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How do you know how hard to hit a putt?

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SaffaClint

SaffaClint

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I started a thread a while back asking if people "saw" a line for their putts. I was thinking recently (yes it did hurt) and I got to wondering how people know how hard to hit a putt.
For me, and this may sound weird but I never take a practice stroke. I look at the putt and don't think "Yea this is 25feet downhill with a slight uphill 6feet short of the pin'. I line myself up and look at the spot I've chosen to make sure the ball starts on the right line and from there I hit the putt. I know some people practice and have a stroke for a 6foot putt, a 12foot putt etc etc but I've never been able to do that. I'm a purely feel putter and compare putting to throwing a ball. When I throw a ball I don't have a bunch of practice throws before releasing the ball, I just throw it and get it right. I consider myself to be a good putter and lag putting is a particular strength.
I might be an anomaly?, but it'd be good to hear how others putt.
Thanks.
 
I don't even know how to describe it, but it's just a feel-good combination of swing speed and power.
 
It sure is hard to describe! I'm looking forward to hearing some of the different techniques.
 
1/3 back stroke 2/3 follow through with a 10-15% acceleration from the back stroke to the follow through. Obviously the shorter putts have a smaller 1/3 to 2/3 than a longer putt. It was taught to me when I took my SPi lesson, it has helped me immensely.
 
I always use this:

Imagine with your right hand (for right ganders) your holding a golf ball.
Imagine rolling it to the hole, and that gives you an idea of how hard to hit it.
On uphill putts, imagine the rise is a staircase, now pull that staircase flat, and putt to that total length.
Similarly on downhill putts.
 
Here we go, already seeing very different techniques for people. The SPi technique seems interesting but really technical. I can't tell what 15% of a swing feels like so that'd only confuse me but no doubt it works for a lot of people based on the popularity of Seemore and the SPi system.
 
SaffaClint said:
Here we go, already seeing very different techniques for people. The SPi technique seems interesting but really technical. I can't tell what 15% of a swing feels like so that'd only confuse me but no doubt it works for a lot of people based on the popularity of Seemore and the SPi system.
Click to expand...

I'm an SPi player and was not taught on percentages and such, I agree that can be confusing. SPi itself is NOT confusing though, thats the best thing about it, its all simple, repeatable, and makes sense.

For me, its the shoulder rock size determines the stroke size which results in distances.
 
SaffaClint said:
Here we go, already seeing very different techniques for people. The SPi technique seems interesting but really technical. I can't tell what 15% of a swing feels like so that'd only confuse me but no doubt it works for a lot of people based on the popularity of Seemore and the SPi system.
Click to expand...

Fwiw. That's not necessarily part of the SPi system. More just a tip.
 
For me it comes from experience. When I get to the course, I baseline myself with a set stroke length to try and gauge the green speed for the day. From there, it comes down to feel on each hole. I do get an approximate stroke length in my mind. It would be something like a little longer or shorter than baseline, inside big toe, outside of right foot, etc. No practice stroke. Focus during execution is on stroke tempo to make sure I get the distance I am expecting.
 
experience & lots of practice
 
Practice stroke looking at the hole and I let my brain figure the rest out. Works surprisingly well.
 
blugold said:
Fwiw. That's not necessarily part of the SPi system. More just a tip.
Click to expand...

This. He's correct. It's something my SPi instructor likes teaching his students. It's not like an exact 15% more of just an acceleration and he likes to use that as a number to take out the "harder swing for a longer putt" type thing. It's the exact same "swing" on every putt the only thing that changes for me is a longer stroke for the longer the distance, but the amount of "power" I putt into a stroke doesn't change.
 
I try to get on the practice green before a round and get an idea of how hard to hit based on the speed of the practice green, then I try to translate it to the course and take into account big changes, like the sun drying greens out or the like.

Then I try to imagine how far a putt would be if all things were flat and level. So let's say I've got a 20' uphill putt that, if it were all level, would really be thirty feet away. I try to hit the ball 30'. Then if I have a 20' putt that, if level would be 30', I try to imagine how far I'd hit the ball to get 10' of roll. Adjusting for break is a little more complicated, but that's the gist of it.
 
Jman said:
I'm an SPi player and was not taught on percentages and such, I agree that can be confusing. SPi itself is NOT confusing though, thats the best thing about it, its all simple, repeatable, and makes sense.

For me, its the shoulder rock size determines the stroke size which results in distances.
Click to expand...

That's basically the same thing my instructor taught me in different terms. Same repeated stroke, shorter putt is just a short stroke, longer putt, longer stroke. But it stays the same no matter the distance.
 
SaffaClint said:
I... I got to wondering how people know how hard to hit a putt.
For me, and this may sound weird but I never take a practice stroke. I look at the putt ... I line myself up and look at the spot I've chosen to make sure the ball starts on the right line and from there I hit the putt. I know some people practice and have a stroke for a 6foot putt, a 12foot putt etc etc but I've never been able to do that. I'm a purely feel putter ... I consider myself to be a good putter and lag putting is a particular strength.
I might be an anomaly? ...
Click to expand...
I would like to join your "anomaly" club because you basically just described my greens behavior. :smile:

If I had to explain further, I'd think it's kind of subliminal learned behavior (aka your ball throw example). Once you do it a bit you just internalize that x amount of force or energy equals y amount of speed or distance. If you change everything up, milled putter switched to springy insert, 10 stimp to 13, etc. etc. you just automatically re-learn as you go. Of course YMMV
 
I try to pick the spot I want to put the ball to with my swing, whether it's the hole or a spot before that I want to get to and focus on it letting my brain do the work for how hard I need to hit it. On longer putts I will imagine the rolling the ball thing to give me a feel for how much shoulder rock I need. I have a ways to go with this part of my game, but I've gotten a lot better the last few times I've been out.
 
