So, You Want to Be a Great Putter

[Sean]

I didn't become a good putter until I defied conventional wisdom. I putt with my hands/wrists and have never putted better (been doing it this way now for 1.5 years).

 

[leftshot]

I didn't become a good putter until I defied conventional wisdom. I putt with my hands/wrists and have never putted better (been doing it this way now for 1.5 years).

As you said, you became a "good putter" not a great putter and every improvement is in relation to what you were doing before. You haven't said anything about what you were doing before, so this may or may not apply. But in my experience the difference from poor to good is often reducing the number of variables [E.g. simplifying the stroke by taking out some of the movements/manipulations]. But you tell me.

 

[5150]

I’m a 14 averaging 1.8 putts per hole over the past year, for whatever that’s worth.

Don’t know if that makes me a good putter or not.

I expect every putt I hit to go in, and visualize the ball dropping in the hole every time, no lagging to get close or two foot circles or any of that. Sometimes I visualize it dying in the hole, other times ramming the pin or back of the cup, depends on the putt.

Reading the green starts about 25 yards away, taking note of the overall slope and anything in the area that could influence break, mountain peaks, bunkers, water, catch basins.

While others are putting I’ll (quietly, unobtrusively) take a look from behind the ball and from the side looking up into the slope, and if it’s a downhill putt, I’ll look from the other side.

I use the logo to align with the line on which I want to start the putt. At address I choose the smallest target I can see: the pin itself or the right or left side of it on a longer putt, and maybe a ball mark or blade of grass hanging over the rim if I’m close enough to see that.

One practice stroke while looking at the target, step up, one last hard look at target, go. No delays, no rethinking, trust the read and stroke and do it.

All of that happens at a certain tempo for me. I have a few songs I play in my head to govern tempo and provide a rhythm for each activity. Helps keep my brain quiet.

 

[5150]

A few other thoughts…

Pre-round, I don’t spend more than about 10 minutes putting.

I hit five balls on a relatively flat spot, but not at a a hole, instead at the fringe. All I want to do is get a feel for pace and get the last few balls to stop in the fringe.

Then I go put all five balls a putter’s length away from a cup and knock them all in. I want to see myself making putts before I go out.

 

[Acesteve]

I was in a scramble yesterday and putted great; well all but the part about being 3 to 3ft short on almost every hole Everyone in my 4-some struggled with same issue. When I intentionally hit the ball too hard, I took the break out of the hole and hit it 3ft long.

anyone knows how to adjust for slow greens; please step forward

 

[Sean]

As you said, you became a "good putter" not a great putter and every improvement is in relation to what you were doing before. You haven't said anything about what you were doing before, so this may or may not apply. But in my experience the difference from poor to good is often reducing the number of variables [E.g. simplifying the stroke by taking out some of the movements/manipulations]. But you tell me.

My playing partners tell me I am a great putter, but there is always room for improvement. I used to put with a slight arc, pendulum type stroke rocking the arms and keeping the wrists/hands out of it. While it worked okay, it didn't work well enough. I also found that an Anser style putter works best with a wrists/hands stroke. That said, I don't advocate this method to anyone else...it just happens to work very well for me.

 

[leftshot]

My playing partners tell me I am a great putter, but there is always room for improvement. I used to put with a slight arc, pendulum type stroke rocking the arms and keeping the wrists/hands out of it. While it worked okay, it didn't work well enough. I also found that an Anser style putter works best with a wrists/hands stroke. That said, I don't advocate this method to anyone else...it just happens to work very well for me.

How would you say your putting style compares to Brandt Snedeker's pop stroke? Are they similar?

 

[Sean]

How would you say your putting style compares to Brandt Snedeker's pop stroke? Are they similar?

Yes, it's quite similar.

 

[Acesteve]

I never tried to figure out exactly how Sneeds does it but he has little arm action. My old putting stroke had arm action and an hand action. was total fail to me and unfortuantly I gamed it for +25 years.

