My Putting Fix

[BradMorris64]

About 2 months ago my putting started to get a little shakey. I started pulling everything left, or, in an attempt not to do that, I would hold the putter open and end up shoving it out to the right, or, simply quit on the stroke. After trying everything I could think of with my grip and with my alignment with no improvement I was about ready to just go buy a new putter. Change is good right? Then lo-and-behold, for some reason it dawned on me what I was doing. I was aligning the putter, taking my stance, taking my grip, then fine tuning my stance. That last little fine tuning of my stance was adding a slight contortion to my natural setup that, while not changing my aim at setup, would cause me to close the putter face during the stroke.

Once I made sure that I didn't fiddle with my stance after gripping the club, the ball started exactly on the line I wanted it to every time! So now as I get ready to set up to my putt I say to myself STANCE THEN GRIP, STANCE THEN GRIP! It's just amazing how such a supposedly simply move as a putting stroke can be disrupted by something so little as moving ones feet a few inches after gripping the club.

 

[Grinder]

Nice find. I bet we all do things like that.

 

[Sibbers]

Nice one.
Putting has long been a downfall of mine. Read an article recently that reformed me.

I am very superstitious so I have to hit the ball after I have looked up at the hole three times. I realised that my mind was more on the superstition that the putt. The article asked what I was thinking of as I stood over the putt and basically said that the only thing I should think about is where I am trying to hit the ball, forget technique etc.
So I tried that and I focussed on the direction I hit the ball, it certainly improved but I was still not going where I thought I should. Then like you I realised something else, after aligning the putter and my grip I would move my feet a little!
So I have just spent an hour or so on a putting green changing my setup.
I now align the putter to the line, make sure my feet are together and on the same line as the putter head. I open my stance on teh same line, chheck it is all aligned then swing the putter following through on the line. I was nailing all sorts, and even the ones that missed were misreads not pulls or pushes. really pleasing.
Hope i can take it onto the course sometime soon.

GL to you with yours.

 

[sleuth]

Interesting, glad it worked.

I follow a somewhat similar pattern you did for my putts. I pick a spot say 7-10 ft out in front of me on long putts, align the putter head with my eyes behind the ball and then setup. I don't fidget at address, nor do I even look at the cup. To me, the perspective of looking at the putting line from above the ball, especially if you believe in eye dominance, is going to look different and you'll probably realign or readdress your putt and talk yourself out of the original line. Perhaps this is what you were doing? Just pick the line and go with it.

I do the same thing with tricky tee box placements.

 

[BradMorris64]

For alignment I do what I always thought plumb bobbing was (apparently I was mistaken). I use the shaft of the putter as a straight edge to line up a point in front of my ball with the line I want the ball to start on. For example, if I think the putt will break 5 inches, I line the edge of my putter shaft up 5 inches outside of the hole but in line with the center of my ball. I then just find a little mark on the ground in front of the ball along that edge that I align everything else up to. At least that way I know I'm 100% aligned with where I want to be. Whether my read is right or not is another story.

I also use this technique on tee boxes by simply holding the club shaft vertical and aligning my ball, and a spot in front of my ball with the line I want my tee shot to start on.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Good catch, that's one of the reasons I set the putter down with one hand behind the ball and line it up....holdiing it loosely, then I set my body to it and get ready....then I take my grip and make the stroke.