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Lining up a putt

JB

JB

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How long does it take you to putt the ball? Between reading the greens and lining it up, practice strokes, etc...
 
I'm a pretty fast player. I mark, take a look... throw the ball down using my homemade allignment tool, then take more of a waggle for feel rather than an actual practice stroke... pull the trigger
 
I'm pretty fast as well, take one look from behind the ball, couple of swings to try and get a feel for the tempo. I have more of a problem with speed than the actual line of the putt.
 
I'll take maybe a minute or two (ok so probably not that long). I don't spend a lot of time doing it. Like they say "Think long, think wrong". I'll look to see if there is a break and try to gauge the speed and then I step up and putt.
 
I try to do most of my green reading in advance. I tend to be the one to grab the flag, so I can get a look from the far side of the hole. i try to read the green as I walk up to my ball, that sort of stuff. So unless there's some serious break to contend with, I pretty much know what I'm doing and the putt doesn't take longer than any other shot.
 
when I waggle... I am trying to get the right muscles in my hands, forearms, and shoulders in the right place, sort of the right state of mind. I never try to replicate the actual stroke I am going to try and put on the ball.
 
I'm a medium speed player, of course some putts take more time to think about then others. Distance plays a factor as well in my time taking. I have a fairly similar routine for putting just wish i had one for the tee box:arrogant:
 
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Your back Lange....Welcome. You have a lot to catch up on.
 
Lange said:
I'm a medium speed player, of course some putts take more time to think about then others. Distance plays a factor as well in my time taking. I have a fairly similar routine for putting just wish i had one for the tee box:arrogant:
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only thing I have going for me... I have my pre shot routine down to a T
 
im VERY quick with my putting. i take one quick look behind the ball, then putt it.... i played with a woman a few weeks ago that was absolutely horrible, and when i say horrible, i mean she would consistently leave 10 footers 5 feet short. but she insisted on viewing the putt from both sides of the hole, and a few times she checked from both sides TWICE! it was driving me crazy! and then after all of that her putts wouldnt even make it halfway to the hole....uuugh! it was a loooong round
 
DDBowdoin said:
only thing I have going for me... I have my pre shot routine down to a T
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i really want to discover a good pre shot routine for myself this year helps me focus in
 
JB said:
Your back Lange....Welcome. You have a lot to catch up on.
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Hey thanks JB, and yes i have much to catch up on! didn't get access to a comp out in Dallas:(
 
About 10 seconds. I kneel down to read the green, line up to my putt and pull the trigger. I find that if I take longer than that, I think about it too much and it makes me second guess myself.
Ive learned to trust my instincts and just go with my first read.
 
Mine is actually really fast. There are actually times where I freeze up and don't want to putt because I'm scared. I sometimes have those moments on the course where all the bad shots run through my mind in a flash and it takes me a good 30 seconds to get the shot off after It looks like I'm going to shoot.
 
Dent said:
Mine is actually really fast. There are actually times where I freeze up and don't want to putt because I'm scared. I sometimes have those moments on the course where all the bad shots run through my mind in a flash and it takes me a good 30 seconds to get the shot off after It looks like I'm going to shoot.
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You gotta learn to just leave the previous shot behind you and move on, Dent.
I have times too where Im set up for the next shot, but some bad swing thought pops in my head and I just take a step back, take a deep breath, clear my mind and start my preshot routine all over again.
I read a book once called, "The Book Of Five Rings", written by Miyamoto Musashi in which he talked about a way of reacting called, "the mind of no mind". Basically, it means that you just react. Dont anticipate, dont reflect; just react to the task at hand.
That book was orignally written as a sort of teaching guide for samuari, but Ive found that theres lots of lessons in that book which help in daily life.
 
Bakemono said:
You gotta learn to just leave the previous shot behind you and move on, Dent.
I have times too where Im set up for the next shot, but some bad swing thought pops in my head and I just take a step back, take a deep breath, clear my mind and start my preshot routine all over again.
I read a book once called, "The Book Of Five Rings", written by Miyamoto Musashi in which he talked about a way of reacting called, "the mind of no mind". Basically, it means that you just react. Dont anticipate, dont reflect; just react to the task at hand.
That book was orignally written as a sort of teaching guide for samuari, but Ive found that theres lots of lessons in that book which help in daily life.
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That's what I started to do this year rather than going on with the shot. It really helps a lot. This game just takes more focus than I have been giving it. :D
 
Yeah, golf is such a mental game. People who dont play golf think its just hitting a little white ball in some yonder hole, but its so much more complicated than that.
 
I've never really timed myself. I'm usually reading the green while somebody else is putting. I line myself up. Take two practice swings looking only at the hole. I then address the ball and take the same stroke that I used on my practice swings and let the ball go. It's usually a pretty quick process.
 
i usually read my putt from behind the ball for a few seconds, and if it is longer than a 10-12 footer i will find the halfway point between the ball and the hole and stand next to my line to look it over. i then squat behind the mark and aim the line/logo at the apex of the break. i stand over the ball with my feet together and my left hand on my hip so that i line up the line on my putter with the line/logo using my right hand. after that i put my left hand on the putter then spread my feet to about shoulder width apart sometimes a little wider, i like a wide stance while putting. the thing i do that most people don't understand is i line my feet up a little open or aimed a little left. this allows my putting stroke to be consistent because my body has no chance of getting in the way causing me to push or pull the putt, therefore all i have to worry about is my wrists
 
AK jr. said:
i usually read my putt from behind the ball for a few seconds, and if it is longer than a 10-12 footer i will find the halfway point between the ball and the hole and stand next to my line to look it over.
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Thats something thats really important and I think thats what a lot people dont do.
You cant just read the break by the hole, you gotta read the entire break all the way from your ball to the cup.
 
ya it has definately helped my lag putting to be more accurate break wise. unless the green is sloping heavily or there are misleading undulations, reading the break in your putt is all about meticulous detail and careful analysis. therefore, if you take the time to really look at a putt from all angles and pick a precise target, you have left yourself with one thing to worry about and that is speed. i have noticed that over time i have gotten better with this by reading breaks of the putts i am hitting on the practice green, rather than taking a few balls and just hitting the first one to test the break and trying to make the second two.
 
It usually doesn't take me long to read the break, so I get through the whole thing fairly quickly. I just need to make myself aim just a tad bit higher since I usually miss on the amateur side. I know I need to but instead I usually just hit it harder which leads to running it by farther than I like.
 
Yeah, you're better off to aim high than to overpower it and blow it 6' by the hole.
 
It may depend on the course...not even necessarily difficulty level, but preference of the designers on how much break they want. Around here they're usually pretty straight forward and easy reads, so the key is to hit before you psych yourself out. But other courses may require more time.
 
A lot of the courses I play do not have flat greens. Some of them are downright unfair! The last time I played I had a 6 footer uphill that went past the hole and around it and back down the hill about 10 feet. (I made the second putt but still! Not fair!). The ball ended up about 3 feet to my right and about 4 feet further down the hill. I thought it was going to roll off the green.
 
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