The notion of a good putter I think is relative. Relative to my Saturday morning group I'm a great putter as I'm the only one in the group who can occassionally drop a 10+ foot plus putt. I typically will do this every round. However, a truely good putter would almost never miss a putt from 4ft in and is competitive at all distances. I struggle with 4ft putts at times. If I should hit 3 or 10 twelve foot putts I'm much more likely to do that then hole say 8 of 10 4ft putts.

 

[Acesteve]

I've been working to produce a more pure online roll from multiple distances in the past few weeks. after many things that don't seem to sustain, what I found was that ensuring those arms stay in front of my core, moved by my core and staying in sync with core helps me. my guess is that my trail hand wanders and can change the path of my club in the backswing. Does not feel like it wanders but a degree of swing path change in a putt has a really negative impact

 

[alistaird]

Coming back after a long gap... Short game was horrible but focusing on a very simple putting stroke which helps me hit the ball out of the middle of the putter head is paying a lot of dividends. Simple, steady and rhythmical is key for me.

 

[Ab Crevoiserat]

I like to use a drill for practicing distance and speed control. I'm sure it goes by different names but I call it Par 9. I take 9 balls and an extra club. I place the extra club about 2 feet behind the hole then I choose the distance away and score myself the, the goal is to be Par after the 9 balls. A put short of the hole is a bogie because if its short it never had a chance to begin with, a putt in the hole is a birdie, and a putt past the hole is a par unless you crush it over the extra club then that's a double bogie. This little drill has really helped me with my speed and distance and it's a lot less boring then just hitting ball after ball.

 

[SunnyWalker]

Way back when I was a very good putter, I practiced almost daily at the local club where I belonged.

I picked an area of the practice green that was flat with a slightly right to left break, started at about 2 feet and worked my way back and forth on that same line. Sometimes, I could putt 2,3, 4 etc., all the way out to 15 feet before I missed. It was a huge confidence builder for me. Since I knew the line, all I really focused on was making a smooth stroke and watching the putter hit the ball. When I played, I knew all I had to do was find the right line and I'd put a good stroke on it.

I think finding the right drill to build confidence is a big factor in putting well out on the course.

 

[tahoebum]

I never tried to figure out exactly how Sneeds does it but he has little arm action. My old putting stroke had arm action and an hand action. was total fail to me and unfortuantly I gamed it for +25 years.

The notion of a good putter I think is relative. Relative to my Saturday morning group I'm a great putter as I'm the only one in the group who can occassionally drop a 10+ foot plus putt. I typically will do this every round. However, a truely good putter would almost never miss a putt from 4ft in and is competitive at all distances. I struggle with 4ft putts at times. If I should hit 3 or 10 twelve foot putts I'm much more likely to do that then hole say 8 of 10 4ft putts.

I completely agree on the notion of good putting is relative. I’m way above average as a lag putter and below average for my index inside of 10 feet. I’ve improved this year but it’s still a mental struggle/confidence issue at times on those 4-10 footers. I have a good buddy who is an 8 index and I would consider him a good putter for his index and he putts better than me on those 4-15 footers but I’m certainly not jealous of his lag putting.

 

[Acesteve]

I completely agree on the notion of good putting is relative. I’m way above average as a lag putter and below average for my index inside of 10 feet. I’ve improved this year but it’s still a mental struggle/confidence issue at times on those 4-10 footers. I have a good buddy who is an 8 index and I would consider him a good putter for his index and he putts better than me on those 4-15 footers but I’m certainly not jealous of his lag putting.

the idea that we might be better at certain ranges has certainly crossed my mind. For me, it maybe that a long putt allows me to swing in rythem better whereas a short put I struggle with a very short swing. I wonder if this is a reason that the better putters I've played with appear to me to ram the ball in from 4ft.

 

[tahoebum]

the idea that we might be better at certain ranges has certainly crossed my mind. For me, it maybe that a long putt allows me to swing in rythem better whereas a short put I struggle with a very short swing. I wonder if this is a reason that the better putters I've played with appear to me to ram the ball in from 4ft.

