanced this quickly and it is much more common than I realize but I just don't happen to know any. That fact alone would just make me even more down the totem pole. Either way I'm sure they exist and you are one of them and I just think that's awesome. To me, you and anyone who advanced this quickly is imo naturally gifted at golf vs most people. I cant imagine what a couple of years worth of efforts and time will do for you if you put it in. BTW - wish you good luck with the putting
 
rollin said:
I know this is off topic but you are only playing for 4n1/2 months and your average 9 holes usually consist of 3 pars and 5 bogeys? But no triples or quads and no self implosion holes? Your basically playing for less than one full season and your averaging 90 for a round? Meaning you've been in the 80's already? I don't question this because I doubt what you say but I question them out of admiration and jealousy because to me I find that absolutely amazing.

People play this game for many years even decades and never even see a legit 90 let alone lower. I am golfing over 20yrs on and off (mostly on) and if I shoot 89 tomorrow its one of my best rounds of this year. If I shot an 86 it would tie a PB for me and this is over 20yrs of golf. As bad as that sounds and may not be the norm I know there are many who cant even say that through many years. I also know there are many who became better than that and did it much faster too but from all the gofers I personally know I have never encountered anyone who in less than one season of golf put up a legit score of upper 80's to low 90's. Just because I never seen it doesn't mean I am correct. Perhaps plenty people have advanced this quickly and it is much more common than I realize but I just don't happen to know any. That fact alone would just make me even more down the totem pole. Either way I'm sure they exist and you are one of them and I just think that's awesome. To me, you and anyone who advanced this quickly is imo naturally gifted at golf vs most people. I cant imagine what a couple of years worth of efforts and time will do for you if you put it in. BTW - wish you good luck with the putting
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If you truly put my average in the season of be much much higher than a 90; when I started.. After about 2 holes I quit taking score and just focused on hitting the ball solidly. I was scoring in the 120s easily. I've just become a bogey player very recently and today shot a 89 at city park in New Orleans (quadruple bogeyed 18).

I actually played maybe one season as an adolescence (lets say 16 years ago) before picking up a club again.

I don't think I'm a natural at all though. I'm working hard and busying my butt learning. My score got much much better once I learned how to drive but let's be honest, I do still have melt down holes but along with those now I finally have some really brilliant holes as well. When I shank a shot now I have the confidence to get out of the situation without using my ego. And I play from the white tees because I know I don't have enough game to play from the blues and the backs.

I have a lot to learn and probably am worse than 90 percent of the guys on here but I absolutely love it. Along with what I said above I play a lot now. If I don't get 18 in in a week I'm down right cranky. I'm truly humbled by all the guys on here that know so much and that includes you who can probably run circles around my as far as golf knowledge.
 
Ballsohard said:
If you truly put my average in the season of be much much higher than a 90; when I started.. After about 2 holes I quit taking score and just focused on hitting the ball solidly. I was scoring in the 120s easily. I've just become a bogey player very recently and today shot a 89 at city park in New Orleans (quadruple bogeyed 18).

I actually played maybe one season as an adolescence (lets say 16 years ago) before picking up a club again.

I don't think I'm a natural at all though. I'm working hard and busying my butt learning. My score got much much better once I learned how to drive but let's be honest, I do still have melt down holes but along with those now I finally have some really brilliant holes as well. When I shank a shot now I have the confidence to get out of the situation without using my ego. And I play from the white tees because I know I don't have enough game to play from the blues and the backs.

I have a lot to learn and probably am worse than 90 percent of the guys on here but I absolutely love it. Along with what I said above I play a lot now. If I don't get 18 in in a week I'm down right cranky. I'm truly humbled by all the guys on here that know so much and that includes you who can probably run circles around my as far as golf knowledge.
Click to expand...

I certainly not running circles around you or anyone with golf. Knowledge wise are plenty on here I learn a ton from all the time. Over 20 years on and off and i'm still blowing up in every round I play. Giving things a lot more this year but still struggle to break 90 and only a PB of 86. That's why I was so jealous and so impressed you have accomplished more improvement in a few months more so than my 20 yrs worth. almost makes me want to quit.lol. Just kidding but anyway keep up the good game.
 
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