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Aiming outside the hole on short putts

tpluff

tpluff

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Hey THP, ran across a situation today that presented two possible ways to finish a 3 foot putt. Like I said, 3 foot par putt on a severe right to left slope. My read was about 1/2 cup outside the right. However, I also thought about just drilling it to through the break into the back of the cup. My question to you is what do you do in similar situations and why? If you hit through the break, how far (if the cup wasn't there) do you try to hit it?

My take: I tend to play the break in case of the miss. I see jamming it home to be risky in the case of a mishit or lipout that'll make the 3 putt hard. I just play it safe.
 
I will try to ease into the putt, and not slamming it through e break.

Too much can go wrong by over aggressiveness for me.
 
I play the break but putting is the worst part of my game :banghead:
 
Most of the time for those short 2-3ft putts, I just try to drill them into the center of the cup. Don't like messing with break a such a short distance.
 
I just putt through the break on the short ones
 
A lot of talk on a similar topic here

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Putting-speed-18-quot-past-or-die-in-the-hole

As far as I go, it depends on how much break and if I am uphill, downhill or sidehill


Uphill I probably straighten it out and "jam it in"

Downhill or side hill I play the break and make a good smooth stroke....to much chance on a power lip out on those putts and now your are in danger of 3 putting that 3 footer.
 
Play the break, but hit it with some confidence. Trust your read and make a confident stroke. Drilling it into the back of the cup, for me, would lead to another 3 foot putt after this one.

Now that is all out of the way, I actually play these different each time it seems. If there is a visual break in the putt, I play it as I described above. If I'm not confident in a break, or read, or whatever, then I may just take aim dead center and hit it firm.
 
Steve Stricker is the guy I love to watch putt. What would he do?
 
Lately I have been doing both. I aim outside the hole and than hit it hard enough to take the break out. :banghead:

If I have confidence in my putting I will take the break out and hit it. If I am struggling I will try and die it in so I leave a tap in if I miss.
 
Play the break and speed so that if I miss I got no more than a foot pass the hole. I treat the hole like a clock and I choose the "hour" that I want the ball to enter the hole at. I never try to "pound it home" if my read is outside of the cup - only if it is left center or right center"
 
Assuming the greens roll halfway decent, I will play the break. A jammed putt that misses will leave a longer leave than your initial putt. I love making these kinds of putts and think they are huge confidence boosters.
 
A great question, I never try and jam it home, it does happen on occasion though!

I always try and play a bit of break, but I'm ok with a little extra pace to take some out, but I never feel like I drilling the ball into the cup, the mistake that could follow is just too much of a risk!
 
Short of putting from the side of a cliff, inside of 3' I'm not aiming outside the hole. But favoring the break a little bit so I'm not just trying to jam it in is something I usually try to do.
 
I'm playing a putt that short no further out than the edge and hitting it firm, unless the greens are lightning fast. I'm not "slamming" it, per se, but I don't want to take a tentative stroke.
 
Typically I take the break out and hit it firm through the break.
 
IceyShanks said:
A great question, I never try and jam it home, it does happen on occasion though!

I always try and play a bit of break, but I'm ok with a little extra pace to take some out, but I never feel like I drilling the ball into the cup, the mistake that could follow is just too much of a risk!
Click to expand...

I like this approach Icey, a sort of combination between the two, I'll have to give it a try next time. And then that goes to the 18" past/roll in thread. Like my father always said "100% of the shots that don't get there have 0% chance of going in."

I just get so psyched out by putts that'd normally be gimmes in many other situations.
 
Assuming that green speed and condition is already factored into the 'outside the hole' break, it still depends. There is a lot of risk on a putt that short and if you try and bang it in and miss, most likely you'll be in a worse spot than where you started. I think that regardless of other factors, if you have that short of a putt and know it will break that much, you have to play some. I think most of the time, I'll just split the difference. If it is two balls outside using a normal speed, I'll play at the edge and hit it firm. I hate giving up the hole on short putts, but sometimes you have to. I think in that kind of situation, if you play it too close to center, you'll have to hit it so hard it might not take the break, but it might just roll over the hole as well.

Worst thing to do is to not commit to one or the other. I've seen many times that someone will play the break and hit it hard or not play as much break and hit it easy. Almost every time the comment after is the same, "I was thinking of doing one thing, and did the other".
 
I play the break to avoid running it by the hole.
 
I never aim outside the hole from 3' or in. I feel that aiming outside is just inviting trouble.
 
I always play it inside the hole and put a good pace on it. Can't be afraid to miss!
 
Tadashi70 said:
Typically I take the break out and hit it firm through the break.
Click to expand...

I try to hit it a little firmer inside the edge, not outside the edge and not dead center. But I was hoping Tad had said what he does before I posted!
 
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