The best putters I know ram it harder than I do from short range because they're not worried about making a 4 footer coming back, lol.

I putt better on the days they don't roll our greens(Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). When the speed gets up around 11 and higher on the STIMP those short putts have so much break that they are tricky.

 

[leftshot]

Let's talk about green reading. This is a high level tip, but it is really important if you want to be a great putter. Most amateurs focus all their green reading attention on what they see. All great putters have additionally learned to read the green with their feet. We can discuss the actual techniques used. But I wanted to start with the concept itself. Lots of greens have optical illusions (intentional and unintentional) that tell the eyes one thing, when the reality is something different that can be discerned with the feet.

I can't tell you the number of times I've suggested to a playing partner to trust what they feel with their feet and not what they see with their eyes for a particular putt. Almost always the reaction is it never even occurred to them to read a green with anything other than their eyes.

That brings us to the corollary. When your eyes tell you one thing and your feet tell you something else, great putters have learned to trust their feet.

 

[MrBlast]

I played last Sunday and my putter was on fire! I was dropping 15 and 20 ft bombs. It wasn't fair to the mere mortals I was playing with.

 

[leftshot]

I played last Sunday and my putter was on fire! I was dropping 15 and 20 ft bombs. It wasn't fair to the mere mortals I was playing with.

Any clue why?

 

[MrBlast]

Any clue why?

I'm actually a pretty good putter, all of the time. I'm not even sure why. I've always had good hands when it came to sports. I lock my elbows straight and rock my shoulders like a pendulum, when I putt. Straight back and straight through.
Last Sunday the lines were just easy to see and the ball dropped more often than not.

 

[leftshot]

One of the keys to becoming a great putter is being able to consistently start the ball on the intended line. This is something most players struggle to do. Worse, based on observation there appear to be a large number of players who think they are starting the ball on the intended line but don't. Here are two things that studies have shown really help a player start the ball on the intended line.

1. Pre shot focusing your eyes on the target, not the ball. Studies have shown that good to great professional golfers focus their eyes on the hole more than 80% of the time from when they start to set up to putt through when they strike the ball. Amateurs do the opposite. 80% of the time they are ball-bound.

2. Quiet eyes when stoking the putt, including long AFTER the putt has been stroked. This greatly improves the accuracy of the putt. Amateurs, and even some pros, have a tendency to follow the ball after it has been struck.

Note: There are actually two categories of people when it comes to target. Some players see curves and actually trace the curved line from where the ball is to where it drops into the hole. For them the target is the hole. The other group of players see straight lines. For them the target is along their starting line out by the hole. So, if they read a 5-inch break left their focus is a specific spot 5-inches right of the hole.

 

[MrBlast]

One of the keys to becoming a great putter is being able to consistently start the ball on the intended line. This is something most players struggle to do. Worse, based on observation there appear to be a large number of players who think they are starting the ball on the intended line but don't. Here are two things that studies have shown really help a player start the ball on the intended line.

1. Pre shot focusing your eyes on the target, not the ball. Studies have shown that good to great professional golfers focus their eyes on the hole more than 80% of the time from when they start to set up to putt through when they strike the ball. Amateurs do the opposite. 80% of the time they are ball-bound.

2. Quiet eyes when stoking the putt, including long AFTER the putt has been stroked. This greatly improves the accuracy of the putt. Amateurs, and even some pros, have a tendency to follow the ball after it has been struck.

Note: There are actually two categories of people when it comes to target. Some players see curves and actually trace the curved line from where the ball is to where it drops into the hole. For them the target is the hole. The other group of players see straight lines. For them the target is along their starting line out by the hole. So, if they read a 5-inch break left their focus is a specific spot 5-inches right of the hole.

I focus on the target and I see the curves. I try to find the spot where the ball is most likely to curve, with the speed I intend to hit and then use that as my aiming point.