I too am one that usually doesn't take a practice putt before lining up (maybe I should). Can agree a little with Michigan Slice about the ball roll, but playing softball and knowing where to plant a 15' pole traveling full speed launching myself into the air helped too I think. I used to be a sbst putter with a tilt and hunch and you name it. Nothing was ever consistent and if confidence left...forgetaboutit. Being introduced to SPi has really brightened things for me. That is as long as I hold true to it and not let my habits creep in. It really is so simple, but with anything as important as the green play...practice. Make a game of it and not just hit balls...perfect practice makes perfect...along with some fun. Lagging is the dreaded "feel" word for me, but it works.
 
I don't. I just hit it and hope it was right.

Its really all about the feel. Putting around on the practice green helps you to learn the type of greens you'll be playing on for the round. And helps you to learn the speed of them.

I do a basic putting drill to help. Place 12 balls around the hole in sets of 3. Place the first set around the hole at 12-3-6-9 o'clock approximately 3 feet away from the cup and then place the second set 3 feet from those and the final set 3 more feet away. So you'll have 4 shoots at each 3, 6 and 9 feet. Each set will challenge you on all sides of the green. Uphill, downhill, right to left and left to right.

The drill is supposed to be done by sinking every putt(I find this very hard to do). My goal is sinking all the 3 footers, getting 3/4 of the 6 footer and at least 2/4 of the 9 footers.
 
Its those hundreds of putts you have taken in the past stored in your brain. Touch, feel, muscle memory, whatever you want to call it.
 
For me I stand at the same distance as the actual putt and practice the putting stroke whilst just looking at the hole not the ball...so I am visualising the distance and ingraining it in my head. Then after three or four practice strokes like this , I set up to the ball , check alignment and repeat the stroke . It works well for me and I generally get the distance right , lag putting is a strong point for my putting game , I struggle reading right to left putts though....
 
Not to minimize it, but the percentage thing doesn't make sense. I can swing the same length back stroke and follow through and have the ball move at various rates of speed and distance. This is really an impossible question to answer because it is all FEEL, and muscle memory. How do you know how hard to throw a baseball if you are at the pitchers mound vs. 2nd base, vs center field. How do you know how to throw a football 10 yards, 20 yards or 30 yards. You've done it before and your brain recognizes how much effort each of these things take. You practice it over and over and over until there is an inert sense of what you need to do. You don't need to think about it and analyze it, you just know what to do. That's what putting is as well. That is also why it is important to hit the putting green before the round and start of with 1' putts, 3' putts, 5' putts, 10' putts. And you better hope that the playing greens are in similar condition to the practice green.
Unfortunately there is no one right answer for this. What makes golf harder than the analogy just given for football or baseball is the ball is rolling across a surface so uphill, downhill, grain, type of grass, how tightly it is cut, has it been rolled etc etc ALL come into play.
You just have to practice, practice, practice until you have a pretty good feel for what it takes for you and YOUR putter to move the ball. Oh yeah, that is one more variable, your putter will have an impact on ball travel as well.
Then to add one more variable, the putting surface is apt to change during the course of your 4 hour round. Playing early in the morning? Greens will be slower in the morning dew and dampness then dry out and run faster as the day warms up. The opposite is true if you are an evening player, but I see less of an effect in the evening personally, but that may change in various regions as well. Humid day? Different than dry day. A little sprinkle in the middle of the round? That'll change speed and break.
There is no one right answer for this. You have to build a FEEL for putting and that's all there is to it. There are body mechanics and technique and even equipment that can help with your ACCURACY of rolling the ball across the line you want it to go to, but for distance, it is all feel and your brain knowing what to do.
Go practice so that you can train your brain.

Or you can just go buy an overspin putter. I hear you can't miss with one of those. LOL
 
I'm not looking for a right answer, I'm simply interested in how different people work out how hard to hit a putt but thanks for your answer, some good points in there.
 
Towards the end of tho season my putting started getting a lot better. I still tend to hit my putts too hard, especially early in the round. One thing I do, that I got from the PGA academy home edition was to keep my head down all the way through the putt. That seems to have helped my speed a lot.


Tapatalking on my iPad
 
For me there are a few factors. For one if it's a course I've played multiple times and know the greens fairly well that helps me out a lot. If I have seen the same or similar putt before I rely on my previous putts to determine how hard to hit it.

If it's a fairly new course or one that I don't play often, I try to pay attention the grain and the break. After I line up my putt I step back and stand next to my ball. Take a few strokes to get the feel for the distance. I commit to my line and stroke.

Not real scientific, but it helps me. Bottom line it boils down to getting your brain out of the equation, trust what you see and go after it. I found when I over analyze a putt, those are the times I putt a poor stroke on it bc I have overloaded my brain and not concentrating on my stroke.
 
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