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Is putting holding you back?

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AmberLamps

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Location
Denver
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This is my second full season Golfing, I purchased real clubs at the start of last season, and played a lot of golf 1-2 times per week last summer, as well as a bunch of range time. This year I really want to improve my game and have a goal to be a 10 handicap by the end of the season. Last year I broke into the 80's a few times, with 85 being my best score to date. Most rounds are in the low 90's.

To start this year I have been consistently shooting 90-95, have had a few 89's in there. However I am feeling a bit discouraged. I track all my rounds with Arccos, and practically every round my putting is what is killing me. Im just not holing the birdie puts and a few times im turning the birdie ops into bogies :arrogant:.

My question is, is there a quick, non labor intensive way to improve my putting, as I think if I can eliminate 3 putting or keep it to only one 3 put per round, I will be shooting consistently in the 80's. Any help is much appreciated.

THis is a screen shot from Arccos from my round this morning, it creates a handicap for each aspect of your round, as you can see the putter is absolutely killing me.
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Have you tried a putter fitting?
 
obedt said:
Have you tried a putter fitting?
Click to expand...

No, I feel obligated to buy something when I make someone take that much time to help me out...lol
 
Go check out SeeMore and the thread here. Totally has changed my putting for the good.
 
AmberLamps said:
No, I feel obligated to buy something when I make someone take that much time to help me out...lol
Click to expand...
Try and make it to the Up & Down event. Also try and play a round with local thpers. You will get a chance to try a bunch of putters. It may be down to not playing what's best for your game.

Another thing - Mentally I get in my head a lot putting. Whenever I relax, have lighter grip pressure and commit to the line I tend to do much better on the greens.
 
No substitute for putting an hour a day on the practice putting green.
 
It takes time and practice. I spent at least an hour a week last year on the putting green working on drills.
 
Putting is the easiest part of the game. It's the easiest to practice, and it's the one stroke that forgives personal quirks more than any other swing you make. You only need to learn two things, how to aim and then start the ball on the line you picked, and how to judge the power. Once you pick the line and get aimed, you don't have to think about anything but the strength you hit the ball with. What could be easier?
 
Maybe you should ditch that crappy 2ball:wink:

Couple things I am working on; consistent and repetitive set up and not gripping so tightly. I am also trying some fatter SS grips which seem to be helping. I also just got a small putting green for inside and starting using it a few times a day.


ETA: I am digging the putter. I put a SS 3.0 on it, feels awesome. No, can't have it back:D
 
DufferRob said:
Maybe you should ditch that crappy 2ball:wink:

Couple things I am working on; consistent and repetitive set up and not gripping so tightly. I am also trying some fatter SS grips which seem to be helping. I also just got a small putting green for inside and starting using it a few times a day.


ETA: I am digging the putter. I put a SS 3.0 on it, feels awesome. No, can't have it back:D
Click to expand...

Haha, actually so far this putter is much more consistent so far. I just suck at putting. Going to spend more time on the putting greens thia next month.
 
My arccos readouts have looked like that recently too (although nothing in the + side). Greens have been absolutely killing my scores. The birdie putt that results in a bogey is a terrible feeling and affects all my upcoming putts.
 
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My putting got better when I quit stressing over alignment & started putting by feel more.

I typically address the ball, imagine the path I want it to go, then glance at the hole a few times & then make the stroke while thinking about the hole.

Focusing on what the putter head was doing, where my hands were & all the other technical stuff put to many thoughts in my head & made me too tense.
 
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This year it is, ball striking is solid and putting is off dramatically. Current year average is 5.4 putts a round over the past 3 seasons. My misses are slightly off. Not missing long, not missing because of bad misreads, literally burning edges all year long.
 
Figuring out your dominant eye and learning how to judge your line and speed after that makes a difference. I agree with what has been posted here, a lot of putting is generally feel.
 
I'm happy to say putting does not normally hold me back.

To answer your question, take a putting lesson. We often look to equipment, and that can help, but a trained professional eye can be priceless. One hour isn't labor intensive.
 
I would say first a putter fitting would answer a lot of questions. Seeing my putting stroke and what type of arc my putting stroke produces helped me understand why i was missing or inconsistent. They can dial in loft as well and that helped me with speed control.

then i would look into a putting lesson, SPI or something like that, build solid fundamentals and naturally find your putting stance and stroke. IMO putting is so personal that no two strokes are the same, but with solid fundamentals you can find your way and be a decent putter. Of course practice helps and using an indoor putting mat works as well.
 
Getting to a 10 handicap is going to take a lot more than just learning how to putt well, right? You're at a 9 HC with everything else right now according to Arrcos. Getting to a 1 HC with your putter is not going to be easy. We're talking more in the realm of 30 - 31 putts per round.

You realize a lot of things involving putting has to do with how far you are away from the hole, right? And make sure when you read the break that you read enough break.

You can really help your putting by getting very consistent from 3 feet. I first practice putting several balls into either the cup or at a sand-filled sock on the practice green. Then I do a clock drill from 3 feet to putt 8 balls into a hole. This gives me an opportunity to have slightly different breaks on those short putts.

Then I practice lag putting. I use 4 balls. I start from 10 feet. Then go to 15 feet. Then go to 20 feet. Then to 25 feet. Then to 30 feet. The goal is to get the balls to end up within 10% of the length of the putt from the hole, but no further than 3 feet from the hole. If you're playing and have a 50 foot putt your chances of making it are astronomically small, so if you get your ball to end up within 5 feet of the hole you did well - from there you have about a 65% chance of sinking that putt, so don't beat up yourself if you three putt that hole. Pros make 5' putts only about 75% of the time, and remember they practice every day and a lot longer than you do.

If you are putting from 10 feet chances are that you're not going to make that putt anyway, so your goal should be to get the ball as close to the hole as possible so you can make the next putt from inside of 3 feet - a tap in.

Practice making the putting stroke as smooth as possible. Hold the club in one hand and just let it swing back and forth like a pendulum to find its natural motion. That's your natural speed with the putter. The only thing you need to learn is how to judge the length of the stroke for distance. Don't accelerate through the ball. Keep the stroke smooth. Accelerating through the ball will make you inconsistent.

On the green - if this means you take three practice swings to get comfortable before you putt the ball, do it. Don't rush. You can read your putt while others are putting to save time.

Odyssey two ball is a good putter. You don't need a new putter. It's not the arrow. Some people just have difficulty putting. Even professionals. I also think that tall people have more difficulty putting than short people.
 
Thanks for the input guys/gals, going to spend more time on the putting green, doing some of those drills
 
Thankfully my putter is usually in decent form. What usually holds me back is lack of greens in regulation, if I'm having a bad day.
 
Putting held me back quite a bit up until this year. I am gaming a putter style that I have never liked to look down at and never really had success with. I went to the shop and demo'd everything I could get my hands on until I found something that I was rolling consistently. Then built it from the ground up. Head weight, shaft length, and grip played the biggest roles for me. I was surprised to find that I do better with sub 330 gram putter heads. Those can be tough to find in OTR putters.
 
Yes. Always been my weak spot.
 
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